Life Before Insanity is the third studio album by Gov't Mule.[8] The album was released on February 15, 2000, by Capricorn Records.
| Life Before Insanity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 15, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | Muscle Shoals Studios, Sheffield, AL and Water Music, Hoboken, NJ | |||
| Genre | Blues rock[1] | |||
| Length | 73:50 | |||
| Label | Capricorn | |||
| Producer | Michael Barbiero | |||
| Gov't Mule chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Atlanta Constitution | B[3] |
| Dayton Daily News | B−[4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [6] |
| Spin | 6/10[7] |
The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart.[9]
Production
editThe 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
editThe 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
editAll songs by Warren Haynes unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
edit- Warren Haynes – guitar, slide guitar, vocals
- Allen Woody – bass, mandolin on "Life Before Insanity", electric upright bass on "Tastes Like Wine", rhythm guitar on "I Think You Know What I Mean", fretless bass on "Far Away", dulcitar on "In My Life"
- Matt Abts – drums, djembe, ashika on "In My Life"
Additional personnel
edit- Michael Barbiero – glockenspiel on "Far Away"
- Hook Herrera – harmonica on "Bad Little Doggie" and "I Think You Know What I Mean"
- Ben Harper – vocals and lap steel on "Lay Your Burden Down"
- Johnny Neel – organ, Wurlitzer piano and background vocals
Production
edit- 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
edit- ^ a b "GOV'T MULE "Life Before Insanity" Capricorn". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Smith, Michael B. (2011). "Life Before Insanity - Gov't Mule | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ "ON MUSIC". The Atlanta Constitution: G5. 2 Mar 2000.
- ^ Simmons, Carol (7 Apr 2000). "RECORDINGS IN BRIEF". Dayton Daily News: 25.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 843.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (April 6, 2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Reviews". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. March 6, 2000 – via Google Books.
- ^ "An Evening with Gov't Mule". The Stranger.
- ^ "Gov't Mule". Billboard.
- ^ "Studio Monitor". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 9, 2000 – via Google Books.
- ^ Sculley, Alan (11 Aug 2000). "POWER TRIO GOV'T MULE PACKS ITS OWN POTENT KICK". The Morning Call: D14.
- ^ "Allen Woody, Gov't Mule Bassist, Dies". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020.
- ^ "Gov't Mule Life Before Insanity (Capricorn)". www.austinchronicle.com.
External links
edit- Life Before Insanity (CD liner). Gov't Mule. Atlanta, GA: Capricorn. 2000. 314 546 489-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)