The album is the follow-up to Oakenfold's 2002 debut Bunkka.

The single "Faster Kill Pussycat" features Brittany Murphy and is one of many collaborations to appear on the album, with other collaborators including Pharrell Williams, Grandmaster Flash and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.

Initial critical response to A Lively Mind ranged from mixed.

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 40, based on 9 reviews.

[2] "Not Over" is a remix/remake of the 1995 song "Not Over Yet" by Grace, Oakenfeld's former band, featuring new vocals and lyrics.