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.
Recording and release
The album was a significant departure from the band's debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, as it moved from a straight rock sound to poppier sounds and experimental rock. Mad Seasons sound is grander and more innovative than the band's previous album, as it includes orchestra and horn sections. While not as successful as its predecessor, the album entered and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200
| title14 = Bent
| note14 = Live in Seattle
| title15 = Back 2 Good
| note15 = Live in Seattle; also on the "Back 2 Good" single
| writer15 =
| title16 = Don't Let Me Down
| note16 = Live in Australia; also on the "Back 2 Good" single
| writer16 = Lennon–McCartney
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 <small>(center spread and page 19)</small>
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Mad Season
!Chart (2000)
!Peak<br />position
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Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2000 year-end chart performance for Mad Season
!Chart (2000)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
|15
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|23
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|39
|}
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2001 year-end chart performance for Mad Season
!Chart (2001)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
|30
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|81
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|46
|}
Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Decade-end chart performance for Mad Season
!scope="col"|Chart (2000–2009)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|align="center"|96
|-
!scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|85
|}