Though sounding completely different from one another,
Gov't Mule
's
Peace...Like a River
is a companion album to 2021's
Heavy Load Blues
. The dates were actually recorded simultaneously in different spaces inside the same studio. In different rooms, the band -- guitarist / vocalist
Warren Haynes
, drummer
Matt Abts
, bassist
Jorgen Carlsson
, and keyboardist
Danny Louis
-- and co-producer
John Paterno
set up two entirely different recording areas with amps, guitars, keys, and microphones, with the intention of giving each album its own sonic and musical identity. While
is an epic blues-rock date,
is a labyrinthine trek through original songs that nod at the band's classic rock influences, creating an album that sounds like it was written and recorded during the 1970s. Opener "Same as It Ever Was" offers poetic lyrics about life's difficulties and revelations during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. The fingerpicked lead guitar, psychedelic production, lilting melody, and thunderous rhythm section crescendo buoy
Haynes
' emotionally resonant vocal. "Shake Our Way Out" is an exercise thundering, riff-centric, distorted blues-rock with
Billy F. Gibbons
(
ZZ Top
) joining on second guitar and vocals. While "Made My Peace" introduces itself as a midtempo, swaggering blues boogie, it quickly shifts gears to reflect
Pink Floyd
's deep influence on
. The vocal harmonies, melody, and dynamics recall both the
Dark Side of the Moon
and
Wish You Were Here
eras. "Dreaming Out Loud" is a jazzy rock cum R&B production.
Ruthie Foster
Ivan Neville
join the crew for the souled-out, steamy, bluesy, jazzy, NOLA-inspired funk on the poignant "Dreaming Out Loud" complete with soaring horns. Its lyrics were compiled from writings and speeches by
Dr. Martin Luther King
,
Robert F. Kennedy
, congressman/activist
John Lewis
John F. Kennedy
.
Billy Bob Thornton
contributes vocals to the swampy, spooky dubwise reggae of "The River Only Flows One Way." "After the Storm" cooks, but it's just a little too derivative of the
L.A. Woman
-era
Doors
due to
trying too hard to imitate
Jim Morrison
in the first verse. That said,
Louis
' fine organ work owes more to the exploratory grooves of
Larry Young
Garth Hudson
than
Ray Manzarek
. "Just Across the River" is a slow-rolling, R&B-inflected blues featuring excellent playing and singing from New York-based guitarist and vocalist
Celisse Henderson
Brandi Carlile
Joni Mitchell
). "Long Time Coming" is a righteous, horn-drenched, soul-blues rave-up with a powerful vocal from
closes with the slide guitar Southern-fried rock of "Gone Too Long," which nods simultaneously at
Neil Young
with
Crazy Horse
Lynyrd Skynyrd
. This set reaffirms
's place as one of the most musical, stylistically ambitious bands out there. ~ Thom Jurek