A Small Victory Explained

A Small Victory
Cover:A Small Victory.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Faith No More
Album:Angel Dust
B-Side:
  • "Let's Lynch the Landlord"
  • "Malpractice"
Studio:Coast Recorders, Brilliant (San Francisco, California)
Genre:
Label:
Composer:
Lyricist:
  • Mike Patton
Producer:Matt Wallace
Prev Title:Midlife Crisis
Prev Year:1992
Next Title:Everything's Ruined
Next Year:1992

"A Small Victory" is the 10th track and the second single from American rock band Faith No More's fourth studio album Angel Dust, released as a single on August 3, 1992. The song was later remixed by Youth of Killing Joke and released later the same month. It was their last single to chart on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 11, and reached the top 30 in Finland and the United Kingdom.

When asked about the song's meaning, Mike Patton said:

Artwork

The cover features a World War II photograph of a soldier loading shells, which originally featured on the cover of Life in September 1939.[1]

Music video

At the time it was described as their "most radio-friendly song"[2] and stylistically more of a "dance song" than their other works.[3] For this reason the band wanted a music video "visual to complement it."[3]

The video was directed by Marcus Nispel, known for his work with C+C Music Factory. On September 2, 1993, the music video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Art Direction, but lost to Madonna's song "Rain" off her album Erotica.[4]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1992–1993)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 84
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[6] 17

Release history

RegionVersionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United KingdomOriginalAugust 3, 1992[7] [8]
Europe
United KingdomAugust 17, 199212-inch vinyl[9]
JapanAugust 19, 1992Mini-CD[10]
United KingdomYouth remixAugust 31, 1992[11]
EuropeSeptember 1, 1992
United StatesOctober 29, 1992

Notes and References

  1. Web site: LIFE Magazine September 18, 1939 . Originallifemagazines.com. June 7, 2023.
  2. Web site: Talking music and zoning with Roddy Bottom of Faith No More . August 7, 2008 . Nathan Ammons . Tim Newman . January 27, 1993 . Public News, Houston, Texas . dead . https://archive.today/20120716191647/http://negele.org/db/index.php3?band=2&year=1993&month=1&day=27&id=815 . July 16, 2012 .
  3. Web site: Faith No More: The Long & Dusty Road . https://archive.today/20130415093916/http://negele.org/db/index.php3?band=2&year=1992&id=1285 . dead . April 15, 2013 . July 25, 2008 . Marina Zogbi . 1992 .
  4. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1993/mtvvmas.htm rockonthenet.com
  5. Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia.
  6. Book: Nyman, Jake. 2005. Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja. 1st. Tammi. Helsinki. 951-31-2503-3. fi.
  7. Web site: The fnm.com Faith No More Discography. fnm.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20031204061529/http://www.fnm.com/discography/FNMDiscog1.pdf. December 4, 2003. September 20, 2022.
  8. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 19. August 1, 1992.
  9. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 21. August 15, 1992.
  10. Web site: ア・スモール・ヴィクトリー フェイス・ノー・モア. A Small Victory Faith No More. Oricon. ja. September 10, 2023.
  11. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 17. August 29, 1992.