Lion is the fifth album by American musician, comedian, and actor Stephen Lynch, released in 2012. The first half of the album was recorded at Studio G! (Nashville, Tennessee) and the second half of the album was recorded live from Symphony Space (New York City).
Lynch told interviewer Dylan Gadino, "I wanted this album to have the Americana flavor to it that I love so much in the music of, say, Neil Young or Patty Griffin or Ray LaMontagne. I think it does... And, I'm confident the songs are still funny, if a bit subtler than some of my earlier work. Astute listeners will detect a slight shift of direction, comedy-wise. Musically, it's the best work I've ever done. I'm a little bit in love with it."
Background
Lynch told interviewer John Liberty, an online journalist, that he was "riding his bicycle while listening to his iPod on shuffle when it randomly selected an old mix from his last studio album." Lynch told Mr. Liberty, "I realized how much I didn't like it." Therefore, he "set out to create a musically satisfying album first. The jokes came second." Lynch added, "Really, I just wanted to make a great record of music you could listen to without paying attention to the words... I threw a lot away. I wasn't going to settle for something just because it was funny. I wanted it to resonate with me."
Lynch's lyrical reputation
Lynch's reputation for his song-writing is part of the background for this album; this reputation is widely known, and his sort of comedy is widely expected, among fans and reviewers.
Reviewer Nick A. Zaino III wrote: "Lynch has always reveled in that contrast between sweet music and scatological content." John Seaborn Gray, likewise, said in a review of a 2009 concert, "Lynch's songs certainly help to establish the tone. Beautifully written, the clash between the coarse, often shocking subject matter with the serene and lovely music lends a spirit of playful anarchy to the show. Nothing is sacred, and nothing is to be taken too seriously." Gray added, "It is the talent of a veteran comic to chastise his audience and make them happy for it. No matter how many unruly, drunken fans shouted for their favorite songs, Lynch was able to head them off with ... a short, sharp retort ("I am not a jukebox, assholes!") without seeming resentful..."
Grant V. Ziegler, Editor-in-Chief of The North Lake College News-Register, gives another sample of Lynch's combined notoriety and prestige: "Envision two beautiful angels coming down from heaven and having the prettiest voices you've ever heard. But instead of them speaking softly to you with encouraging words they fill your ears with obscenities while singing about the most offensive topics known to humankind." He adds that Lynch is a "self-proclaimed 'musician trapped in the body of a comedian'." Ziegler writes, ruefully, in a review of a March, 2013 concert: "Unfortunately, most of the audience was only familiar with Lynch's older material..."
Music and lyrics
Half of the album was recorded in studio, and the other half performed live. Nick Zaino writes that, on Lion, Lynch "offers both studio and live versions of 13 tracks and takes the musical side of musical comedy a step further, making it an equal partner with the comedy. Fans of Americana and acoustic musical could listen to the studio half of Lion and hear a delicate, finely produced album. That is, if they could ignore the lyrics about Juggalos, queer tattoos and a monumental case of whiskey dick."
Lynch told Mr. Liberty, "In general, the album is a little less frenetic, it's softer. More thoughtful. There are more spaces between the jokes..." Many of the songs are almost ballad-like, in comparison with older, more rocking songs such as "Craig" and "Kitten".
For some of the change in the sound of the music, Zaino credits Lynch's working with guitarist and Nashville producer Doug Lancio (who has collaborated with Patty Griffin, Steve Earle and John Hiatt).
About the B side recorded live, Zaino said, "The live disc sparkles musically as well, proving the smooth sound isn't just studio trickery. Lynch, Jaye and a few backing musicians change the arrangements slightly from the studio versions."