By A Thread

LONG TIME MULE FAN - DISAPPOINTED
Let me just start by saying I am a long time Mule fan. I traveled the country to see them, and saw them from the early days with woody, all the way through today. I have enjoyed all of their studio albums, but obviously, they are even more incredible live. The studio albums have been great in my opinion, besides this one (By a Thread). I was anxiously anticipating what it was going to sound like, while waiting for my pre-ordered copy to arrive. Then the fact the Mule kept all the songs from being leaked before the album was released (usually they'd play sneak a few new tunes on a live set - before album release). I thought, wow they are really keeping a lid on the new songs for the album release. The album must be great.... Uh I finally got the album and, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I found one OK song I like. The rest just sounds horrible in my opinion. It sounds like Mule at a wedding or something (I know it's a bad analogy - but really, I don't like it at ALL). I'm sorry but the Mule really disappointed me on this one, along with countless of my Mule Fan friends (who are also at most of the shows). I'm hearing allot of complaints of the live shows - that they are playing too much of the new album. The old hardcore Fans don't like it and can't wait for Mule to bust older stuff during the current live shows... Warren, please do us a favor and keep a lid on this new material..... Sorry! I'm just being honest.

Very Disappointed
I waited for this cd more than any other release by The Mule just because they kept saying Danny was going to be playing more guitar on this one. But after one listen I thought it was the worse Mule cd i have heard but i thought maybe if I listened to it a couple more times something might happen. Nothing ever happened it is just a lame recording. Warren doesn't play anything good as far as I can hear. It sounds much more like The grateful Dead than Government Mule. I am glad I heard it before I bought tickets to see them because I would have been pissed tp pay money to hear them play any of these songs. Thank god for all the mule recordings before this. And as far as Bass players I think andy is/was much better than this new guy. Sorry to say it but I think the new cd is a waste of time and money.

The Mule is back at it
Before I started to write this review, I briefly looked over some of the things that have been said in some of the recent reviews to try to provide myself a sense of perspective. Like a number of the reviewers that I read, when I first listened to Gov't Mule's new CD I felt a little underwhelmed but that sense went away pretty quickly for me... a little more and a little faster with each listening of the CD. Like almost every CD that you could possibly name (with a few notable exceptions), I think that this one has its strong moments and its weak moments but as I sit here trying to decide what I will tell you I believe the strongest moments are, I find myself at a loss to really put them into that kind of order. I mean, is the funky addictive rhythm of "Broke Down on the Brazos" stronger than the catchy riffs of "Stepping Lightly" or "Any Open Window"? Is the wonderful traditional sound of "Railroad Boy" stronger than the tongue-in-cheek lyrical fun of "Inside Outside Woman Blues #3"? Those are hard, hard questions for me to answer. And even what I consider to be "weak moments" -- "Monday Mourning Meltdown" and "World Wake Up" primarily -- have elements or moments in them that make them worth listening to at least once. But that is only two tracks out of eleven that I consider "weak" and by anyone's accounting, that is not bad at all. The Mule's sound is a little different in this CD than in previous efforts but not only do I consider that to be a good thing, I am out of my seat giving the band a standing ovation. I mean, think about it: do you want every CD from a band that you really love to sound like every CD that they have ever done? No. And the reason that you don't want that (at least the reason that _I_ don't) is because differences in sound and style mean that that band is growing and finding new ways to express themselves. And THAT means that there are hopefully many more new CDs in that band's future. So to you Mule fans who haven't listened to By A Thread yet and to those of you who gave up on it after a listen or two: give it a chance and I think you will really like what is happening in it. To the guys in the band itself: thanks for making another wonderful and inspiring CD. Keep making 'em. We're still listeing.

No soul
I love GM, but not this CD. To me, it is forced, contrived, boring, and worst of all, derivative. Oh where is the soul of Deep End? Slow down, Warren, too much work is making you a dull boy.

Why so slick?
First, I want to emphasize how strong a "Mule" fan that I am. Since their first self-titled disc, I have been captivated. Also, I am a sucker for honest music with high integrity; something which Govt Mule creates in abundance. I only have one objection, and I have been told this is a quirk of mine; why are there songs with fade-out endings? Personally, I don't like fade-outs. In the case of the Govt Mule, they really aren't necessary. To me, it smacks of an unfinished song. In addition, a faded ending detracts from the immediacy and live quality of the music, which has always been Govt Mule's strong suit. Anyway,in spite of the faded out songs, this is a fine disc. Govt Mule, even on their "bad" days, still far outshine the hundreds of pretenders, posers, poster children and American Idol winners that REAL music appreciators are forced to endure. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.