Description: Heavy Load Blues by Gov't Mule [CD] Track Listing: 1 Blues Before Sunrise 2 Hole in My Soul 3 Wake Up Dead 4 Love Is a Mean Old World 5 Snatch It Back and Hold It / Hold It Back / Snatch It Back and Hold It [Medley] 6 Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City 7 (Brother Bill) Last Clean Shirt 8 Make It Rain 9 Heavy Load 10 Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home 11 If Heartaches Were Nickels 12 I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline) 13 Black Horizon HEAVY LOAD BLUES. "Woke up singing a dead man's song..." is the opening line from the Warren Haynes original "Heavy Load," a line of imagery that feels like the beginning of dirt. Blues. On this album, the iconic American band puts their unique musical stamp on an incredible collection of Blues covers and originals. Haynes, the leader of Gov't Mule, hails from a Southern rock tradition of scruffy virtuosity. Gov't Mule is Warren's show, and the Blues is the informing foundation, personal and universal. --- Since releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, Gov't Mule have remained close to their trademark bluesy hard rock roots. While they cover classic blues tunes regularly, they apply that musical signature. Heavy Load Blues marks the first time the quartet have recorded an album devoted strictly to blues. They cut it in one small room in a New England studio standing very close to one another -- without headphones -- using small vintage amplifiers. The band played stripped-down blues live from the studio floor; the few overdubs were added later. The 13-song standard version of the set offers six excellent Warren Haynes originals alongside covers by masters such as Ann Peebles, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and others. Haynes co-produced the set with John Paterno. Gov't Mule's approach is exemplified in their reading of Junior Wells' "Snatch It Back and Hold It"; they inserted a spontaneous jam called "Hold It Back" into the middle without rehearsing it (Matt Abts' drumming is stellar). Leroy Carr's "Blues Before Sunrise" walks a line between the composer's strolling piano version (Danny Louis shines), John Lee Hooker's boogie read, and Muddy Waters' house-rocking Chicago blues take. Bland's "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" is slow, steamy, and downhearted, with glorious bass work from Jorgen Carlson and a swelling B-3. Haynes' singing -- buoyed by his biting guitar through the turnarounds -- has never sounded better. Tom Waits' "Make It Rain" is sinister, broken, and lost. The distorted guitar and basslines edge into a filthy Wurlitzer, then swirl around the lyric with venomous intent. Gov't Mule have performed Ann Peebles' "I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home" live before, but not like this. It delivers funky organ and bass work as Haynes adds delightfully rhythmic phrasing in his leads. The guitarist's "If Heartaches Were Nickels" has been recorded by Joe Bonamassa, Charles Wilson, and Dudley Taft, but this smoldering version is unparalleled due to Hayne' masterful playing and deeply emotional vocal delivery. Howlin Wolf's "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)" is raucous, angry, and deep, deep blue; throughout it, Gov't Mule channel Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys with great success. The title track is a slow, unaccompanied resonant acoustic blues done in vintage Delta style, while "Black Horizon" recalls Mississippi Fred McDowell's slide approach to gospel blues, complete with a testifying backing chorus. Heavy Load Blues is raw, heavy, and immediate, the sound of a band unfettered while pursuing a deep blue groove that never quits. ~ Thom Jurek, AllMusic Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE
Price: 20.95 USD
Location: Tarzana, California
End Time: 2024-12-05T03:39:41.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Artist: Gov't Mule
Record Label: Fantasy
Release Title: Heavy Load Blues
Case Type: Gatefold Jacket
Custom Bundle: No
Type: Album
Format: CD
Language: English
Producer: John Paterno, Warren Haynes
Release Year: 2021
Style: Blues Rock, Electric Blues, Jam Bands, Modern Acoustic Blues, Modern Electric Blues
Features: Sealed
Genre: Blues