Grant V. Ziegler, Editor-in-Chief of "The North Lake College News-Register", gives another sample of Lynch's combined notoriety and prestige: "Envision two beautiful angels coming down from heaven and having the prettiest voices you've ever heard. But instead of them speaking softly to you with encouraging words they fill your ears with obscenities while singing about the most offensive topics known to humankind." He adds that Lynch is a "self-proclaimed 'musician trapped in the body of a comedian'." Ziegler writes, ruefully, in a review of a March, 2013 concert: "Unfortunately, most of the audience was only familiar with Lynch's older material..." Half of the album was recorded in studio, and the other half performed live. Nick Zaino writes that, on "Lion", Lynch "offers both studio and live versions of 13 tracks and takes the musical side of musical comedy a step further, making it an equal partner with the comedy. Fans of Americana and acoustic musical could listen to the studio half of "Lion" and hear a delicate, finely produced album. That is, if they could ignore the lyrics about Juggalos, queer tattoos and a monumental case of whiskey dick." Lynch told Mr. Liberty, "In general, the album is a little less frenetic, it's softer. More thoughtful. There are more spaces between the jokes..." Many of the songs are almost ballad-like, in comparison with older, more rocking songs such as "Craig" and "Kitten". For some of the change in the sound of the music, Zaino credits Lynch's working with guitarist and Nashville producer Doug Lancio (who has collaborated with Patty Griffin, Steve Earle and John Hiatt). About the B side recorded live, Zaino said, "The live disc sparkles musically as well, proving the smooth sound isn't just studio trickery. Lynch, Jaye and a few backing musicians change the arrangements slightly from the studio versions." In a review of a March, 2013 concert, Grant Ziegler wrote that the song might become "a new fan favorite." Of the crowd's response, he said, "It directly offended nearly half of the audience, as it was about the horrible tattoos people get nowadays. From attacking Japanese typography, tribal marks, lower back tattoos and any other generic overused logo, this song systematically offended just about everyone's body art. This was the first song of the night where Courtney Jaye joined in and immediately the audience could recognize the chemistry between her and Lynch.