Photo: Press
“It’s a very unique record for the times, and remains so today - it’s not dated," Fun Lovin' Criminals frontman and radio icon Huey Morgan says of their classic debut album, Come Find Yourself. "It burned a path for crossing genres that we now take for granted. Looking back, it was a good start for a career in music that was uncompromising. You can tell listening to it, it was exactly the way we wanted it to be. There's still a lot of love out there for Come Find Yourself.“
Amen, that there is - so much love that the band are celebrating its 20th anniversary by re-releasing it in a beautiful and expanded collector's edition, before taking the record on the road for a world tour.
To get under the skin of what went into making the brilliant Come Find Yourself, bassist Brian 'Fast' Leiser exclusively talks us through each and every song on the record - what it inspired it, and what it still means today.
'The Fun Lovin’ Criminal'
"This is one of the first songs written by myself and Huey in the fall of 1993. The blending of genres like country, hip hop and rock was an unintentional blessing as the pieces fit nicely in the track. Add the horn fanfare in the chorus and lyrics about our trials and tribulations working in the Limelight nightclub and you have what is considered to be our theme song."
'Passive / Aggressive'
"Like the title suggests this song blends two different vibes. You have the chilled out beats of the verses leading into the heavy rock chorus. A fun song to perform live and one that has been played in most of our shows for the past 20 years."
'The Grave And The Constant'
"A soulful song about Huey's time in the Marines. The blending of Jazz and Soul elements worked very well from the start. Another song written in our first sessions in the fall of 1993."
'Scooby Snacks'
"It's funny that we got our record deal before the song was written. I was messing around on beats at home in front of the tv. I had Reservoir Dogs on and was listening to it while the instrumental was playing in the background. It was cool. I sent Huey the track, he wrote the lyrics inspired by a colleague we worked with at The Limelight who was a bit of a mental security guard. the label heard it and loved it and the rest is history."
'Smoke ‘Em'
"A song about jumping out of airplanes but has become our ‘smokers anthem’ in our live shows. Also written in our first session it had a great lounge vibe with fat beats and a great horn/guitar outro. One of my favorites to perform live as I channel the ghost of Ray Manzarek from the doors with the left hand key bass, right hand electric piano."
'Bombin’ The L'
"A song about spraypainting subway trains in NYC. The track has a cleared sample of 'Freebird' which was amazing to have been able to use. Huey wrote a letter to the widow of Ronnie Van Zant explaining his love of the band and Ronnie’s vocal. She gave us her blessing to use the sample, something unheard of if it was attempted today!"
'I Can’t Get With That'
"Yet another stoner jam! We love writing soulful songs that musically are full of space and vibes. Lyrically it is important as it relates to the injustices in the world, like racism. One of the best guitar solo’s ever played by Huey and a great live song."
'King Of New York'
"Ladi Dadi! Growing up in NYC in the 90’s was a great time. The Gambino Family was still very much around and the boss was John Gotti. More of a tongue in cheek homage to the mafia in NYC, we liked blending the funk/rock elements to make something unique."
'We Have All The Time In The World'
"Our label EMI asked if we wanted to do a cover for the album. Originally we refused but Huey and I had been listening to a boxset of James Bond songs and felt we could do this one justice. The John Barry / Hal David combo is always a recipe for a good song and Louie Armstrong’s voice is imperfect like Hueys, yet very original in its tone. I love the trumpet part and always look forward to performing it live."
'Bear Hug'
"A hip hop track with slide guitar and harmonica! Huey was ill on the day he recorded the vocal, very fitting for the overall energy of the track."
'Come Find Yourself'
"The title track of the album and a great song live, especially with Franks killer drums! A very chilled out introspective track, both musically and lyrically."
'Crime And Punishment'
"Bad ass beats and another example of 2 different vibes in one song. It starts with a heavy combo of rock guitar/bass/drums and melts midway into a funky hip hop jam."
'Methadonia'
"Another side of the band is our interest in blues music. This song showcased our musicianship and appreciation for the music of old. No samples, all live."
Fun Lovin' Criminals release the collector's edition of Come Find Yourself on 19 February. Pre-order it here.
Meanwhile, their upcoming UK tour dates are below. For tickets and more information, visit here.
February 2016
Thursday 04 : Leeds O2 Academy
Friday 05 : Newcastle O2 Academy
Saturday 06 : Nottingham Rock City
Thursday 11 : Oxford O2 Academy
Friday 12 : Worthing Pavilion Theatre
Saturday 13 : Norwich UEA LCR Norwich
Thursday 18 : Cardiff Y Plas (formally Solus)
Friday 19 : Exeter Great Hall
Saturday 20 : London Kentish Town Forum
Thursday 25 : Birmingham The Institute
Friday 26 : Manchester Cathedral
Saturday 27 : Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom
