AMG Review of Lion and the Witch

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

Die-hard Weezer fans know that Rivers Cuomo and co. have a soft spot for singles and EPs -- issuing countless "mini titles" over the years (many of which included non-album or live B-sides or a combination of the two). 2002 saw yet another model, The Lion and the Witch, a six-track live EP recorded during May of the same year. The only thing is, if you didn't snap up a copy shortly after its release, it looks like you'll be spending an arm and a leg on eBay. Only sold in select indie record stores, Lion was a limited-edition release, with each CD individually numbered. But this sort of thing is obviously aimed primarily at collectors -- why not just issue a full-length live album rather than a measly handful of tunes? Granted, the track list is rather interesting (a pair of rarely played Pinkerton songs are included -- "Falling for You" and "El Scorcho"), but besides getting 25,000 Weezer heads to run out during their lunch break and buy it, what's the EP's point?