"Liar" | ||||
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Single by Rollins Band | ||||
from the album Weight | ||||
Released | 1994 | |||
Format | Vinyl, CD and Cassette | |||
Recorded | 1993 & 1994 | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 6:34 (4:19 radio edit, 4:49 video edit) | |||
Label | Imago | |||
Producer | Theo Van Rock | |||
Rollins Band singles chronology | ||||
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"Liar" is a song by Rollins Band and the lead single from their fourth full-length album, Weight, released in 1994. It was the album's only charting single and one of the group's best known songs. "Liar" is something of a live favorite for Rollins Band, with its spoken verses usually improvised or changed somewhat from the studio take.
Both a short edit (4:19) and a longer "video edit" (4:49) were distributed as CD singles in various territories, often with one or more unreleased tracks from the Weight sessions added; these and other outtakes were included in the 2004 release Weighting.
The video edit of "Liar" was featured in the song's music video and features a different vocal track and slightly different lyrics in the opening section. Directed by Anton Corbijn, the video itself features alternating depictions of vocalist Henry Rollins: during the song's verses, he is dressed in a plain black T-shirt as he speaks in a calm, soothing tone about trust and friendship; during the chorus segments he is shirtless and painted red, wildly jumping and flailing about as he screams derisively at his audience. He is also seen dressed in a Superman parody costume, a police officer uniform and a nun's habit.
Upon release, the "Liar" video gained heavy airplay on MTV and appeared on Beavis and Butt-head. In the episode, Beavis becomes excited about the chorus, repeating the word "Liar!" in the same way he typically says "Fire! Fire! Fire!". Butt-head comes to the conclusion that lying is "cool."
"Liar" was named the 64th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[1]
Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank | |
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1994 | Studio Brussels | Belgium | "Best Songs of the Year (1994)" | 21 | [2] |
2004 | Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "666 Songs You Must Own (Alternative Rock)" | * | [3] |
"*" denotes an unordered list. |
Year | Chart | Peak position |
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1994 | Bubbling Under Hot 100 | 9 |
1994 | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 40 |
1994 | Modern Rock Tracks | 26 |
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