By a Thread

Warren Haynes is the hardest working guitar player in show business. He plays with The Dead and the Allman Brothers Band, guests with tons of other acts, but first and foremost he is the leader of Gov't Mule, the blues rock power house on a never ending tour. It's been three years since their last studio album and they have yet another new bass player, Jorgen Carlsson who has made an immediate rapport with founding Mule member drummer Matt Abts. Multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis claims more of the spotlights than on the previous album High and Mighty, but it is sunburst six string and vocals of Warren Haynes that propel the new songs into orbit. Gov't Mule is a blues rock band that comes into his own on stage. Carpturing the live vibe on tape is a hard thing to do, but with By A Thread they come pretty close. Recording at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio in the Texas Hill Country, the band revisits their past with the hard-hitting opener Broke Down On The Brazos, with Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) riding shotgun on guitar. Jorgen Carlsson attacks his bass like original, and much lamented, Alan Woody, used to do. Steppin' Lightly has the mid-period Led Zeppelin grumbles an dtumbles and slides into the sole cover, the traditional Railroad Boy. Danny Louis adds meandering keyboard parts to the slow Monday Mourning Meltdown and a church like organ for Gordon James. With Any Open Window the hard hitting blues is back in force before dipping into Steve Winwood-isms for Frozen Fear and the acoustic breather Forever More. A track well placed in the running order of the album, because the big one is next. Inside Outside Woman Blues #3 is the longest track and it can easily grow into a fifteen minute plus live monster with the wah-wah pedal pushed to the floor - don't be surprised if some Hendrix' teases will find their way in along the way. The final two tracks, Scenes From A Troubled Mind and World Wake Up feature the Mule's previous bass player Andy Hess on bass, and his more melodic approach brings the album to a close, wrapping the listener in a comfortable blanket.