Life Before Insanity

Life Before Insanity
Studio album by
Gov't Mule
ReleasedFebruary 15, 2000 (2000-02-15)
RecordedMuscle Shoals Studios, Sheffield, AL and Water Music, Hoboken, NJ
GenreBlues rock[1]
Length73:50
LabelCapricorn
ProducerMichael Barbiero
Gov't Mule chronology
Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends
(1999) 		Life Before Insanity
(2000) 		The Deep End, Volume 1
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Atlanta ConstitutionB[3]
Dayton Daily NewsB−[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Spin6/10[7]

Life Before Insanity is the third studio album by Gov't Mule.[8] The album was released on February 15, 2000, by Capricorn Records.

The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart.[9]

Production

The album was produced by Michael Barbiero.[10] Unlike the band's first two albums, Life Before Insanity utilized both overdubbing and multiple guest musicians.[11] It was the last album recorded with founding member Allen Woody, who died in August 2000.[12]

Critical reception

The Austin Chronicle wrote that "having Ben Harper cameo with Haynes on 'Lay Your Burden Down' is a guitarist's dream, but while the song rolls along, it never takes off—never reaches the pairing's potential."[13] The Washington Post thought that the album "recalls the vintage blues-rock of the early Allman Brothers Band and Clapton's Cream."[1]

Track listing

All songs by Warren Haynes unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Wandering Child" (Haynes, Matt Abts)6:05
2."Life Before Insanity" (Haynes, Danny Louis)6:12
3."Bad Little Doggie" (Haynes, Abts, Allen Woody)3:48
4."Lay Your Burden Down" (Haynes, Michael Barbiero)5:27
5."Fallen Down"6:58
6."World Gone Wild"6:17
7."Tastes Like Wine"6:57
8."I Think You Know What I Mean"4:55
9."Far Away"5:54
10."No Need to Suffer"8:20
11."In My Life/If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" (Haynes, Robert Johnson)12:48

Personnel

Additional personnel

Production

  • Michael Barbiero – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Ray Martin – mixing, additional engineering
  • Warren Haynes – mixing
  • Brodie Hutcheson – mixing, additional engineering
  • Dan Jurow – additional engineering
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Mark Pagliaro – guitar, bass, mandolin, amp, tech
  • Daniel Saratec – drum, percussion tech

References

  1. ^ a b "GOV'T MULE "Life Before Insanity" Capricorn". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  2. ^ Smith, Michael B. (2011). "Life Before Insanity - Gov't Mule | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  3. ^ "ON MUSIC". The Atlanta Constitution: G5. 2 Mar 2000.
  4. ^ Simmons, Carol (7 Apr 2000). "RECORDINGS IN BRIEF". Dayton Daily News: 25.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 843.
  6. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (April 6, 2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Reviews". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. March 6, 2000 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "An Evening with Gov't Mule". The Stranger.
  9. ^ "Gov't Mule". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Studio Monitor". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 9, 2000 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Sculley, Alan (11 Aug 2000). "POWER TRIO GOV'T MULE PACKS ITS OWN POTENT KICK". The Morning Call: D14.
  12. ^ "Allen Woody, Gov't Mule Bassist, Dies". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020.
  13. ^ "Gov't Mule Life Before Insanity (Capricorn)". www.austinchronicle.com.