Warren Haynes

The Whisper Sessions

Fantasy Records

Known primarily for his premier way with a guitar, Warren Haynes is also one of the most prolific and expressive songwriters and singers in American roots and blues music. He recently claimed to have written nearly 600 songs throughout his career that began in 1980 when he joined rebel country singer David Allan Coes’s band. Haynes went on to play in the Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts’s band which led to his long tenure in The Allman Brothers Band, his own Warren Haynes Band, Gov’t Mule, and two different extensions of the Grateful Dead. His songs have been covered by countless artists spanning a wide range of genres.

With The Whisper Sessions, Warren Haynes pulls back the curtain to reveal the essence of six of the eleven songs that appeared on his fourth solo album, last year’s Million Voices Whisper. Two of those feature his former Allman Brothers Band guitar partner, Derek Trucks. To round out the nine-song album, he added a lovely solo rendering of the wistful “Back Where I Started” (written with Trucks nearly two decades ago), Tammy Wynette’s potent “Til I Can Make it On My Own,” and Gregg Allman’s eternal “Melissa,” the latter the third song here featuring Trucks.

Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks seem to have been born to play guitar together, their intuitive interaction here subtle, but as effective to the workings as a brain’s two hemispheres. Take “These Changes,” which the pair wrote with Mike Mattison of Tedeschi Trucks Band. The lush nature of the full band version on Million Voices Whisper (which also features Trucks) draws a listener to the melody. This take allows a bask in the beautifully intertwined guitar and meaningful message. Likewise on Haynes and Gregg Allman’s “Real, Real Love,” in which they create melodic shades as tender as the words. On a stirring version of “Melissa,” Haynes pays Allman incredible homage in voice while they both display their commitment as keepers of the Allman Brothers flame.

Haynes sings these songs naturally, his rough-hewn voice burnished perfectly for the rootsy settings. No song comes off as a rough sketch, and several in fact seem to have been destined to be presented in this form. This version of “You Ain’t Above Me,” for instance, gives the listener a much clearer understanding of what was on Haynes’ mind when he wrote it. A relationship song that anyone can appreciate, no matter whether they can relate.

The celebratory nature of “This Life as We Know it” may be more profound in the original band version, but this take connects on the goodness of it all just as grandly. “Till the Sun Comes Shining Through” smolders here, soul music draped in the blues, its delivery intense. A Van Morrison vibe runs through “From Here on Out,” but the song about taking risks in life and having no regrets defines Haynes as the persuasive songwriter and performer that he is. And as he demonstrates in a somber take on the Tammy Wynette song, he can also own just about anything.

With The Whisper Sessions, Warren Haynes presents a masterful mix of blues, folk, and soul-inspired songs, every one wrapped in six string glory.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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