By a Thread - Gov't Mule

Gov’t Mule blow it out again with their new release ‘By a Thread.’ Spanning all sorts of fantastic rock amalgamations such as blues , country , and classic(even the acoustic ballad), By a Thread adds a wonderful mix of tunes to Mule’s repertoire.

‘Broke Down on the Brazos’ features a special guest, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. You can feel Mule’s bluesy rock-out clashing with Billy’s awesome playing and creating some wonderful music. The song chugs along, with intermittent solos and jamming, to fade out in the end, giving way to Steppin’ Lightly, another high powered number. ‘Steppin’ Lightly’ starts out pretty loudly, but proceeds to get a little funky through the verse. The chorus also totally blows it out in an unexpected chord progression that varies so much from the rest of the song it could be a totally different track, but Mule is skilled and creative enough to pull it off brilliantly. ‘Steppin’ Lightly’ is also equipped with a false ending about two minutes out, that gives way to a fantastic guitar solo.
‘Railroad Boy’ tones it down a bit to start, but after the introduction regains massive energy. The guitar bit in the beginning accompanied by Warren Haynes’ vocals is hauntingly perfect for this traditional folk song, but when the whole band comes in, the flavor of Gov’t Mule takes effect and does a fine job. The middle of the song gives way to a powerful jam, including awesome slide guitar and keyboards, taking total advantage of the space these traditional folk songs provide for a fun jam. The song drags out with some eerie keyboard sounds and gives way to a delayed and highly effects driven guitar to start ‘Monday Mourning Meltdown.’
‘Monday Mourning Meltdown’ really does seem to illustrate its namesake in the music. The soul and emotion contained in this song are oozing over the top. The entire song escalates to the keyboard and guitar solo at the end, which is followed by a yet again haunting Warren chanting ‘How do you like me now that I’m not around.’
‘Gordon James’ goes into a totally different direction than the previous songs, with a light organ piece in the intro followed by some acoustic guitar and lyrics. The acoustic guitar continues until the entire band explodes onto the scene, working their magic. The slide guitar is superb and heartfelt, perfect for the song’s feel. ‘Gordon James’ falls out the same way it came in with some acoustic guitar and organ.
‘Any Open Window’ rocks it out right away, almost too high powered to follow ‘Gordon James,’ but still perfectly placed. The song has some lyrics but focuses heavily on guitar solos. Warren does a fantastic job (expect nothing less), and the rest of the band backs him like a brick wall.
‘Frozen Fear’ is really toned down and mellow, definitely an element of reggae music mixed in with the bluesy-rock which produces something beautiful. The song is just so positive, musically and lyrically. Warren gives some good advice in the song: “Don’t be afraid, to live your life my dear.”
‘Forevermore’ is a gorgeous love ballad. It starts out as only acoustic guitar and lyrics, and escalates into an amazing piece. Mule comes together on this one to create a fantastic love song. The lyrics totally take the foreground at points in the song, which is hard to do with the instrumentals these guys produce: “Can’t ya see, my whole world is nothing without you / I can feel the rain fall down / like tears upon my shoulders / but I can’t feel my love / she’s gone forevermore.”
‘Inside Outside Woman Blues #3’ is the heavy weight on the album, coming to nine minutes and three seconds, not a moment of which is wasted. Both musically and lyrically this song gets to the heart of the blues. The lyrics are brilliant throughout the whole composition, even hilarious at times: “At the end of the day want someone to keep him warm / somebody to keep him warm and somebody to set him on fire / Ya know what I’m talking about!?”
‘Scenes from a Troubled Mind’ is a highly structured track, a suite even, comparable to maybe an ‘Achilles Last Stand’ or ‘Terrapin Station.’ You can tell the band put a lot of work into this song. The instrumentals are key, and while it is set up very tightly, there are still fills and riffs around every corner.
‘World Wake Up’ is the final track on By a Thread. It ends the album perfectly, and inversely to how it began. The song is very mellow and has a lot of beautiful keyboard in it; Danny Louis is masterful in the creation of his tone and use of it. The song ends on an eerie note, all instruments ringing out while the song fades out.