Gov't Mule's The Tel-Star Sessions

During their stint with the Allman Brothers Band, guitarist Warren Haynes & bassist Allen Woody started a side project known as Gov't Mule.  Warren recruited drummer Abts after playing together in the Dickey Betts Band.  While this band started as a side project, they quickly discovered that there was a unmistakable chemistry between the three musicians.  The Tel-Star sessions is the first ever, never before released recording of the band.  This recording captures this group in their rawest form.  While some of us Mule hard-cores have had a bootleg of these recordings in our woodshed, we have not had the opportunity to hear it in this pure format.

This album starts off with "Blind Man in the Dark", which is a song that blends the musical influences of rock, jazz, funk, & R&B.  There isn't a song in Mule's repertoire that is more appropriate for a opener/encore of a show than this one.  Over the years the band has incorporated Frank Zappa's "Pygmy Twylyte" as a prelude to this song.  It carries an instrumental dark undertone before launching into this heavy number.  "Rocking Horse" is the second number that comes up on the album.  It contains one of my favorite lyrics in Gov't Mule's arsenal, "My guardian angel wears a hard hat said the boy with the microphone".  This tune was written while the guys were staying at Big House in Macon, Georgia and the Allman Brothers Band played it for years.  "Rocking Horse" on this album is in it's earliest form, and while you don't see it on many Mule set lists nowadays, I wish the band couldn't "leave it alone".  

Next up, is the rocker "Monkey Hill".  I'll leave this up to your imagination of what the song is about as it includes lyrics like, "between the buildings and the alleyways, that's where the living is done, where the young boys chase the dragon, that's where flesh and steel are one".  Back in the 90s, Warren uses a microphone component, that is perfect for making his voice sound like he takes a trip into the oblivion of drug addiction. In these early days of Gov't Mule, the trio was as heavy as it gets. The three members had a tendency to push each other and they would be completely in sync, knowing exactly where the other one was going to go musically.  

"Mr. Big" is the next song on the album. It is a greasy version of the band Free's "Mr. Big" that was written by Paul Rodgers & Andy Fraser.  With songs like this, you get a feeling of just where the band was musically with each member contributing equally in their respective roles.  Allen Woody's parts on this song are so heavy, he almost sounds like he's playing the lead on bass.  His style on the bass was like no other out there and this album highlights his ability as a musician throughout.  "The Same Thing" follows next on the album.  It was written by Willie Dixon, known as "the poet laureate of the blues".  I believe some of you might know some of this greats other songs that have been covered out there on the jam band scene.  These include "Spoonful", "Wang Dang Doodle", "Bring It On Home", "Weak Brain/Narrow Mind", and "Hoochie Coochie Man", just to name a few.  "The Same Thing" is another tune that found its way into the Allman Brothers set list.  While this song was played pretty heavy during the early years of 1994-1997, it has been shelved for some time now.  The next tune, "Mother Earth" originally was a slow twelve-bar blues song written by Memphis Slim back in 1951.  It was reconstructed into this heavy blues number by Haynes, Woody, & Abts.  It is is one of the good, old school Mule songs that still finds its way into set list with the current lineup.  

The next thing you hear on The Tel-Star Sessions is Bud Snyder's voice in the background saying "tapes rolling" as the bands kicks into overdrive with this beefed up version of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid".  As a Mule fan through and through, I feel that the placement of this song couldn't be more appropriate.  Right in the middle of the album, the band launches into this raw, loud version of it.  It's hard not to say that this is a highlight of the album, but I think the entire album is unbelievable.  While the band's first self titled album is a great album, this live one captures just how Gov't Mule were firing on all cylinders in 1994.  While the 1990s were great to the Allman Brothers Band musically, after hearing this Tel-Star Sessions album, one can understand why Haynes and Woody went on to see just where this band could go.  

"Left Coast Groovies" was written in honor of the late great Frank Zappa and was the first song that was written by the three original members.  It is a tune where the band asks for the audience help to contribute vocally, way before they did on songs like "Don't Step On The Grass, Sam" and "Lay Your Burden Down".  I for one, feel that Allen Woody and his talent as a musician have been hard to replace when the bass needs to come in as heavy as ever.  "World of Difference" closes the album with two different mixes.  This tune, written by Warren Haynes, is a bluesy number that carries such a serious message.  This song would appear in the set list in the early years of Gov't Mule from 1994-1996, but after the New Years show at the Wetlands in New York, it hasn't been seen in the set list much at all and is the only song that I have never heard live.

When I first heard The Tel-Star Sessions album was going to be released,  I had to have it on vinyl.  The album catches Gov't Mule in it's rawest form in the early days and this live performance captures the band in its element.  Gov't Mule is the heaviest, greasiest band in the land. I am proud to be a lifetime, hard core Mule fan and have seen them so many different times through so many various lenses. I cannot wait to see what their work in the studio this month develops into for a new album release.  In the meantime, if you haven't ordered this archival album yet, you owe it to yourself to grab it now. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

The Tel-Star Sessions Track Listing:

1. Blind Man In The Dark

2. Rocking Horse

3. Monkey Hill

4. Mr. Big

5. The Same Thing

6. Mother Earth

7. Just Got Paid

8. Left Coast Groovies

9. World Of Difference

10. Bonus Track: World Of Difference (Alternate Version/Original Mix)

Who was Blue Floyd?

