From the Lions Mouth

From the Lions Mouth
Studio album by The Sound
Released November 1981
Recorded 1981 at the Rockfield Studios, Monmouthshire, Wales
Genre Post-punk, gothic rock
Length 41:59
Label Korova
Producer The Sound, Hugh Jones
The Sound chronology

Jeopardy
(1980)		 From the Lions Mouth
(1981)		 All Fall Down
(1982)

From the Lions Mouth [sic] is the second studio album by English post-punk band The Sound, released in November 1981 on record label Korova. Following the release of their previous album Jeopardy, keyboardist Belinda "Bi" Marshall left the group and was replaced by Colvin "Max" Mayers. For their new album, The Sound worked with producer Hugh Jones, as well as co-producing the album themselves. The album's sound was more polished than previous efforts.

Like Jeopardy, From the Lions Mouth was critically acclaimed but failed to capture the attention of the public, with the band's fanbase limited to a cult following.

Background

The album cover artwork was taken from the 1872 painting Daniel in the Lions Den [sic] by Briton Rivière.[1]

NME compared the album's bleak nature to Joy Division's Closer and Manic Street Preachers' The Holy Bible.[2] Despite their being posited as a gloomy band, AllMusic wrote "snake-charming opener 'Winning' is like a dash of cold water in the faces of all the bands that were wallowing and withering away at the weeping well [...] The Sound were not mopes. They had their problems with life, but rather than just vent or escape from them, they confront them and ask questions and attempt to sort it all out."[3]

Release

From the Lions Mouth was released in November 1981.

The album was remastered and re-released in 2002 by Renascent, a record label formed specifically for the task of reissuing The Sound's records.[4] This release included the 1982 single "Hothouse", despite frontman Adrian Borland's wishes that the album should have the same track order and listing as the original.[5] The song was not included as a separate track, but as a continuation of "New Dark Age".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [3]
The Big Takeover very favourable[6]
Melody Maker favourable[7]
NME favourable[8]
Record Mirror [9]
Smash Hits 5/10[10]
Uncut very favourable[11]

From the Lions Mouth was well received by critics upon its release. Mike Nicholls of Record Mirror wrote, "The Sound seem set to take up where Joy Division left off and become the saviors of the adolescent grim brigade".[9] Melody Maker's Steve Sutherland commented on the album's lighter, more commercial tone than that of Jeopardy, calling it "Jeopardy-as-palatable-product".[7]

In its retrospective article "Unspun Heroes", NME praised the album as "underrated" and a "ferocious, vital document".[2] Uncut described it as "a monumental work of rock 'n' roll angst" and The Sound's greatest album.[11] The Big Takeover called it "as flawless as it is quietly disturbing".[6]

Borland described the album as "the most polished and probably our most commercial album, with some of the greatest songs".[5]

Musical style

Sounds qualified the album as "gothic".[12]

Track listing

Side A
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Winning"  Adrian Borland, Max Mayers, Graham Green, Michael Dudley 4:18
2. "Sense of Purpose"  Borland, Mayers, Green, Dudley 3:52
3. "Contact the Fact"  Borland, Mayers, Green 4:21
4. "Skeletons"  Borland, Benita Biltoo, Green, Dudley 3:27
5. "Judgement"  Borland, Mayers, Green 5:03
Side B
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Fatal Flaw"  Borland, Mayers, Green, Dudley 4:36
2. "Possession"  Borland, Adrian Janes 3:25
3. "The Fire"  Borland, Mayers, Green, Dudley 2:53
4. "Silent Air"  Borland 4:14
5. "New Dark Age"  Borland 5:49

Personnel

The Sound
Technical

References

  1. ↑ "BBC – Your Paintings – Daniel in the Lion's Den". BBC. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Garrett, Jonathan (30 June 2011). "Unspun Heroes – The Sound, 'From the Lions Mouth' – Reviews – nme.com – The World's Fastest Music News Service, Music Videos, Interviews, Photos and More". NME. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kellman, Andy. "From the Lion's Mouth – The Sound : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Sound Microsite". renascent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Reeves, Paul Sutton (March 2002). "[The Sound biography]". Record Collector. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rabid, Jack (June 2002). "[From the Lions Mouth review]". The Big Takeover (50).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sutherland, Steve (24 October 1981). "[From the Lions Mouth review]". Melody Maker. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Gill, Andy (31 October 1981). "[From the Lions Mouth review]". NME. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Nicholls, Mike (21 October 1981). "Sound Roar". Record Mirror. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Cranna, Ian. "Albums". Smash Hits (November 12-25 1981): 25.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Roberts, Chris. "[From the Lions Mouth review]". Uncut. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  12. ↑ Roberts, Chris (1984). "Shock Treatment". Sounds. Retrieved 11 February 2013.

External links