Customer Reviews

Dose

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album is POWERFUL, too powerful for some listeners, apparently. It is a giant leap past their excellent 1995 self-titled debut. I would never have guessed that this would come from the guys I saw with the Allmans in the mid-'90s. Is it dark and heavy? Yes it is, and that's because it is plumbing the depths of life, which includes pain.

There is amazing variety, though -- two instrumentals, "Thelonious Beck" and "Birth of the Mule," the latter a jazzy shuffle; the mystically transcendent "Raven Black Night," and the folk-blues of "John the Revelator." This band, and this album in particular, has SOUL. The sound is impeccable, Warren's guitar incredible, and when it's over, you've been on a TRIP somewhere, and have resurfaced, with "I Shall Return," to redemption. If you've ever lived on the edge, this captures some of the experience in a way that few other record(ing)s do.

[Gov't Mule has never again reached the level of DOSE with their subsequent albums. I just heard BY A THREAD (2009), their latest as of this writing (11/9/11), and it is nowhere near as good.]

(verified purchase from Zia Records in Tucson)

I originaly knew of Warren and Allen only because of their gig with the Allmans. Later I heard about Live at Roseland Ballroom and decided to check it out-now I'm hooked. This album is great-soulful vocals, great guitar, great songs, well-done covers, and a rock-solid rhythm section. Buy this album and you won't regret it. If you ever get a chance to check them out live do it. They put on one hell of a show. I recently saw them play a short set at an outdoor festival (wish they were the headliner!) and I was amazed. Only a few weeks prior I saw the Allman Bros. with Derek Trucks and I was more impressed with the Mule's hour long set than the Allman's whole show. I am in no way knocking the Allman Bros.-they were great and Derek Trucks is going to be the best damn guitarist in the world 25 years from now (I closed my eyes and thought I was listening to Duane!), but the Mule was just incredible. Definitely check out Towering Fool, Thorazine Shuffle, and the Beatles cover She Said She Said. By the way, is it just me or does Raven Black Night sound an awful lot like Jethro Tull?

I was a moderate Mule fan before I bought this album. To tell you the truth the only reason I bought this album was to hear what their version of John the Revelator sounded like, but that wasn't what caught my ear. When I heard BLIND MAN IN THE DARK, it knocked me out. The song is just awesome! That song makes the whole album worth buying. THORAZINE SHUFFLE is also amazing. In short, this album rocks! DOSE is a great album from a horribly underrated band.

What do you get when you combine a living legend of a guitar player, with a supremely talented bass player respected among the world's best bass players, and a flat-out awesome drummer? Possibly the best power trio of all time, and one hell of an *$$ kickin' "Mule"! Think this praise is unfounded and just my personal opinion? Think again!

Warren Haynes, a living legend, has rightly been proclaimed one of the best guitar players of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine. Warren is the premier Blues/Rock guitarist and has played guitar on dozens of albums, not only as a solo artist and for Gov't Mule, but also for other legendary bands and artists.

Matt Abts is a Grammy Nominated drummer and has received multiple first place drumming awards from respected drumming publications. His drumming on this album can only be described as spectacular.

Allen Woody - Unfortunately Gov't Mule's next studio album was the last album bassist Allen Woody performed on. In August of 2000 Allen Woody unexpectedly passed away. As a fitting tribute and show of respect about two dozen of the world's best bass players assumed Allen's duties on Gov't Mule's following two albums. These bass players included Les Claypool, Jason Newstead, Flea, Roger Glover, John Entwistle, Bootsy Collins, Phil Lesh and Dave Schools. Gov't Mule's first two albums are their hardest/heaviest, and in my opinion their best. They have yet to put out an album as outstanding as when Woody was with the band. Woody was an irreplaceable piece of the Mule, and is certainly missed by all. RIP Woody.

Now, Gov't Mule has been one of my favorite bands for years, but I was surprised to learn that Metallica frontman James Hetfield recently stated that Gov't Mule IS his favorite band. I would have guessed that James would have named a classic band from the 70's, or possibly one of his contemporaries as his favorite band. But it's obvious James has an understanding of what exceptional Rock is, and appreciates listening to music from seasoned and truly talented musicians, not some cr*p from a "flavor of the month" band. If you are a fan of Rock/Metal and listen to Gov't Mules first two albums and fail to understand how good they are, either you are pretty young and should probably not stray to far from listening to your Linkin Park and Godsmack, or you simply have no true grasp of what excellent Rock music performed by talented musicians is. This fact is not arguable.

