Warren Haynes: The Whisper Sessions Review

Here are two undeniable facts: First, the hallmark of traditional blues music is its emotional component. Sometimes it’s gut-wrenching; sometimes joyful, but there, at its core, is that strong connection to the human experience. Secondly, whenever Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks team up, the results are superb.

With The Whisper Sessions, Warren Haynes has created a modern masterpiece of deeply emotional, acoustic, and simple electric blues. Modern blues often strays away from that, and rightly so. Any genre should be dynamic, living, breathing and ever-changing.

But the music on this offering should not be confined to any one genre. It should be in the collection of any music-lover who spends time in deep introspection or who appreciates moments of solitude.

Produced by Haynes, the album is described as “Intimate renditions that spotlight Haynes’s soulful voice, masterful guitar work, and the heartfelt storytelling at the album’s core.” It is a stripped-down version of songs off the Million Voices Whisper album from the GRAMMY® award-winning Haynes.

The hint of grit in Haynes’s voice punctuates the deep emotion of the beautiful melodies. Friend, and frequent collaborator Derek Trucks sits in on three cuts of the album, adding some elegant depth to the guitar work.

From beginning to end, the album is drenched in quiet, soul-searching beauty.

“These Changes” puts a gentle spin on troubles we all face. Written by Haynes, Trucks and Michael A. Mattison, it features the two guitar masters trading licks on their respective Gibsons; Haynes with his signature Les Paul and Trucks with his classic SG. The stripped-down duet achieves an intimate acoustic foundation for Haynes’s vocals.

One special feature of the album is “Real, Real Love,” co-written by Haynes and Gregg Allman. Haynes explained that Allman had started the song before he passed away and he felt strongly that it needed to be completed. Trucks agreed, saying, “It felt like something you just had to finish.”

Another track co-written by Haynes and Trucks, “Back Where I Started,” features a catchy refrain expressing a hushed joy. “Til The Sun Comes Shining Through” and “From Here On Out” offer personal tales of love and life’s struggles. The latter was written solely by Haynes as was “You Ain’t Above Me,” a soulful blues-soaked ballad focusing on a declaration of self-worth. Haynes also penned “Life As We Know It” as a joyful, affirming celebration of life. In a previous interview with Blues Rock Review, Haynes stated, “It is about looking through a positive lens at what’s to come, knowing that we’ve all been facing some real challenges.”

One of two covers on the album is “Til I can make it on my own,” written by George Richey, Billy Sherrill, and Tammy Wynette. Haynes’s voice immediately draws the listener into a powerful emotional appeal to his arrangement.

The album concludes with a beautiful version of the Allman Brothers Classic, “Melissa,” written by Greg Allman. Trucks’s guitar adds an underlying, simple brilliance to Haynes’s vocal and guitar contributions. Haynes told Blues Rock Review that the song was recorded in just one take.

The Review 8.5/10 

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Real, Real Love
– Melissa
– Back Where I Started
– These Changes

The Big Hit

– These Changes