Greta Van Fleet might have an alternate version of 'Lover, Leaver' on the new album

As we await the highly anticipated full-length debut 'Anthem of the Peaceful Army' by Michigan classic rock revivalists Greta Van Fleet, we've been treated to two preview singles so far. The first arrived in the form of the larger-than-life 'When the Curtain Falls,' which was followed by the relatively mellow and more intricate 'Watching Over.'
On Saturday, Greta Van Fleet rolled out their third single from the album, titled 'Lover, Leaver.' New listeners who jumped onto the Greta bandwagon more recently will recognize all the typical sonic signatures on the track, featuring Jake Kiszka's steadily trudging riffs and Josh Kiszka's siren-like howls. Longtime fans will notice that the songwriting might be a little rudimentary compared to the recent releases, and there is a reason behind this.
'Lover Leaver (Taker, Believer),' which is the full name of the track, is one of Greta's earliest written songs. They would perform it regularly during their early touring days and even performed it at this year's Coachella slot. Curiously though, the song didn't feature on both of their EPs - 2016's highly acclaimed 'Black Smoke Rising' and 2017's 'From The Fires,' and as fans expected, it finally features on the debut LP.
Two things immediately stand out about GVF's latest release. Firstly, the name is clipped to just 'Lover, Leaver' on all platforms for digital releases including YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify. Secondly, the track is much shorter than expected, possibly clipped to a more radio-friendly length to keep airwaves interested in the singles before the album arrives on October 19. Fan boards were quick to point out how the very essence of the song, the long, sprawling guitar solo in the middle (which Greta sometimes stretches to full five-minute jam sessions during live gigs) is noticeably clipped. Nevertheless, the song still kicks ass and fits neatly into Greta's canon. Listen to the full track below:
What's even more curious is that the tracklisting for the new album seems to have changed after the release of the songs. The original tracklisting had 10 songs with 'Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)' slotted at the No. 5 spot right after 'Watching Over.' If you notice the tracklisting now, it shows one extra track, pushing the total number of songs to 11. 'Lover, Leaver' with the shortened title features at the No. 5 spot with the originally titled 'Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)' now taking the place of the closing track. Could this be Greta's way of pleasing fans by retaining the original full-length song -- which easily pushes the 5-minute mark -- on their debut record? All fan speculations seem to point toward that being the case.
Check out the new tracklisting for 'Anthem of the Peaceful Army' below via Apple Music.