The Lion and the Witch

The Lion and the Witch
Live EP by Weezer
Released	September 24, 2002
Recorded	May 2002
Genre	Alternative Rock
Length	26:24
Label	Geffen
Weezer chronology
Maladroit 2002 The Lion and the Witch 2002 Make Believe (2005)

The Lion and the Witch is a 2002 live EP by Weezer.

Overview

Recorded in Japan in the spring of 2002, while promoting Maladroit, The Lion and the Witch was released on September 24 of that same year - exactly six years after the release of Pinkerton. It was distributed as a limited edition release in independently owned music stores with only 25,000 copies having been made.

Like Maladroit, the marketing of this EP caused a rift with Weezer's record label. The band wanted an eight-song EP with a unique packaging that wouldn't involve crystal cases. Geffen told the band that the packaging idea was too expensive and the number of songs on the EP needed to be reduced from eight songs to six as to not upset the other retailers who wouldn't be getting the disc. The artwork and packaging stuck but the disc's length was reduced to six songs including a "hidden track." This hidden track was an instrumental track titled "Polynesia" that opens the disc.

Rivers drops the "f" word during his stage banter on "Falling For You", which was edited out. This is curious, considering the EP was intended for independant record stores, and not big retailers like Wal-Mart, who usually request such edits.

Recording

Several outtakes from these Japanese tour recordings later turned up as B-sides to the single "Keep Fishin'".

While recording the EP, the band makes two errors on this live disc. Rivers accidentally begins singing the third verse of "El Scorcho" during the second verse and Scott Shriner, who had been in the band for less than a year at the time of this show, forgets the words in the bridge to "Holiday", causing the other members of the band to crack up. After the performance is through, Cuomo muses "Scott just won a Grammy!" In addition to that error, the last track is thirty seconds shorter than what the band intended and there is a noticeable cut off on the finished disc. None of the music is missing, but there was more after-song commentary that the band wanted on the disc. The full version of this track was released shortly thereafter on the band's website as a free mp3.

Artwork

original art

The cover art was designed by Los Angeles-based duo kozyndan. The liner notes of the album have a number of fan letters from Japanese Weezer fans in broken English. The notes also list production credits for Rupert Peasley, who is known among fans as the man on the couch on the cover of Maladroit, and E.O. Smith, which is a pseudonym for Rivers Cuomo, who went to E.O. Smith High School. While only 25,000 individually numbered copies of the disc were made, apparently some fans have copies of the disc with numbers up to the 33,000's. As noted at the band's website, the numbering was disrupted by printing difficulties with the cardboard sleeve. Although some fans had difficulty securing a copy of the CD, weezer.com boardie ArizonaWeezer procured several dozen copies of which he tried to sell to other boardies at every available chance.

Track listing

All songs were written by Rivers Cuomo, except where noted.

1. "Polynesia/Dope Nose" ("Polynesia" written by Scott Shriner)
2. "Island in the Sun"
3. "Falling for You"
4. "Death and Destruction"
5. "El Scorcho"
6. "Holiday"

"Polynesia" was recorded on May 19, 2002 in Fukuoka, Japan.
"Dope Nose" and "Island in the Sun" were recorded on May 25, 2002 in Nagoya, Japan.
"Falling for You" was recorded on May 26, 2002 in Tokyo, Japan.
"Death and Destruction" was recorded on May 20, 2002 in Hiroshima, Japan.
"El Scorcho" was recorded on May 27, 2002 in Tokyo, Japan.
"Holiday" was recorded on May 16, 2002 in Sendai, Japan.

Outtakes

• "Death and Destruction" (alternate mix, "Keep Fishin'" B-side, 2002)
• "Photograph" ("Keep Fishin'" B-side, 2002)
• "Knock-down Drag-out" ("Keep Fishin'" B-side, 2002)
• "Slob" ("Keep Fishin'" B-side, 2002)
• "Holiday" (Redux) (full ending official site release, 2002)
• "Happy Together" (official site free release, 2002 - unconfirmed if from this tour)

"Death and Destruction", "Knock-down Drag-out" and "Slob" were recorded on May 20, 2002 in Hiroshima, Japan.
"Photograph" was recorded on May 27, 2002 in Tokyo, Japan.

Personnel

• Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
• Patrick Wilson – drums
• Brian Bell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Scott Shriner – bass guitar, backing vocals