I spent the week trying to remember what first called my attention to this week's featured tune, and I think it was the Beautiful Girl hearing it on the radio (or on some TV appearance) and telling me it sounded like the kind of music I would like. Or it was their appearance at their first Grammy Awards...such are the joys of an aging memory. Regardless (though I prefer giving the Beautiful Girl her due), it ended up being a most propitious introduction....
Mumford & Sons formed in London in 2007, and within two years had released their first LP. It didn't take long for the band to achieve considerable success, and it has shown little sign of abating in the years since. Their second album, Babel, in addition to debuting at #1 in both the U.K. and America, was nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won two. Each member of the band is a multi-instrumentalist, and the band has become well known for its concerts. Mumford & Sons have released four studio albums, with two charting at #1 and two at #2 in their native Great Britain, and three #1's and a #2 here in the States. They've also released three live albums, six studio EPs, and seven live EP's. They have released twenty-one singles as well, with a #12 hit in both countries. By the way (goddamnit!), the band's name is a nod to lead vocalist Marcus Mumford (who took the lead in organizing and promoting the band) and to an earlier time when family businesses were more prevalent than they are today (though none of the band members are Mumford's sons...).
"Little Lion Man" was the first single released from their debut album, Sigh No More (the title is from a line in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing). The single peaked at #45 (with a bullet!) in the United States and #24 in the United Kingdom. The album reached #2 in both countries.
Fun Fact: Despite making liberal use of the word "fucked," for some odd reason "Little Lion Man" was not given a Parental Advisory Sticker upon its release. Maybe the Shakespeare reference gave it a literary sheen?
As I've noted a time or two (or a hundred) here on Friday Night Jukebox, it often amazes me how often I revisit a song I haven't heard in a while, and it reminds me just how incredible that song was (and why I added it to the pantheon of FNJ tunes). Such was the case with "Little Lion Man"--it's a lyrical, musical, and vocal work of wonder. The four musicians--stand-up bass, acoustic guitar, banjo (emaycee fave!), and organ--play off each other like a clock's gears mesh together, each instrument making a statement unto itself. Marcus Mumford's lyrics--basically an indictment of himself for damnable behavior in a prior relationship--are searing, and Mumford sings a diatribe against himself that's just as fiery. Add in the band's delicious harmonies, and you have a song for the ages...or at least one of the best ones in this still very young century.
Lyric Sheet: "But it was not your fault but mine/And it was your heart on the line/I really fucked it up this time/Didn't I, my dear..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Losers
Peace,
emaycee
No comments:
Post a Comment