Stephen Lynch - Lion - A Review
Stephen Lynch released "Lion", his 5th album of sublime music and ridiculous words in November 2012. Like his last album "3 Balloons", this one was done in a studio. But there are a couple big differences.
First, he brought in a great set of Nashville pros to lend him a hand on banjo, harmonica, mandolin, organ, cello, and more. Plus some great vocal duets with Courtney Jaye (who's also touring with him.)
Lynch also took a closer look at the musical aspects of his new songs. According to an interview with Michigan Live, his iPod shuffled into one of the songs on his last album and he realized how much he didn't like it.
The cure for that on "Lion" was a change in his songwriting process. Instead of starting with the funny, he set out to create "a great record of music you could listen to without paying attention to the words." Once the songs were musically fulfilling, only then did he approach the lyrical content. And, as a musician, Lynch has always been in the upper echelon of comedy musicians anyway. So he's topping himself here.
This is a fine line that every comedy songwriter has to tread. In my own work, I've realized that if the music gets to complicated the jokes get lost because there's too much for the listener to hang on to. That doesn't mean it can't be great music though. And Lynch really hit that fine line nicely with this album.
For good or bad, there's a lot less shock value to this album. No songs about Hitler or Jesus' brother or ugly babies. Where those songs hit you over the head, these new tracks are so relaxed that it seems more conversational. The jokes are there aplenty, but they're not pushed out to the front in any way.
Standout Tracks:
Tattoo - This album opener was offered before the album release as a free track and is a good teaser for what's coming up. Through the beautiful melodies he and Courtney Jaye serve up, they lambast all those people with stupid tattoos. My favorite line: "Your child's name with the words 'be strong' would be beautiful, but they spelled 'strong' wrong. Yeah, they spelled it 'stong'. Your stupid kid will now be 'stong'." Great song, but I was super disappointed to have to cross off the same premise in my own songwriting notebook.
Tennessee - Mind you, this song totally ridiculing Tennesse was recorded in Nashville. Apparently both the musicians in the studio and the Tennessee audiences loved it. Favorite line: "Where every cheek is filled with chew. And no one's ever seen a Jew."
The Gathering - Juggalos have to be one of the strangest subcultures in the US. And as much as I admire the marketing and promotion strategies of Insane Clown Posse, their fans leave themselves open to a ton of jokes. Favorite line: "Let us sing of the Gathering. A cultural happening. And also tits."
Other songs like "Whiskey Dick" and "You'll Do" are based on premises that have been done lots of times. Present company included. Though the spoken word stuff that goes along with the live track really helps "Whiskey Dick" along. And "So This Is Outer Space?" sounds a lot like the rambling acid trip described in the lyrics.
By the way, if you're a bigger fan of Stephen Lynch's live-recorded albums or you're not bright enough to know which parts to laugh at without a cue from the audience, all the songs on "Lion" are also presented as live tracks.
I won't say this is Stephen Lynch's best work. I think "Craig Machine" still takes the top spot in my collection. But it definitely is a mature step forward. And it's far better than "3 Balloons". It's not often you find a comedy music album that you can still enjoy without hearing the words. This one qualifies and it'll be a great addition to your Stephen Lynch collection.
And before you go, click here to download a free album from another rising star in the comedy music scene.
