By David O’Neill
Having been a self-confessed “surn rawk” fan for many years the opportunity to do a review on the archetypal band of the genre was too easy a choice. Anyone who knows anything about this genre would hold Gov’t Mule up there with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and any of the other super groups of the style.
This is a 2CD/2DVD collection of two concerts recorded in the Capitol Theatre New York. What’s best about it is that the band have a 25-year back catalogue that enables them to have two almost completely different sets. The band have a unique ability to just jam which results in two unique experiences that Mule fans have come to expect of the last quarter of a century.
Opening up with ‘Travelling Tune’ and ‘Railroad Boy’ gets you straight on the Mule train to Mountain Jam. What I like about the style is the laidback Sunday morning feeling you get from listening to any of the tracks -even the more upbeat ones. This is in part from the gruff vocals to the blues infused instrumentation, but it’s mostly from the superb sound of the Hammond keyboard played by Danny Louis. From listening to this you can hear the influences on other bands such as King King and Kris Barras, who use the Hammond to such equal effect. It takes me back to the late great Jon Lord of Deep Purple: it is just one of those instruments you cannot ignore.
That’s not to say the rest of the band are tardy musicians… they certainly are not. With only two tracks coming in under three minutes (and that’s the two parts of ‘Travelling Tune’!), this is more than two hours of musical auditory heaven from beginning to end.
I am not going to write any more than this because there is nothing to be gained by it. I’m just gonna sit back on Father’s Day (when this review was written) and give my ears an auditory orgasm. Superb! Superb! Probably gonna be my album of the year. Now, where can I order it?
- ‘Bring On The Music – Live At The Capitol Theatre’ is released on 28 June. You can get your copy HERE.
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