High & Mighty

Gov't Mule | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 22, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ATO Records
• ASIN: B000GPIPW4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,568 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mr. High & Mighty

2. Brand New Angel

3. So Weak, So Strong

4. Streamline Woman

5. Child of the Earth

6. Like Flies

7. Unring the Bell

8. Nothing Again

9. Million Miles from Yesterday

10. Brighter Days

11. Endless Parade

12. 3 String George [*]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's invigorating to hear such a wide disparity between the music of Gov't Mule and the trusty blues/Southern rock of guitarist Warren Haynes's other full-time project, the Allman Brothers Band. Rooted firmly in the '70s riff-based power assault of bands such as Free, Mountain, and Humble Pie, with Haynes's gruff yet soulful vocals front and center, the Mule plow through 72 minutes of meat-and-potatoes, tougher-than-leather rock with the determination of their ornery moniker. The opening thump of "Mr. High & Mighty" will quickly separate the men from the boys as the band charges into one of their most potent and pointed tracks, helped enormously by Danny Louris's sinister organ fills. The disc continues with muscular material such as "Like Flies," "Streamline Woman," and the cowbell-driven "Brand-New Angel," that keep the thudding-guitar-and-drums attack at a high boil. Haynes borrows a page from Allmans co-lead guitarist Derek Trucks in the slide-powered worldbeat intro to "Brighter Days," but then it's back to business as the song transforms into a Jeff Beck Group-styled pile-driving scorcher. Things simmer down slightly for the sinuous reggae of "Unring the Bell," a few brawny ballads like "Child of the Earth," and the closing funk of the album's only instrumental, "3-String George," on which the Mule tap into an entirely credible Booker T. & the MG's vibe. The average tune is over five minutes, with the lovely yet cautionary "Endless Parade" clocking in at nearly twice that, but don't look for winding jams here. Rather, Gov't Mule have crafted their most dense and representative album yet, filled with steely licks and explosive melodies you'll be playing air guitar to after the first listen. --Hal Horowitz

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kicks Like A Mule!!!, September 5, 2006

By 

dougrhon "dougrhon" - See all my reviews

This review is from: High & Mighty (Audio CD)

This is a tremendous album. Few would argue that Warren Haynes is not among the most talented musicians of this generation. His career has been a constant search for material to match the level of his enormous talent. I have enjoyed all the Mule albums as well as the band live. I have enjoyed Warren's work with the Allman Brothers Band and his solo LP Tales of Ordinary Madness. I love this album. After all these years, Warren and the Mule have found the sound they are looking for. Mule is not really a jam band even though they are classified with that genre and they play lengthy jams. So there is no reason they should not sound great in the studio and here they do. The songs vary enormously, from the hard hard rock of Mr. High and Mighty and Streamline Woman, to the down and dirty riffing and nasty vocal of Brand New Angel, to the soulful melodic A Million Miles From Yesterday, the whole album is a work of art that improves with each listen. Because as you get accustomed to the songs you begin to appreciate the little things, the subtlety of Haynes' slide licks, the perfect timing of Danny Louis' organ fills, the precision of Matt Abts drumming and Andy Hess's subtle yet driving bass. Most of all, you come to appreciate Haynes as a singer, which is a part of his package that is highly underrated. Some fans of early Mule don't like the new sound that the band has developed over the past several years but my feeling is that if Allen Woody were alive, things would have evolved similarly. Warren has said that Woody was pushing to add a keyboardist for a fuller sound.

The thing about High and Mighty and the Mule in general is that it brings you back to what was truly great about driving blues rock before it got taken over by the hair bands and the Journeys and Bon Jovi's. This is rock and roll that is reminiscent of the past but never imitative and not revisionist. Rock on Mule!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh... Wow!, September 15, 2006

By 

Ian Smith (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High & Mighty (Audio CD)

Count me in as one of those "old school" Mule fans (I was present for the recording of "Live... With A Little Help From Our Friends" and have been to at least one tour appearance for every Mule album) who thought that "Deja Voodoo" wasn't very good. It just couldn't stand up to the ragged emotion that soaked every second of "The Deep End." I was really worried that the new lineup just wasn't going to cut it.

I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

This CD is, quite frankly, amazing. I can easily see it moving into position as my second favorite Mule studio album, after "Life Before Insanity." It sounds to me like the new lineup has finally synthesized all of their different influences and the different styles (from hard rock to reggae to funk) all blend seamlessly into a towering wall of gritty southern blues rock. With the sole exception of "Unring the Bell," which just doesn't jive with me for some reason, every track on here falls into a pure Mule groove.

In addition, this is the strongest songwriting effort from Warren Haynes since "Life Before Insanity." He has always been at his strongest as a blues songwriter when wrestling with his own melancholy, depression and the disparate situations of the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor. Here he's channeling that rage and social conscience more effectively than he has for years, showcasing both his songwriting and phenomenal vocal talent (see especially "Nothing Again" and "Endless Parade").

Every hardcore Mule fan knows, however, that the live shows are where it's at with this band. Rest assured, these songs will DESTROY in a live setting. I had been down on seeing them again after "Deja Voodoo," but there is no question that I will see them at the first opportunity now.

Bottom Line: Praise the gods of Southern Rock and the Blues, the Mule is BACK.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Changing Mule: Ripening with Age, September 1, 2006

By 

Lute Man "PD Picker" (Knoxville, Tenn.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High & Mighty (Audio CD)

Some Mule fans have not taken completely to this new offering, but I have found this recording to be one the group's best efforts yet. We shouldn't expect artists to stay the same; they should experiment, grow, but maybe not stray too far from their roots. High & Mighty shows a Mule that is doing this successfully. The songs show depth and polish. There is good variety: Ethereal, worldbeat sounds, gospel-tinged blues rock, thundering rhythm, funk and R&B. None of it is contrived or derivative. Govt Mule is true to its roots. But like the best wine, the group is aging well. Haynes sounds world-weary at times. Let's hope he continues to find inspiration and keep Govt Mule one of the best, toughest, most honest bands around.