Gov’t Mule released a new single, “Snatch It Back and Hold It.” The Junior Wells cover will appear on the band’s forthcoming blues album, Heavy Load Blues, set for release via Fantasy Records on November 12.
Gov’t Mule announced Heavy Load Blues — a mix of blues standards and originals penned by guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes marking the quartet’s first studio album in four years — last month and shared the single “Heavy Load” along with a behind-the-scenes mini-doc on the making of the album. Mule now follows with Wells’ “Snatch It Back and Hold It,” originally appearing on the blues great’s 1965 debut album Hoodoo Man Blues and featuring legendary guitarist Buddy Guy. Mule’s version of “Snatch It Back And Hold It” encompasses an impromptu studio jam titled “Hold It Back.”
Warren explained how the arrangement came together in a press release:
We had never played that middle section prior to recording it. While we were working up ‘Snatch It Back,’ we just ran through all the key sections and when we got to the instrumental part, we did a very brief talk through about how it might go. It was virtually a jam, and in that sense, it kind of referenced what we normally do on stage. We get an idea and run with it to see where it winds up. It never turns out exactly like you plan it, which is great, because if it is good, it’s usually better than it would have been had you planned it a certain way.
Watch Gov’t Mule’s “Snatch It Back and Hold It” > “Hold It Back” > “Snatch It Back and Hold It” below:
