Mad Season is the second studio album by American rock band Matchbox Twenty. It was released on May 23, 2000, by Atlantic Records. The album's first single, "Bent", became the band's first and only number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The next two singles, "If You're Gone" and "Crutch", were both released on September 18, 2000—"If You're Gone" was serviced to pop radio while "Crutch" was promoted at rock radio instead. "Mad Season" and "Last Beautiful Girl" were released as the album's final two singles in 2001.
Contents
Recording and release
The album was a significant departure from the band's debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, as it moved to a grander, poppier sound with orchestra and horn sections. While not as successful as its predecessor, the album entered and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 365,000 and was certified 4× Platinum in the United States in October 2001.
Personnel
Matchbox Twenty
Rob Thomas – lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar
Kyle Cook – lead guitar, backing vocals
Adam Gaynor – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Brian Yale – bass guitar
Paul Doucette – drums, acoustic guitar on "Stop"
Additional musicians
Angie Aparo – background vocals on "Stop"
Peter Stuart – background vocals on "The Burn"
Sam Bacco – percussion on "Last Beautiful Girl"
Tony Adams – additional drums on "Stop"
Matt Serletic – orchestra composer
Nashville String Machine – string arrangements on "Rest Stop", "Leave", "You Won't Be Mine" and "Bed of Lies"
Atlanta Brass Society – Horn arrangements on "If You're Gone" and "Black and White People"
Production
Mark Dobson – additional engineering, Pro-Tools and digital editing
David Thoener – mixing
Shawn Grove – additional Pro-Tool editing, assistant engineering
Robert Hannon – assistant engineering
Greg Fogie – assistant engineering
Kevin Szymanski – assistant engineering
Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Stewart Whitmore – mastering
Artwork
Ria Lewerke, Doug Reichert, Paul Doucette, Imagic – art direction and design
Michael Sowa – cover art
Dean Karr – photography
Andrew Macpherson – photography (center spread and page 19)