The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path is The Early November's second full-length album. The triple disc concept album was released on July 11, 2006 via Drive-Thru Records. Production The recording of the album began on February 28, 2005, and took over a year until its completion due to the nature of a triple disc record, stress, Enders changing the concept of the story several times mid-record, and ultimately the lack of focus which led to a mid-recording nervous breakdown. This forced the album's release to be postponed from its original June 2005 street date to July 2006. The third disc, The Path, was written by Enders and Jeff Kummer, and co-produced by Enders. According to an interview with Enders on Episode 17 of the Voice & Verse Podcast, there were multiple versions of the story that were recorded and considered. Though the first version to be submitted to Drive-Thru Records was not immediately accepted, the label was supportive and asked that some changes and additional work be done. In the end, it was Enders and those artistically involved with writing and presenting the story who ultimately re-worked the story and its presentation multiple times before it became the final product, despite rumors that Drive-Thru Records had turned down the story seven times for quality control issues before finally approving it. Enders also did the artwork for The Mother, the Mechanic and the Path, drawing up a father in a mechanics uniform named Matt, a mother and a son named Dean, for the cover and booklet. Recording took place at Portrait Recording Studios in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, with Enders and Chris Badami producing the sessions. Badami also mixed and engineered the recordings. He was assisted by Michelle Dispenziere and Paul Spinella. Several people contributed to the recordings: David Rimelis (string and horn arrangements, nylon guitar and banjo), Arthur Fiacco (cello), Elizabeth Hostetter (viola), Andrea Schultz (violin), Angela Cordell (French horn), Richard Dispenziere (trumpet), Peter McGuinness (trombone), Kenny Sorenson (harmonica), Brian O'Neal (Roark) and Lynsie Crespo (background vocals), and Badami (piano and percussion). George Marino mastered The Mechanic disc and Greg Calbi mastered The Mother disc, both at Sterling Sound in New York City. Badami mastered The Path disc at Portrait Recording Studio. Music and lyrical content The concept album is broken down into three chapters: The Mechanic – the proclaimed "rock" disc of the album, showcasing the heavier side