On the heels of its excellent live release (Live With A Little Help From Our Friends), Gov't Mule's Life Before Insanity completes a rather startling transition--from self-indulgent, blues-rocking jammers content to wank aimlessly (and endlessly) to the heir apparent to the arena-rocking days of Robin Trower.

"Wandering Child" leads off with guitarist Warren Haynes layering inventive chording and slide work on top of a simmering, syncopated groove (actually a cleverly disguised blues progression). Somewhere along the way, the Atlanta-based power trio picked up a decidedly English bent, with Haynes's thick sound (and effects) recalling some of Trower's finer moments. In fact, the moody title track conjures the dreamy, textured rock of Trower's great In City Dreams LP. Adding to the similarity, Haynes's grave vocals have matured by leaps and bounds, now sounding like former Trower vocalist/bassist James Dewar or long-forgotten Sharks vocalist Snips. Elsewhere, Ben Harper guests on the soulful riff-rocker "Lay Your Burden Down," "Tastes Like Wine" is based around an acoustic guitar, and the beefy, swaggering "I Think You Know What I Mean" brings to mind Free.

But forget the trimmings--by far, the biggest improvement is in the quality of the band's songwriting. Rather than characterless tunes that seemed little more than an afterthought, these dozen tunes each have strong identities.