The ‘Madness’ of Warren Haynes
Guitar icon revisits his debut LP on Megaforce Records
With a recording career that spans nearly 35 years, Warren Haynes has accumulated enough credits to fill two lifetimes.
He’s been a member of The Allman Brothers Band, David Allan Coe’s backing band, the Dickey Betts Band, Phil Lesh and Friendsnand The Dead, and he’s currently at the helm of the band he helped found, Gov’t Mule, all in addition to his prodigious solo career. Yet, like any artist of note, it all started with a debut LP, in this case, the auspiciously dubbed Tales Of Ordinary Madness, originally released in 1993 on the Megaforce Records label.
Now reissued and remastered, the album offers an opportunity to peer at Haynes’ initial efforts and explore the vibrant sound that led to the music he makes today. An all-star group of musicians supported his launch — among them, producer Chuck Leavell on piano, Hammond B-3 organ, and keyboards, Bernie Worrell on clavinet, Randall Bramblett on sax, Michael Rhodes and Lincoln Schleifer on bass, Greg Morrow and Steve Holley on drums, Marc Quiñones playing percussion and Alfreda Gerald, Juanita Flemster and Calvin Thompson singing backing vocals.
As originally released, Tales of Ordinary Madness was a confident and cohesive first album. Songs such as “Fire In the Kitchen,” “Tattoos and Cigarettes,” “Kiss Tomorrow Good-Bye” and “Blue Radio” are assertive, soulful rockers that place Haynes’ searing guitar and passionate vocals — not unlike those of Free/Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers — front and center. The rhythmic thrust of “Sister Justice,” “Movers and Shakers” and “Invisible” underscore the authority and agitation that Haynes was able to summon even at the outset.
Underscoring that intensity, Haynes combined messaging with the music. “There’s a child with a gun — tired and on the run,” he wails in “Fire In the Kitchen,” bemoaning the easy accessibility of guns to street gangs. “Black, brown, blue — what does it matter?” “Angel City” decries the gap between the haves and the have-nots. So too, “Power and the Glory” laments the fact that it’s the power players who command the world’s wealth and effectively make all the rules, much to the detriment of everyone else.
“I was always happy with the mix of the album, but it was done at a time when records still sounded like the late ’80s and early ’90s,” Haynes recalls. “A few years later, people started gravitating back towards more organic sounding records — with less reverb and e.q.— and eventually I found myself wondering what it would sound like being mixed a little more that way. In honor of the 30th anniversary, we decided to pursue that and I’m glad we did.
The reissue also offers an opportunity to hear a song that was not included on the original LP.
“The bonus track, ‘Tear Me Down,’ was recorded during those sessions, but never finished,” Haynes notes. “I really wanted to include it back then, but we were over budget and out of time, so the decision was made to scrap it. Randall Bramblett had overdubbed a few takes on sax, and the late Bernie Worrell had overdubbed a few keyboard tracks, but we didn’t have time to sort it all out, so I had not heard any of that stuff in 30 years. I went into the studio and sorted it all out so we could include it here, and it confirms what I always loved about that track. It’s now one of my favorites on the record.”
Nevertheless, the fact that Haynes’ initial outing happened to be released on Megaforce Records, home to any number of heavy metal acts, might seem somewhat odd. Yet, as Haynes explains, there was good reason for the connection.
“They offered me the best deal at the time,” he says in retrospect. “They were looking to diversify and sign some non-metal acts. I was a fan of bands like King’s X, and Megaforce gave me the creative freedom to make the record I wanted to make. Here’s an interesting tidbit of trivia — they passed on signing Nirvana, which they deeply regretted. Every label has at least one of those types of stories.”
It’s clear that in looking back at these seminal recordings, Haynes still views them with decided affection.
“Having not heard this record in a long while, when I went back and listened to it, I was sort of taken back to a place and time when I wrote those songs,” he muses. “There were a lot of things I needed to get off my chest and, as with any writer, once you do that, you move on. Oddly enough, some of the more political songs like ‘Fire In The Kitchen,’ ‘Invisible,’ and ‘Broken Promised Land’ are just as relevant now, which doesn’t say much for how far we’ve come as a nation.”
He notes that several of the songs were indicative of the attitude and approach he identified with at the time.
“‘Fire In The Kitchen’ and ‘Invisible’ were both written shortly after I moved to New York,” Haynes explains. “‘Power and the Glory,’’Movers and Shakers’ and ‘Tear Me Down’ were all written while I was living in Nashville. ‘I’ll Be The One’ was written on a plane headed to Europe. Since this was my first solo album, I had accumulated a lot of songs to choose from and producer Chuck Leavell and I were just picking songs based on the musical direction of the album and which ones worked best together.”
In the years since, Haynes’ prodigious output has never wavered. While the stellar ensembles that he’s been associated with might have diverted some artists from their course, Haynes claims that those efforts proved valuable when it came to shaping his overall drive and determination.
“Each of those experiences has stayed with me, and I’m able to take what I learn to the next project,” he reflects. “I’m very fortunate to have been surrounded by so many amazing musicians and artists for a really long time. I think back to these sessions and how much I’ve learned and grown since then, but I’m proud of this record and honored to have had the opportunity to have so many great folks work on it with me. A lot of my favorite musicians helped me make this album.”
It’s been a profitable pay-off, he adds.
“I’ve somehow managed to do almost everything that I strived to do, and do it with very little compromise,” Haynes reckons. “My whole life, I’ve enjoyed playing, singing, and writing so many different types of music, and it’s quite amazing to me that I’ve been able to get away with pursuing these different musical directions without alienating my core audience. I’ve always made decisions based on what felt good at the time, and although that may not be the right career advice for everyone, somehow I’ve made it work.”
That’s been the case even when he was the proverbial “new guy” joining an already well- established outfit. “It’s always intimidating, especially some of the ones that I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of,” Haynes admits. “But that’s part of the growing process and the learning process.”
AUDIO: Gov’t Mule “Soulshine”
These days, Haynes manages to multitask between his solo projects and Gov’t Mule, and he claims to have no problem discerning any divide between the two. “Gov’t Mule has a distinct sound and collective chemistry that has been there from the beginning,” he maintains. “If there is a Gov’t Mule project on the horizon, then I’m thinking of that sound and the strengths of the band’s chemistry when I’m writing. Having said that, a lot of the writing that I do is done at a time when there’s nothing established on the horizon, so I’m just writing for the sake of the song and I can figure out later where it belongs. I also feel like, starting with our second album Dose, there is room on every Gov’t Mule record for a few departures, and I think that’s an important part of the growth process and of finding the right balance on any album.”
Indeed, Haynes says he considers his work with that particular band to be of maximum importance.
“Gov’t Mule is top priority,” he insists. “We tour a lot, but as with any band, you have to take a breather so, as a workaholic, I wind up filling in those spaces as well.”
Still, at the same time, even after a career filled with accomplishments — including the establishment of his own record label, Evil Teen Records — Haynes says he has a bucket list of sorts.
“I’ve never played Royal Albert Hall,” he mentions. “I’ve never made a jazz-influenced, all instrumental album. I’ve never done a duets-type record where I collaborate with other vocalists. There’s still a short list of people I would love to work with, but I’ve been so fortunate in that way that I can’t complain.”
So is there anything he’d like to add, one asks.
“Always,” he replied. “But you have to learn when to stop.”
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