The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 26, 2008 | |||
Recorded | Avast/Aleph Studios | |||
Genre | Rock [1] | |||
Length | 53:25 | |||
Label | Southern Lord (SUNN90) | |||
Producer | Randall Dunn | |||
Earth chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The A.V. Club | A [2] |
BBC | (favorable) [3] |
The Guardian | [4] |
Pitchfork Media | 7.7/10 [5] |
PopMatters | [6] |
The Quietus | 9/10 [7] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | [8] |
The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull is the fifth full-length studio album by the American musical group Earth.
The 2008 album continues bandleader Dylan Carlson's creative evolution away from the experimental drone-grunge-metal output of their earlier work. The music on Bees still features the band's trademark slower tempos and gradually developed melodic themes, but has influence from jazz, country and western, and film music. Unlike previous material, Hammond organ and acoustic piano is prominently featured on this album. [1]
Earth embarked on a worldwide tour in support of the album. [9]
Bill Frisell is a guest on the album, playing guitar on tracks one, four, and five.
The title is a reference to Judges 14:8 in the Bible. It tells the story of Samson, who tore apart a lion and when he returned, noticed a swarm of bees and some honey on the lion's carcass. The album continues the partial trend of Earth material being influenced by Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, with certain songs named after phrases from the book (for example, "Hung from the Moon" and "Engine of Ruin"). [10] [11]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Omens and Portents I: The Driver" | 9:06 |
2. | "Rise to Glory" | 5:47 |
3. | "Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)" | 8:01 |
4. | "Engine of Ruin" | 6:28 |
5. | "Omens and Portents II: Carrion Crow" | 8:04 |
6. | "Hung from the Moon" | 7:44 |
7. | "The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull" | 8:15 |
8. | "Junkyard Priest" (Vinyl bonus track) | 7:13 |
Per the liner notes [12]
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organisation founded by Harrison.
Earth is an American rock band based in Olympia, Washington and led by the guitarist Dylan Carlson. Initially active between 1989 and 1997, their early work is characterized by heavy guitar distortion, drones, and lengthy, minimalist song structures; their 1993 debut album Earth 2 is recognized as a pioneering work of the drone metal genre. The band resurfaced in the early 2000s, with their subsequent output reducing the distortion and incorporating elements of country, jazz rock, and folk. Earth's current lineup consists of Carlson and drummer Adrienne Davies.
Magic Time is the thirty-first studio album by Van Morrison, released in 2005 by Geffen Records. It debuted at No. 25 on the US Billboard charts and No. 3 in the UK - Morrison's best UK chart debut until Still on Top – The Greatest Hits opened at No. 2 in 2007. Rolling Stone ranked 'Magic Time' seventeenth on The Top 50 Records of 2005.
The Grimmrobe Demos is the first demo album by American drone metal band Sunn O))). It is the most direct representation of its self-proclaimed Earth-worship. It was originally limited to 500 copies by Hydra Head Records but, in 2005, Southern Lord Records reissued it on CD and vinyl with a bonus live track. An early rehearsal track titled "Bremerton" was included on the vinyl release.
Wind on the Water is the second album by Crosby & Nash, released on ABC Records in 1975. Cassette and 8-track tape versions of the album were distributed by Atlantic Records, to which Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were signed. It peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. Three singles were released from the album, "Carry Me", "Take the Money and Run", and "Love Work Out", of which only the first charted, peaking at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Octopus is the third album by the British band The Bees, released in 2007. Octopus was self-produced in the band's own basement studio, The Steam Rooms, on the Isle of Wight.
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems is the sixth studio album by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released in April 2002 via BNA Records. It became Chesney's first album to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced five singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 2001 and 2003 with "Young", "The Good Stuff", "A Lot of Things Different", "Big Star", and the title track. A live performance music video was made for "Live Those Songs", which charted at number 60 without being released as a single; the song also became a concert tour opener for Chesney for several years. "On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful" was also made into a music video, without being released as a single. "The Good Stuff" was the biggest hit of Chesney's career at the time, not only spending seven weeks at the top of the country charts, but also becoming Billboard's Number One country single of 2002 according to Billboard Year-End. In 2004, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over four million copies in the United States.
