Customer Reviews

Live with a Little Help from Our Friends

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Why did'nt I hear about this band sooner? I surf through reviews on Amazon looking for new good stuff to check out. After reading the reviews for this set, I went out and bought it. Wow. First about the sound quality. I guess they wanted to present the whole show in sequence with nothing missing, But they had a lot of problems with recording. So they spliced in audience recordings where necessary, resulting in the "concert hall echo" from time to time. They ran out of tape (?!) before the encore, resulting in the "lo-fi" Afro Blue. In the liner notes, Warren says, "no remixes, no overdubs, no apologies" or something like that. No apologies needed. I spend a lot of time and do a lot of listening in my car, which has a great system. While listening to this, I've found myself laughing, crying, and having to pull over due to bad driving, or forgetting where I am and what I'm doing (note - I've been drug and alcohol free for 10 years). It just takes me to a whole different place, where everything's ok. Enough said? This is my first review, for what that's worth. As to those that took the time to review it before me, thank you. The world is now a better place.

Some of you might call me a music freak with a collection of 2000+ CD's. I'd rather call myself a music lover. However, that's not the case here. What I think is the point is that out of all those CD's this one is my absolutely favorite! No doubt about it. If somebody asks me the classic question of having to choose one CD to take on the isolated island my old answer was "Layla and other assorted love songs". Was. Now it's this one. Give it a spin and I guarantee it'll stay in your CD-player for a long long time. The only drawback of this package is the packaging: The CD's are really hard to take out of their pockets & you have to touch the shiny CD area when you do that. That's no good at all. So I suggest you get some empty jewel cases at the same time you get this boxed set and you'll live your life "happily ever after"... =o) A [extremely] good CD!!!

I was recently compiling a short list of the great live albums of all time for a freelance piece I'm working on. "More miles than money" by Alejandro Escovedo, Townes Van Zandt's "The Highway Kind" Lyle's Lovett's "Live in Texas"... then, this neatly packaged gem comes into my grubby little hands... Of course, I knew Gov't Mule from the stunning debut record, and I'd heard "dose", but nothing prepared me for the pyrotechnics on this live set. The interplay between the musicians is as close to true empathy as you are likely to hear. This reminds me of the Coltrane quartet's classic recordings from the Village Vangaurd shows. The bluster and energy is tempered by a strong sense of structure. They know what makes great music. The scorching version of "soulshine" is a stand out, and the take of "afro blue" is easily worth the price of the set. This stands proudly beside the greatest live records of all time. The sound quality is of an audiophile level, as well (except "afro blue" which is curiously of a lower fidelity).

My highest reccomendation.

Title says it all...the Mule stands tall on the pantheon of today's rock scene. This box set just goes to show the committment Mule has to their fans. From the very unique packaging to the awesome pictures to the videos to the very cool studio outtake of Frank Zappa's Pygmy Twylyte, everything visually prepares you for an aural adventure through one of the band's greatest shows ever. Whether it is taking Robert Johnson's 32-30 Blues to a different realm, dramatically revivtalizing Neil Young's Cortez the Killer or exploding into Traffic's Sad and Deep As You, Mule shines as the keepers of the blues-rock power trio format. Anyone into rock and roll, blues, funk, or just plain old good music, check out the boys. In fact, any music fan should check this set, which contains every second of sound from NYE show '98/'99. Too cool!

Wow. I really do think this is one of the best live albums that have ever been released. I may be biased since I am already a big Gov't Mule fan, but they really outdid themselves here. As many of the other reviewers have said, get the full 4 CD version. There simply aren't bad songs on this set. Gov't Mule perform excellently as always, and the guest appearances are incredible. The interplay between musicians here is as good as I've heard, as the performers propel each other to dizzying heights. The first CD has great shorter (relatively speaking) more straightforward rock songs, and each CD that follows has longer and longer jams that really cook. Some favourites of mine are 30 Days in the Hole that will have you singing along, Soulshine with Warren and Derek Trucks soloing back and forth, Sad & Deep As You with some beautiful sax, and Cortez the Killer which is just unbelievable. That all being said, the rest of the songs are all amazing as well. If you are a fan of music, I highly recommend this set. It never leaves my CD carrying case. Oh and by the way, Allen Woody, the bassist on this record, is spectacular, even if he is relatively unknown. Listen for the bass as Woody rips it on every track. R.I.P Woody, you truly are one of the greats.

