Gov't Mule

Double album is first release in four years and features ELVIS COSTELLO, DR. JOHN, BEN HARPER, TOOTS HIBBERT, GLENN HUGHES, JIM JAMES, MYLES KENNEDY, DAVE MATTHEWS, GRACE POTTER, VINTAGE TROUBLE'S TY TAYLOR AND STEVE WINWOOD



Few bands have a reputation for making music as consistently honest, organic and daring as Gov't Mule. Now the enduring group fronted by visionary singer-guitarist Warren Haynes returns with their first album in four years - their Blue Note Records debut Shout!, a breath-taking, exploratory double-disc set to be released on September 24.



"This album puts a spotlight on the songs and the way that we interpret them, which hinges on the unique chemistry we've developed as a band," explains Haynes, who along with Mule co-founder and drummer Matt Abts, multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis and bassist Jorgen Carlsson charted Shout!'s adventurous contours.



Shout!'s second disc shines a beam on a guest list of famed interpreters Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Ben Harper, Toots Hibbert, Glenn Hughes, Jim James, Myles Kennedy, Dave Matthews, Grace Potter, Vintage Trouble's Ty Taylor and Steve Winwood, who each delivered an alternate vocal performance of one of the first disc's new Gov't Mule tunes.

"No one's done this before, which is exciting," says Haynes, "but it's even more exciting actually listening to these artists sing our songs. Their performances bring new ideas, energy and sometimes even different meanings to every number."

Plus Shout! offers some of the most extraordinary playing in Gov't Mule's rich, sonically colorful history. And the album's incredible scope ranges from the suite-like epic "Bring On The Music" to the snarling punk rock anthem "Funny Little Tragedy" to the soul-reggae testifier "Scared To Live."



The inventive and incendiary musical performances throughout both discs spring from the jazz-like philosophy and creative language the Mule's members have developed together. They're the rare rock ‘n' roll group with an improvisational heartbeat, which allows all four musicians to expand on the songs' themes in non-formulaic ways. That quality distinguishes the finest jazz, blues and rock recordings of the '50s and '60s, but is largely absent in modern music.

On Shout! it's audible from the ground up - starting with the Technicolor propulsion of the Abts-Carlsson rhythm section. Their flexible interplay in the studio and on stage, where both musicians amp up their already aggressive, freewheeling approach to providing the sonic foundation of the band, is essential to Gov't Mule's reputation as a living, breathing ensemble. Drummer Abts has the courage and the chops to extrapolate with the other band members, pushing, pulling and accenting his rhythms as each performance evolves. And while Carlsson's bass always keeps its essential snarl, he's among the few players in modern rock that varies his tone and approach to best serve each song.