Live : With A Little Help From Our Friends

Gov't Mule is almost single-handedly bringing back the spirit of the '60s and '70s power trios, the same kind of rock & roll magic that made Jimi Hendrix and Cream such musical icons. With this two-CD set, Gov't Mule once again breaks the rules by recording both their second release and their fourth record live in concert. But hey, that's OK for Warren Haynes, Matt Abts and Allen Woody because they are, after all, Gov't Mule. This show was recorded on New Year's Eve, 1998, at the Roxy in Atlanta, GA, and documents the band in peak form, from the power charged vocals and lead guitar of Warren Haynes, to Abts' freight train drumming and Woody's thunder driven bass. On any given night, Gov't Mule alone can rock your socks off, but on this magical evening, the band was joined by some real brothers of the road -- the Allman Brothers, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton; sideman Chuck Leavell was there, along with Parliament's Bernie Worrell, former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, Aquarium Rescue Unit's Jimmy Herring, Randall Bramblett, newly appointed Allman Brothers' bandmember, Derek Trucks and Yonrico Scott, the drummer from the Derek Trucks Band. Talk about a stage full of talent. The set kicks off with a pair of Gov't Mule originals, "Thorazine Shuffle" and "Dolhineus," before counting down the New Year clock and launching into an unexpected but amazing rendition of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs." Next comes a guitar rocking take on Steve Marriott's "30 Days in the Hole" followed by Paul Rogers' "Mr. Big," featuring Marc Ford on guitar, followed by the blues laced "Look Over Yonder," with some ultra fine piano work from Leavell. Haynes and the boys keep up the momentum by bringing out Worrell and Trucks, in addition to Leavell, to perform the Haynes-penned Allman Brothers favorite, "Soulshine." Disc one closes with a hard rocking "Mule," featuring Worrell again on organ, and incorporating a segment of Van Morrison's "I've Been Working." Dave Mason's "Sad and Deep as You" is given the Gov't Mule treatment to begin disc two, with Leavell's and Bramblett's sax enhancing the sound just that much more, and Herring and Worrell sit in on Haynes' "Devil Likes It Slow." Next comes yet another surprise for 1999, a dramatic reading of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," leading up to the closing all-star jam of "Afro Blue." "Live" clocks in at about two-and-one-half hours, so there's no doubt you are getting much more bang for your buck, but it's not the quantity of the music that is important here, it's the quality, and believe you me, you won't find more quality rock & roll and blues anywhere. [Live...With a Little Help from Our Friends was also released as a limited-edition four-disc set, including video footage.] ~ Michael B. Smith