For us at Drifter Merch, we love to pay our respects to some of our favorite artists and bands out there on the scene.  For me, I wanted to feature one of the best side projects that have graced the stage.  With that being said, Blue Floyd was the obvious choice! 

Blue Floyd was a conglomeration of players from other big bands that you definitely know. Forming a traditional blues lineup, the band consisted of Allen Woody (guitar) and Matt Abts (drums) from Gov't Mule, Marc Ford (guitar) from the Black Crowes, Barry Oakley Jr. (bass), and Johnny Neel (keys) from the Allman Brothers Band.  Allen Woody once said that the concept came from Michael Gaiman of Jazz is Dead.  Gaiman called Woody to let him know that he wanted to put together a blues band to play tribute to Pink Floyd music. Seeming like an obvious choice, Gaiman already had son of Allman Brothers founding member Oakley on board along with Abts, Ford, and Neel who Woody stated would " take them to church". Woody goes on to say, "Pink Floyd's material is so timeless".  Dark Side of the Moon spent a total of 917 charted weeks on the Billboard 200.  The album, which was released in 1973 and spent a week at No. 1, continued to chart mostly on a regular basis through 1988.  "Everyone had their coming of age time with their experience with Pink Floyd," said Marc Ford.  "We've heard this band's music for so long.  Pink Floyd is a perfect band and I remember when this music had all the answers for me."  He continues, "When you break it down, it's really just a spaced out blues band and we're just putting a little more blue in the ink."  "I view this as a real tribute." adds Woody. "We all have a tip of the hat to Pink Floyd, respect their music and enjoy it. We really just wanted to put a different spin on it."

My perception is that these reworked Pink Floyd tunes get such marvelous treatment, that the result is just sheer jam and fusion bliss!  Not too many folks out there even knew that Allen Woody could shred the guitar like he does in this group.  With another extraordinary player like Marc Ford on the guitar, the two are a perfect concoction for any exploratory jam sequence. Vocals are peppered by almost every member in the band. It was during the jam sessions that the members organically figured out who was going to contribute vocally.  Berry Oakley Jr.'s style and approach to these jams are nothing short of spontaneous and world class.  As an avid Mule fan, I've been aware of Matt Abts technique for some time now.  He is such a force behind the Mule and I'm guessing the band nicknamed him "Stain" because he leaves a lasting impression on all of us as fans.  During the stint of Blue Floyd's existence, other mind-bending guitarists such as Jimmy Herring, Jeff Pever, Audley Freed, & Alvin Youngblood Hart sat in and jammed with the band.  If you weren't able to catch this incredible act in the early 2000s, don't fret. That's the beautiful thing about music, it lives on forever!

Blue Floyd 02-12-2000
Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA

Taking a Look into the Allman Brothers 2nd Set Album

The Allman Brothers has always been one of my favorite bands. Recently, I came across 2nd Set and had to get it on vinyl. Produced by Tom Dowd, this album was the Allman Brothers Band's fifth live release in 25 years. It was recorded during 1994 at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC and the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey with track five in 1992 at R&R Club in Los Angeles, CA. This hot album portrays this lineup at the band's highest point in the 90s, and shows how they were hitting on on cylinders.

I completely agree with Rolling Stone magazine's reviewer John Swenson when he said, "The Allman Brothers Band live on because live performance is what they're about. The call of the road and the thrill of collective improvisation are the animating forces behind this rock institution, ever since 1971's live At Fillmore East confirmed their reputation and provided their commercial breakthrough."

Writer Marc Greilsamer states, "Old-timers might cry blasphemy, but the band's resurgence in the early 1990s came remarkably close to recapturing the glory of their seemingly insurmountable peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With five years in the band under his belt, slide guitarist Warren Haynes had truly come into his own, magically interacting with Dickey Betts and serving up scorching leads that might have made even Duane look twice."

Swenson goes on to say, "2nd Set, the sequel to the 1992 concert disc An Evening With ..., documents the miraculous revivification the Allman Brothers have undergone since reconvening in 1989. They've survived the losses of guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley more than 20 years ago, not to mention a few lost years in between. In fact, they've managed to retain and refine their musical identity. The continuity is provided by the seemingly indestructible core of Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts. These men have endured the ravages of rock & roll and emerged strengthened, with the kind of world-wary depth and wisdom that informed most of the great blues musicians." 

Both reviewers were dead on. Take a look at the tracks below and then listen for yourself. You will not be disappointed. 

1. "Sailin' 'Cross the Devil's Sea" (Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Allen Woody, Jack Pearson) – 4:49

2. "You Don't Love Me" (Willie Cobbs) – 6:36

3. "Soulshine" (Warren Haynes) – 6:42

4. "Back Where It All Begins" (Dickey Betts) – 12:32

5. "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" (Dickey Betts) – 10:15

6. "The Same Thing" (Willie Dixon) – 8:22

7. "No One to Run With" (Dickey Betts, John Prestia) – 6:29

8. "Jessica" (Dickey Betts) – 16:09