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Editorial Reviews

Vol. 1 of Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam Benefit Concert from 1999 hits the streets a month after Vol. 2, but whatever. Issued on Haynes' Evil Teen label, this is one star-studded effort, featuring Haynes, the late Allen Woody, and Matt Abts of Gov't Mule; Edwin McCain (with and without Haynes); the Derek Trucks Band (with special guests like Col. Bruce Hampton, Jimmy Herring, and Trucks' wife, guitar slinger Susan Tedeschi); and Tedeschi and her own band. There's the jam band Cry of Love, and, of course, Gov't Mule, as a trio and with Hampton, bluesmen Larry McCray, Little Milton (RIP), Mike Barnes, Herring, and Yonrico Scott. It's a good time, to be sure. Vol. 1 fares better across two CDs because of a continuity in sets. There's more of everyone here: Trucks and his band play nearly a full set, as do the Mule, McCain gets three numbers and Tedeschi does her "Angel from Montgomery" read, and it's stunning here. Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" by the Mule with Hampton and Johnny Neel is another highlight, as is the Trucks Band's version of "Rastaman Chant" and (with Tedeschi) "Just Won't Burn." McCain's "Alive" with Haynes is another winner for warming up the crowd as well. For fans of Gov't Mule, Haynes, Trucks, or any of the above, this is a nifty little gig to be spinning during party hours. [Released in 2000 also on Haynes' Evil Teen label, the double-CD set Wintertime Blues: The Benefit Concert features a track listing identical to Benefit Concert, Vol. 1, aside from the latter release's replacement of "It Hurts Me Too" for the 15-plus-minute version of "Merry Christmas, Baby" by Gov't Mule heard on Wintertime Blues.] Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

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