Genre Pop Label A&M/Octone | Length 3:25 | |
Recorded Conway Studios
(Los Angeles, California) Writer(s) Adam Levine, Brian West, Marius Moga Producer(s) Levine, Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy, Sweetwesty (add.) | ||
"The Man Who Never Lied" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 for their fourth studio album Overexposed (2012). It was written by Adam Levine, Brian West and Marius Moga and produced by Levine and Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy together with West under his production pseudonym Sweetwesty. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, particularly for its chorus. Following the release of the album, due to strong digital downloads, the song peaked at number nine on the singles chart in South Korea with sales of 31,977 digital copies.
Contents
Background and production
In 2011, Maroon 5 re-released their third studio album Hands All Over. The lead single from the re-issue of the album, "Moves Like Jagger" featured American recording artist Christina Aguilera and was a commercial success, managing to reach number-one on 18 national charts including the US Billboard Hot 100. In middle 2011, the band started working on their following fourth studio album. One of the members of Maroon 5, James Valentine spoke to Billboard and revealed their plans to release their fourth studio album in early 2012. On March 22, 2012, the band posted a video on YouTube featuring numerous scenes from the band in the studio, recording the album. On July 17, 2012, the album was released under the title Overexposed.
"The Man Who Never Lied" was written by Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine together with Brian West and Marius Moga. The song was produced by Levine together with Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy; West provided additional production under his production name Sweetwesty. "The Man Who Never Lied" was recorded at Conway Studios in Los Angeles by Noah Passovoy while Eric Eylands served as engineering assistant. Serban Ghenea mixed the song at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach together with John Hanes and Phil Seaford who served as mixing engineer and mixing assistant respectively. Passovoy also provided the programming and the keys, while West provided the guitar and additional programming. Additional keys and programming were assisted by Max Martin and Sam Farrar respectively.
Music and lyrics
"The Man Who Never Lied" is a pop song with a length of three minutes and 25 seconds. It is written in the key of D major, in common time, with a tempo of 116 beats per minute. Levine's vocal range spans from the low note of A4 to the high note of B5. Lyrically, the song finds the protagonist in a relationship trouble where he is playing a role of a good person: "I was the man who never lied... but I couldn't break your heart like you did yesterday." According to Nate Chinen of The New York Times, in "The Man Who Never Lied", Levine sings "about spoiling his perfect record of honesty to spare a quarreling lover some hurtful feelings." Rob Shiefeld of Rolling Stone concluded that in the song, the singer confesses that the honesty is the worst policy. According to the reviewer, that's a "dubious motto for real life – but it's always a promising one for a pop sharpie."
Critical reception
Suzanne Byrne of RTÉ.ie concluded that "Lucky Strike" alongside "Daylight", "The Man Who Never Lied" and "Love Somebody" are potential single releases. Jeremy Thomas of 411 Mania labeled the song together with "Payphone" and "One More Night" as "enjoyable numbers" that have potential for a "decent amount" of airplay. Bruce Dennill of The Citizen wrote that "The Man Who Never Lied" together with "One More Night" are evidence "that Maroon 5 have come up with something (for now) that they’ve embraced and are willing to run with." In a review of Overexposed Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music wrote, the band had left "the strutting cockerel heat" of their 2004 single "This Love" for the "saturated rave bliss" of "Love Somebody" or "The Man Who Never Lied"; an effect of the market they have chosen to contribute on. Billboard's Chris Payne wrote that the song keeps the energy from "Lucky Strike" strong, and contains one of the most memorable choruses on Overexposed. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy wrote that it feels "anonymous" despite its "stadium-sized" chorus.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Overexposed, A&M/Octone Records.
Charts
Upon the release of Overexposed, due to strong digital downloads "The Man Who Never Lied" debuted on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number nine on June 24, 2012, with sales of 31,977 digital copies. The next week, it fell to number 16 and sold additional 15,452 copies. It stayed on the chart for total of eight weeks.