Hibernaculum is a 2007 studio album by the American musical group Earth, though acknowledged as an EP by the band. All of the songs, except for "A Plague of Angels", are older Earth songs that were re-recorded in the country-influenced style of Hex. The album includes a DVD with a documentary by Seldon Hunt, called "Within the Drone". Both "Coda Maestoso in F (Flat) Minor" and a "A Plague of Angels" appear in the documentary, "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia".
We Ran is a 1998 rock album by American singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Ronstadt. The disc featured back-up from three members of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. It spent two weeks on the Billboard albums chart, peaking at #160.
Kickin' It Up is the second studio album by American country music artist John Michael Montgomery. The album was released by Atlantic Records on January 25, 1994. On February 19 of the same year, the album reached #1 on the Billboard 200. Four songs were released from it: "I Swear," "Rope the Moon," "Be My Baby Tonight" and "If You've Got Love." Three of the singles reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, while "Rope the Moon" was a #4. "Be My Baby Tonight" and "I Swear" both crossed over into the Hot 100, peaking at #73 and #42, respectively. Additionally, "Kick It Up" peaked at #72 from unsolicited airplay. "I Swear" was later covered by pop group All-4-One, whose version was also a Number One hit in several countries.
Moment of Forever is the 56th studio album by American country music artist Willie Nelson., released on January 29, 2008, on the Lost Highway Records label. A video has been made for the album's first single "Gravedigger", and another video has been made for the track "You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore", featuring Jessica Simpson, Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Wilson, and Dan Rather. The latter video premiered on the weekend of February 23–24 on MTV.
Little Honey is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on October 14, 2008, by Lost Highway Records. The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, selling 35,000 copies that week, thereby becoming her first Top 10 album.
Let There Be Peace on Earth is the first Christmas album from American country music artist Vince Gill. It was released in 1993 on MCA Nashville. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," one of the album's tracks, peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Michael Aubrey Walker is an American country music artist. In 2000 he was signed by DreamWorks Nashville and in 2001, he released his self-titled debut album. This album produced his only chart single in "Honey Do", which peaked at number 42 on the Billboard country charts. He also toured with Brooks & Dunn on the first annual "Neon Circus Tour" which also featured Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Keith Urban and Cledus T. Judd after the release of his album, although its second through fifth singles all failed to chart. Included on the album were covers of Rodney Crowell's 1990 single "What Kind of Love", Billy "Crash" Craddock's 1974 single "Rub It In", and T. Graham Brown's 1999 single "Memphis Women and Chicken". Gary Allan also recorded the song "See If I Care" on his album of the same name, and "Honey Do" was originally recorded by Keith Harling on his 1999 album Bring It On.
Out of My Hands is the major label debut release album for Virgin Records by the band Green River Ordinance. Its sound has been compared to that of bands such as Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls, Maroon 5, Sister Hazel, and Gavin DeGraw. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. It contains the band's single, "Come On". Another track, "Outside", was played on The Hills. "On Your Own" was aired on So You Think You Can Dance and Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel 2.
Heaven and Earth is a posthumous studio album by John Martyn, completed by Gary Pollitt, released online on 16 May 2011. During recording the album was provisionally entitled Willing to Work.
An Appointment with Mr. Yeats is the tenth studio album by the Waterboys, released on 19 September 2011 through W14/Proper Records. The album contains 14 tracks, all of which are based upon the poetry of W.B. Yeats, a long term influence on lead-songwriter Mike Scott.
Slipstream is the sixteenth studio album by Bonnie Raitt, released in April 2012. American Songwriter Magazine praised it as "her best album in years and one of the best of her 40-year career."
Dirt Road Communion is the second studio album by American country music artist Chase Rice. It was released on March 20, 2012, via Dack Janiels Records.
Primitive and Deadly is the eighth studio album by American musical group Earth. It was released on September 2, 2014, through Southern Lord Records. The album, which features Mark Lanegan and Rabia Shaheen Qazi of Rose Windows as guest vocalists, is the first Earth album since Pentastar: In the Style of Demons (1996) to feature vocals. Other contributors include Brett Netson of Built to Spill, Jodie Cox of Narrows, and Bill Herzog of Jesse Sykes.