Editing Life Before Insanity

{{Infobox album
| name       = Life Before Insanity
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Gov't Mule]]
| cover      = Gov't Mule - Life Before Insanity.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = {{Start date|2000|2|15}}
| recorded   = [[Muscle Shoals Sound Studio|Muscle Shoals Studios]], [[Sheffield, AL]] and Water Music, [[Hoboken, NJ]]
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Blues rock]]<ref name=WP/>
| length     = 73:50
| label      = [[Capricorn Records|Capricorn]]
| producer   = [[Michael Barbiero]]
| prev_title = [[Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends]]
| prev_year  = 1999
| next_title = [[The Deep End, Volume 1]]
| next_year  = 2001
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]] 
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r464933 |title=Life Before Insanity - Gov't Mule &#124; AllMusic |first=Michael B. |last=Smith |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 |accessdate=6 August 2011}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[The Atlanta Constitution]]''
|rev2score = B<ref>{{cite journal |title=ON MUSIC |journal=The Atlanta Constitution |date=2 Mar 2000 |page=G5}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Dayton Daily News]]''
|rev3score = B−<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simmons |first1=Carol |title=RECORDINGS IN BRIEF |journal=Dayton Daily News |date=7 Apr 2000 |page=25}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
|rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="CL">{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=3 |page=843}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev5score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA339|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|first1=Nathan|last1=Brackett|first2=Christian David|last2=Hoard|date=April 6, 2004|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780743201698|via=Google Books}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
|rev6score = 6/10<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxnVty3fkhMC&dq=spin+mar+2000&pg=PA150|title=Reviews|work=SPIN|date=March 6, 2000|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|via=Google Books}}</ref>
}}
'''''Life Before Insanity''''' is the third studio album by [[Gov't Mule]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestranger.com/events/26475660/an-evening-with-govt-mule|title=An Evening with Gov't Mule|website=The Stranger}}</ref> The album was released on February 15, 2000, by [[Capricorn Records]].

The album peaked at No. 16 on the [[Billboard Heatseekers|''Billboard'' Heatseekers Album Chart]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/govt-mule/chart-history/tln/|title=Gov't Mule|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

==Production==
The album was produced by [[Michael Barbiero]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aREEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA55|title=Studio Monitor|magazine=Billboard|date=September 9, 2000|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|via=Google Books}}</ref>  Unlike the band's first two albums, ''Life Before Insanity'' utilized both overdubbing and multiple guest musicians.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sculley |first1=Alan |title=POWER TRIO GOV'T MULE PACKS ITS OWN POTENT KICK |journal=The Morning Call |date=11 Aug 2000 |page=D14}}</ref> It was the last album recorded with founding member [[Allen Woody]], who died in August 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1123486/allen-woody-govt-mule-bassist-dies/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804204952/http://www.mtv.com/news/1123486/allen-woody-govt-mule-bassist-dies/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 4, 2020|title=Allen Woody, Gov't Mule Bassist, Dies|website=MTV News}}</ref>

==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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-03-03/76085/|title=Gov't Mule Life Before Insanity (Capricorn)|website=www.austinchronicle.com}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' thought that the album "recalls the vintage blues-rock of the early [[Allman Brothers Band]] and [[Eric Clapton|Clapton's]] [[Cream (band)|Cream]]."<ref name=WP>{{cite news |title=GOV'T MULE "Life Before Insanity" Capricorn |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-03/10/105r-031000-idx.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=6 April 2021}}</ref>

==Track listing==
All songs by [[Warren Haynes]] unless otherwise noted.
{{Track listing
| total_length =

| title1 = Wandering Child
| note1 = Haynes, [[Matt Abts]]
| length1 = 6:05

| title2 = Life Before Insanity
| note2 = Haynes, Danny Louis
| length2 = 6:12

| title3 = Bad Little Doggie
| note3 = Haynes, Abts, [[Allen Woody]]
| length3 = 3:48

| title4 = Lay Your Burden Down
| note4 = Haynes, [[Michael Barbiero]]
| length4 = 5:27

| title5 = Fallen Down
| note5 = 
| length5 = 6:58

| title6 = World Gone Wild
| note6 = 
| length6 = 6:17

| title7 = Tastes Like Wine
| note7 = 
| length7 = 6:57

| title8 = I Think You Know What I Mean
| note8 =
| length8 = 4:55

| title9 = Far Away
| note9 =
| length9 = 5:54

| title10 = No Need to Suffer
| note10 = 
| length10 = 8:20

| title11 = In My Life/If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day 
| note11 = Haynes, [[Robert Johnson]]
| length11 = 12:48 	
}}

==Personnel==
* [[Warren Haynes]] – [[guitar]], [[slide guitar]], vocals
* [[Allen Woody]] – [[bass guitar|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]] – [[Drum kit|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 guitar|lap steel]] on "Lay Your Burden Down"
* [[Johnny Neel]] – [[organ (music)|organ]], [[Wurlitzer electric piano|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

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite AV media notes
  |title       = Life Before Insanity
  |title-link   = Life Before Insanity
  |others    = Gov't Mule
  |year        = 2000
  |type      = CD liner
  |publisher   = [[Capricorn Records|Capricorn]]
  |id = 314 546 489-2
  |location    = [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta, GA]]
  }}

{{Gov't Mule}}
{{Warren Haynes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gov't Mule albums]]
[[Category:2000 albums]]
[[Category:Capricorn Records albums]]