A few songs into Gov’t Mule’s High &Mighty and you're sure that all the necessities are there. Warren Haynes's gift for provocative imagery is front and center, as he excels with abstract metaphor, allegory, and political barb alike. One of Haynes’s favorite themes continues to be derailed potential--the all-too-human tragedy of what happened to his fallen cohort Allen Woody and so many other great musicians before him.
As such, we share the sorrow of characters like the one in the trodden "Nothing Again," whose fate recalls previous Haynesian falling stars like the ones in prior Mule triumphs - "The Real Thing" and "Little Toy Brain." But other classic Haynes’ archetypes are delivered with little of their usual gusto, namely "Streamline Woman." The lyrics-"Streamline woman, let me be good to you," are offered with little reward, and come far beneath Haynes' usually potent portraiture.
"Mr. High and Mighty" does the band better with meaty power chords and a pummeling, 70’s feel you'd attach to Sabbath or even Van Halen. "Unring the Bell," Mule's first serious foray into reggae, bounces joyfully and wraps some crisp commentary around rootsy minor chords and wah-wah delights. "Endless Parade" is the best new Mule song since "New World Blues," and is similarly a dichotomy of pointed, even stark empiricism and face-scorching guitar flights.
"Brighter Days" ties the many Mule colors together: some international flavors to enhance those cobweb-clearing blues tones, and a spicy aftertaste as guitar and keyboard clash. And "A Million Miles >From Yesterday," replete with female backing vocals, a soaring chorus, and brilliant organ flourishes from Danny Louis, traps under you like the classic "Soulshine.”
High and Mighty concludes with a bonus track: a knotty, Booker T &the MGs-style instrumental called "3-String George." Funky and delicious, it's a reminder of the days when the Mule used to let its acid jazz jones run wild and free, and turn out heady workouts like "Thelonious Beck," "Trane," "Sco-Mule" and "Devil Likes It Slow.”
