Gov't Mule: Gov't Mule : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Simply put, Gov't Mule -- featuring guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody of the Allman Brothers -- is the most exciting major-group offshoot since Hot Tuna evolved out of Jefferson Airplane in the early '70s. Taking a further cue from the glory days of the power trio, the Mule kick with punishing metal force. Woody and drummer Matt Abts hammer out a bottom-heavy platform from which Haynes can grandstand.

As formidable as Haynes is with the Allman Brothers Band, he soars in this sparser setting. He pits an astonishing slide solo against John Popper's guest harmonica on "Mule" and then bridges the not-too-distant gap between Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis on the modal jam "Trane." Gov't Mule gallop through a gamut of power-trio tropes from the steel-spinning ecstasy of Cream to the otherworldly effects of ZZ Top, from the light-heavy dichotomy of Led Zeppelin to the sonic taffy pull of Mountain. All the while, Haynes focuses these elements through his own distinct personality -- the true mark of