Warren Haynes is quite possibly the busiest man in rock n’ roll these days. When he’s not not dueling with Derek Trucks in The Allman Brothers Band, Warren is getting low down and dirty with Gov’t Mule, if not there then he’s sitting in with a number of groups that include Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, The Dead and the list goes on.
But it seems like he had enough time to kick up his feet and drop the needle on some of his favorite southern soul records. Man In Motion, released this May showcases Hanyes’ love for some of the greats of the genre like The Meters and Booker T & The MG’s. So much that George Porter Jr. and Ivan Neville back him up in the studio and the record was released on Stax.
If you’re not a fan of Warren’s work with Gov’t Mule, don’t write off this solo work so fast. Man In Motion goes down much smoother than the Mule and you can tell he was having a really good time writing and playing these songs. The Gibson is singing on the solos rather than yelling. Just listen to the title track which opens the album, Warren is loose and lets the groove take over.
Other stand outs on the album are “Your Wildest Dreams” and “A Friend To You”. This is a different side of Warren Haynes and hopefully we’ll see more of this from him in the future.
