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A true son of the South, guitarist Warren Haynes<\/strong> has built a varied career imbued with musical values that proudly display his Appalachian roots. And though he’s strongly associated with the electric guitar \u2013 largely through his work with Gov’t Mule<\/strong> and The Allman Brothers Band<\/strong> \u2013 his interests have always extended well beyond the relatively narrow idioms of blues and rock. Even a decade ago he was featuring an acoustic guitar reading of Radiohead<\/strong>‘s \u201cLucky\u201d in his solo live sets.<\/p>\n So it’s not at all without precedent for Haynes to release an album that digs deeper into his affinity with the more acoustic-flavored and rootsy parts of his own musical makeup. On Ashes & Dust<\/em> (released today), Haynes enlists the musical support of newgrassers Railroad Earth<\/strong>, a group renowned for their own skill at folding in influences from a wide variety of American musical styles (which, come to think of it, is as good a definition as any for the slippery genre known as Americana).<\/p>\n While a significant portion of the disc features quiet, relatively simple arrangements, Haynes makes intelligent use of Railroad Earth’s instrumental prowess (not to mention his own chops). The yearning fiddle work of Tim Carbone<\/strong> helps connect musical dots with some of the 1970s’ best singer\/songwriters (Jackson Browne<\/strong>, Neil Young<\/strong>). The prominence of mandolin and banjo on Ashes & Dust<\/em> gives the music a decidedly Americana air, but Haynes isn’t afraid to apply mostly acoustic tools to decidedly rocking-out goals. The eight-minutes-plus \u201cSpots of Time\u201d executes a slow burn that rocks, while still showcasing Haynes’ Latin-flavored acoustic and<\/em> electric guitar licks.<\/p>\n