You Lied

"You Lied" is a track originally performed by British progressive metal band Peach. It was notably covered live by Tool and released on their Salival live DVD/CD box set. The song itself in its Peach incarnation was heavily influenced by Opiate and Undertow-era Tool sound, with its central heavy guitar riffs.

Origins and evolution

The lyrics and melody were originally written in the 1980s by Simon Oakes (Peach's vocalist) for Amelia Fletcher, singer with Talulah Gosh. It was originally recorded in 1990 by Amelia and Simon as members of Bloom. After Simon joined Peach in 1992, this was one of the songs he presented the band with from Bloom's live set (along with a few others that appear on early Peach demos). Peach then recorded the song in early 1992 on an 8-track recorder and this version is also available on Peach's website. This was the last time the song featured its original chorus. However, the band soon began to change their sound to be more progressive metal orientated, and drawing influence from bands such as Black Sabbath. Early gigs in Los Angeles supporting Tool to promote Opiate also helped to reinforce this change. On their return to England, they brought with them several copies of Ministry's Psalm 69 album, and were particularly fond of the track "Jesus Built My Hotrod". In light of this, they decided to take "You Lied" in a slower, heavier direction.

Inclusion on Giving Birth to a Stone

The song was recorded for Peach's second EP (Burn). During their stint supporting Tool on the European leg of their Undertow tour, the song quickly became a live favourite with Tool fans and a highlight of Peach's live set, apparently especially popular with Belgians. The song went on to be played every single night of Tool's 1994 UK tour. Peach then decided to include the song on their debut album. As Simon Oakes had been a long time friend of comedian, music writer and novelist Stewart Lee, Simon asked Stewart to write a spoken monologue about lying for inclusion in the recording. The monologue was recorded in two takes. It was included in the version on Giving Birth to a Stone, however, it is so low in the mix that apparently even Stewart Lee himself can't fully make it out, as the first 20 seconds or so are almost inaudible. This segment has only ever been performed live once; when Peach supported Tool at Shepherd's Bush Empire, when Stewart Lee joined them onstage, but he was apparently heavily affected by nerves, despite having performed on stage many times before, as he was not used to a crowd of metal fans. The monologue was not included on Tool's performance of the song.

Tool's version

Tool's cover version of the song was recorded for inclusion on the Salival box set during the Ænima tour, and features the new line-up of Tool with Justin Chancellor, Peach's bassist, as well as Buzz Osborne ("King Buzzo" of the Melvins) on second guitar. The inclusion of this song (as well as another Peach song, "Spasm") was probably influenced not only by it being their bassist's former band, but also because of the strong friendship that had formed between the two bands during those early tours. Tool's version is slower, heavier, and has a more distinct ending than Peach's version, which fades out.

Suns of the Tundra

As "the evolution of Peach", and "You Lied" being Peach's best known and arguably most popular song, Suns of the Tundra frequently incorporate the song into their live sets to this day. The inclusion of the song has however caused younger fans to ask them why they're playing "Tool covers". "You Lied" was performed at the Download Festival at Donington Park in 2006, where Suns of the Tundra opened the festival on the first day. The monologue section was performed there by Laszlo Pallagi III, the only Hungarian to perform at Donington Park. Footage of this is again available on Suns of the Tundra's website. Incidentally, the headline act for that first day at Donington were Tool.

External links

• Peach's official website
• "You Lied"'s page on Peach's website
• Suns of the Tundra's official webpage
• The album section of Tool's webpage (the Salival section features an audio sample of their cover)