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

Album Reviews

Warren Haynes, rock's most valuable player, must have to check his calendar to figure out which band he's in on any given day. If it's Tuesday, it must be the Dead or the Allman Brothers Band (or both). That's both remarkable and -- from the enervated sounds of Deja Voodoo -- a little problematic. Voodoo is slow-burning Southern bar-band music with an angry, haunted edge. There are just two up-tempo rockers -- "Slackjaw Jezebel" and "Mr. Man" -- as Haynes lets most of the songs find their own spooky, churning groove. "About to Rage" is a cogent political diatribe, and the eleven-minute centerpiece, "Silent Scream," contains truly searing guitar solos. Yet for all its intensity, the album lacks some essential spark -- and it sometimes sounds like the hardest-working man in show business needs a break.