Gov't Mule is one of the best live bands out there today and this album definitely shows that. The interplay between Woody, Matt, Warren and company is fantastic. Jimmy Herring smokes on "3rd Stone from the Sun" while Marc Ford tears up the guitar on a few tracks himself. Randall Bramblett is a shining star offering his sax on a few songs that catapult you into another world. The bluesy rock driven "Look on Yonder Wall" is enough to make any party come alive. Get all 4 1/2 hours of music! Don't cheat yourself by buying the 2 disc version. Trust me, you won't regret it. This has to be one of my all-time top 3 live albums......yeah, it's that good. If you want more live Mule, check out "Live at Roseland" and the soon to be released "The Deepest End."

Gov't Mule is a trio with two former members of the Allman Brothers Band. They play a similar Southern Blues, but without the guitar duets. This is a recording from one New Year's Eve concert. A number of guest stars add depth to the music, including Derek Trucks (Butch's son), Chuck Leavell (former Allman Brothers piano player), Bernie Worrell (from Parliament/Funkadelic) and Randall Bramlett on sax. This is a fantastic CD throughout, with only a few weak numbers (the Chipmunk solo in Spanish Moon). A number of the tracks are over 15 minutes long. The 30 minute version John Coltrane's Afro Blue is incredible. The only downsides are there is too much talking between tracks and the sound has a concert hall echo quality to it in some spots.

This "boxset" comes in a spiral notebook, with a cardboard folio cover that is slightly bigger than a jewel box. There is a color picture dedicated to each song with a sentence saying something about it. The CD's are held in slip covers that are part of the spiral notebook. There is also a cloth patch you can sew on your army surplus jacket if you are a retro hippy. Besides 36 minutes of music, the fourth CD is an enhanced CD that may not work on older operating systems.

There is also a 2 CD budget version of this concert for only $18. If you buy the 4 CD Limited Edition, you are paying extra money for 100 minutes more of music, nice packaging and an enhanced CD that may work on your computer. But I strongly recommend getting the 4 CD version. Some of the tracks left off of the 2 CD version is the strongest material of the concert. Mule and Jimi Hendrix's Third Stone From the Sun, two of the best tracks, do not appear on the 2 CD version.

If you were lucky enough to be at this show, as i was, I don't need to tell you anything. But for the unfortunate souls who weren't at the show, the cd is next best thing possible! Over four hours of the best rock and roll that is out there today. Guest appearances by guitarist Marc Ford, Bernie Worrell, Chuck Leavell, Jimmy Herring, etc., I can't go on forever. Just imagine this group of some of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best songs ever recorded together in the same night...war pigs, Cortez the Killer, Third Stone From the Sun, I could go on and on! And oh yeah, some guys who go by the name The Derrick Trucks Band opened the night up with some explosive jazzy blues that would knock your socks clean off! Select members of the DTB also joined the Mule and friends on stage at certain times during the night. All in all I would have to say that it had to be one of the best shows I've been to in a long time if not ever! But like I said before, if you weren't there...you just weren't there. But you can still enjoy the sounds from that night(minus the DTB's opening). So if you want to hear some great rock and roll instead of all these tired little boy bands, this is one you'll want to purchase!

This originally came out as a 2-CD set, followed by the 4-CD "Collectors Edition." Spend the extra bucks and get the 4-CD set...it's well worth it. On recent albums Gov't Mule has moved away from cover versions in favor of more original tunes, but the band always chose their covers wisely. A perfect example is Neil Young's masterpiece from the "Zuma" album, "Cortez The Killer." It's moody and nasty and seductive and loud...the Mule does not mess with the legacy of the Horse. The same is true for Free's "Mr. Big" (also covered on the Mule's debut album), Sabbath's "War Pigs," Little Feat's "Spanish Moon," and Frank Zappa's "Pygmy Twylyte." If you have the slightest interest in this kind of music, especially when it comes to Warren Haynes and his many projects (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Dead, etc) this is as close to a guarantee of a "busting at the seams" collection of excellent tracks, played with power and passion, as you're gonna get.

the best, most incendiary group to come along in along time. this album captures the total energy put forth at one of their live shows !