Life Before Insanity
2000 studio album by Gov't Mule
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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
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. | 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
- 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
- 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
- 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