The Blues Album that Roared: Warren Haynes Band Live at the Moody Theatre

I am crazy wild about Warren Haynes.  He’s a SuperGenius guitarist and composer and performer and he’s one of the greatest guys in the world.  How do I know the character of the man?  I follow his career.  I watch his interviews.  You can’t hide from his goodness.  Mean people try to mask who they really are and they are never successful.  Good people are open and welcoming and unpretentious.  Warren Haynes is one of the good guys.  Warren has a new Blues album that dropped this week — Warren Haynes Band Live at the Moody Theatre — and it is a rip-your-throat-out Blues album that is packed with a ferocious, and pleasing, energy.

Here’s the PR Blurp from Warren’s website on the new album:

The blazing 2.5-hour show features several cuts from Haynes’ GRAMMY-nominated solo release ‘Man In Motion’ as well as Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic,” Steely Dan’s “Pretzel Logic,” Sam Cooke’s classic “A Change Is Gonna Come” & Warren’s live staple “Soul Shine” and more. Guests include the Groove Line horns and 2012 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Ian McLagan of The Faces.

The Warren Haynes Band features a hand-picked band including R&B kingpins Ron Johnson on bass, Terence Higgins on drums, Nigel Hall on keyboards, Ron Holloway on saxophone and Alecia Chakour on vocals.

The album is filled with 19 songs, including lots of Warren Haynes hits.  “Man in Motion” and “River’s Gonna Rise” and “Soulshine” are the gems of the live performance.  “Sick of My Shadow” has a railing saxophone that will knock the breath from your body.  Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the genesis of the live recording:

There is a tremendous life force energy in play here — and Warren is the center of that celebratory storm.  He’s a much better live musician than he is a studio performer.

In the digital booklet that comes with the iTunes purchase, you can see Warren’s pedal board.  It’s a geeky thing to include — but it is a coded image for other Guitar Geeks like me and it deeply resonates within those of us who aspire to be as talented as Warren.

Warren Hayes is, and always has been, “The Man,” and he proves his brilliance once again on the merits of his music in his life recording at the Moody Theatre.