If you haven't seen the mule live....do so! They are an explosive ball of musical energy that every fan of live music should experience. I promise you will not be disappointed. Get out and buy the albums - get out and see their next tour. This is a show you don't want to miss.

Ever since I first heard "Blind Man in the Dark," on the radio in 1998 I knew this Mule thing would be great. I knew Warren and Woody from the Allman Brothers and knew they were great, but when they stepped out with Gov't Mule it was like a breath of fresh air for me. This album was the first Mule album I bought (and wore out) and it rocked my musical foundations. It is a must buy in my opinoin. I have seen Mule three times now, met them once (before Woody died), and would kill to see them again - my point is that this album changed the musical landscape for me. Go and see the Mule live (if you haven't yet) and support the boys in person.

Gov't Mule - Dose (1998) 11 Tracks **** (65:22)

This is Gov't Mule's 2nd studio release, and Woody's bass playing is apparent from the first few bars of the first track, Blind Man In The Dark. It is almost a "Hard Rock" Blues song. Definitely heavier than what most of their fans were used to. I didn't really like the vocal effects that Warren was trying out at the beginning of the song, but after a few listens you can see that he's using them to convey a feeling in certain parts of the track and to make them stand apart from other sections. He even sings his own back-up vocals in his regular vocal style during one section. Things settle down a bit on the next track Thorazine Shuffle, one of the better songs on this album and quite original in presentation. It's an upbeat number that has a smooth groove and numerous changes along the ride.

Game Face, the longest track on the CD is very reminiscent of the "jam band" style they were known for previously. It is a very extended piece of music. There are two instrumental tracks on Dose. Thelonius Beck and Birth of the Mule. Thelonius Beck is my least favorite track. Warren certainly shows everyone that he has mastered the electric guitar, but I just can't really get into this one. Birth of the Mule on the other hand is much better. Maybe it's because it sounds a bit more "Jazzy" to my ears, and I am a fan of Jazz-Rock Fusion bands. It also seems the whole band is more involved, especially Matt Abts on drums. Where the former instrumental, Thelonius Beck, seems to be all Warren just wailing away.
There is a cover version of the Beatles "She Said, She Said" on here, and I remember hearing it the first few times unaware of the fact that it was a Beatles song. I kept thinking "something sounds familiar about that song, the lyrics sound slighty familiar to me along with the guitar parts, but the tempo is all wrong. Finally I made the connection and now I really like this version.

Raven Black Night starts out with all acoustic guitar, reminiscent of early acoustic Led Zeppelin. It also reminds me of Heart's "Dream of the Archer". Some very beautiful guitar playing by Mr. Haynes.

Their record company spent slightly more money on this disc package, as it has a 14 page booklet filled mostly with photos and artwork, two pages of liner notes, but still no lyrics.

Over-all, another good album by Gov't Mule, and worthwhile for any fan to check out. Recommended.

WITH THIS THEIR SECOND STUDIO RELEASE, GOV'T MULE TAKES IT'S HEAVY BLUES ROCK TO A NEW LEVEL. WHILE MULE'S FIRST RELEASE HAD A LIVE FEEL TO IT, THIS ONE IS MORE OF A STUDIO ALBUM THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO TAKE CHANCES WITH. GREAT SONGS AND GREAT PLAYERS. WARREN HAYNES, ALLEN WOODY AND MATT ABTS ARE IN TOP FORM ON THIS ALBUM. IF YOU WANT GREAT BLUES ROCK WITH TOP NOTCH PLAYING, THIS IS THE CD TO GET.

I enjoyed this jam band Gov't Mule, with their third album under way they split the airway for pre-existing three piece bands such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Cream. This is a blues rock jam band that really symbolizes good music, which is really live music in the studio. All of the songs carry on to some extent from the beggining notes to Blind Man in the Dark, to I Shall Return this is considered to be one of the least favorite Gov't Mule albums. This is the first Gov't Mule album I bought so I was not sure what to expect but from what I heard I believe this deserves 4 stars none more none the less. If you really want to dig deep into the band Gov't Mule check out their entire catalog and then you can be the judge on the band since im not the most experienced on this band!

Government Mule continue their winning ways on DOSE, further refining their blend of the classic Allman Brothers Band sound with that of such power trios as Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Montrose, the Jeff Beck Group, Free, Mountain, and ZZ Top. There's even a Beatles cover with "She Said, She Said", as well as some more exotic instrumentation and an added jazz influence. The only problem is that the sound on my copy kept fading in and out. I don't know whether or not that was intentional. However, that shouldn't dissuade you from buying this album, for it is a wonderful piece of work.