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Gov’t Mule’s release of The Tel-Star Sessions is a logical extension of the group’s recognition of their 20th anniversary in 2014. Putting out The Dark Side… & The Dub Side of The Mule, plus the long-awaited Sco-Mule archive piece, dovetails nicely with this issue of the very first studio recordings by the original three-man Mule. Mule has now set the stage for the projected recording of their next (third) effort with its current lineup later in 2016 and sewn another thread of continuity into their growing body of work.
The Tel-Star Sessions consists of demos recorded in June 1994 at Tel-Star Studios in Bradenton, Florida with the three-piece line-up of guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes, bassist Allen Woody and drummer Matt Abts. With the possible exception of the two versions of “World of Difference”–the atmospheric likes of which, amplified by Haynes’ fevered singing, illustrates the importance of well-crafted material within the Mule oeuvre–every one of the nine songs, such as “Blind Man in the Dark” and “Rocking Horse,” will be familiar to fans of the band. Yet perhaps only Muleheads of long-standing devotion will be fully acquainted with the savagery of the trio as captured on “Monkey Hill.”
Only select previously-released archive titles, such as the expanded Live at Roseland Ballroom and Mulennium, boast recordings featuring this much abandon in the musicianship. But then the concept of Gov’t Mule, as envisioned by Haynes and Woody, was a power trio along the lines of Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, where minimal instrumentation fostered maximum interplay and a comparable power; as documented on The Tel-Star Sessions, the expertise and empathy in the mixing by past Mule producer Gordie Johnson and mastering from Greg Calbi enhances those virtues in the twenty-year old plus tracks. The stellar sound quality also highlights the self-discipline that resulted in such economical renditions of the tunes.
The Mule give proper due to another estimable three-piece band when they cover ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid,” one of three covers alongside six self-composed numbers. “Mr. Big” is the band’s homage to the great British band Free, itself an archetype for stark guitar/bass/drums arrangements, while the trio acknowledges their debt to the blues with Willie Dixon’s witty “The Same Thing,” Haynes, Woody and Abts effectively transcending their roots on this cut in absolutely savage fashion.
In the booklet enclosed in a package as efficiently designed as the music within is arranged, Warren Haynes contributes an essay that supplies insight into the broad intentions of the band, as well as the practical aspects of executing the sound they envisioned, right down to an accurate sonic depiction of Allen Woody’s stylized approach to the bass. In doing so, the titular leader of Gov’t Mule demonstrates not just his affection for his late founding partner, but his abiding loyalty to the group. And as a result, The Tel-Star Sessions becomes not just an integral piece of the group’s self-renewing history, but a highly proficient and genuinely exciting demonstration of a contemporary rock and roll style on its own terms.
