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
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
AllMusicStarStarStarStar
The Atlanta ConstitutionB
Dayton Daily NewsB−
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStar
The New Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStarHalf star
Spin6/10

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

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

Production

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

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." The Washington Post thought that the album "recalls the vintage blues-rock of the early Allman Brothers Band and Clapton's Cream."

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

References

  1. 1 2 "GOV'T MULE "Life Before Insanity" Capricorn". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  2. ↑ Smith, Michael B. (2011). "Life Before Insanity - Gov't Mule | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  3. ↑ "ON MUSIC". The Atlanta Constitution: G5. March 2, 2000.
  4. ↑ Simmons, Carol (April 7, 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 (August 11, 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.