The Deep End, Volume 1 by Gov't Mule

The Deep End, Volume 1, Gov't Mule's fourth studio album, came out on ATO and Evangeline on October 23, 2001, and it's a wake that turned into a celebration. When founding bassist Allen Woody died, Warren Haynes and Matt Abts thought about calling it quits. Instead they started cutting songs with the bass players Woody had looked up to, and so many wanted in that the sessions stretched to two albums.

So the low end changes hands from track to track while Haynes' guitar and Abts' drums hold the thread, all Southern-rock grit and jam-band sprawl. Woody himself still turns up, playing on a cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "Sin's a Good Man's Brother". "Soulshine" is the song that has kept the record on the countdowns. The first pressing came with a bonus disc, Hidden Treasures, catching the "New School of Gov't Mule" live, with Dave Schools on bass and Chuck Leavell on keys.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.