My Amazon Reviews: Barenaked Ladies "Gordon"

Go go, Gordon
4 Out Of 5 Stars

When the American debut of Barenaked Ladies crossed my desk many years ago, I was not sure quite what to make of them. They were certainly crucially adept, as each song sounded musically delightful. They had a whimsical sense of humor that would pop-up baldly on many of the songs. They were vocally versatile, with multiple lead singers who could also harmonize nicely. I thought "Gordon" was one of the best debut albums I'd heard in years, much the equal of 10cc or the likes of Nick Lowe, two other artists who weren't afraid if mixing serious playing with goofy jokes.

I also wondered if American audiences would ever catch on. The humor was often blatant, like "Grade Nine," which poked fun at elementary school nerdom, right down to the Rush guitar licks. Or one of their eventual concert staples, "If I Had A Million Dollars," which was both a decent song and a poke at consumerism that ends in a punch line (and included a bacon joke. After all Barenaked ladies are Canadian). But amidst the comedic moments were some serious, thought provoking songwriting. "The Flag" with Ed Robertson and Steve Page is a serious look at the "complicated people leading complicated lives," as a relationship falls to surrender, or the lovely pair together in the jazzy "I Love You."

Either side of the Barenaked Ladies' equation worked. If you were willing to allow the sense of humor not get in the way of the musicianship and the ace singing and writing of Ed Robertson and Steve Page, "Gordon" is a rewarding album. They also got better real fast, and as "One Week" eventually proved, they had the stuff of stardom.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Barenaked Ladies "Hits From Yesterday and The Day Before"

Barenaked Reissue
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Ten years after their first "Greatest Hits" CD, Barenaked Ladies release another one. The difference is minimal; the 14 songs here replicate nice of the original's track list, which contained 19 songs. Only four songs are new to the line-up, and only one, the TV Theme to "Big Bang Theory" is previously unreleased. That leaves an awful lot of material to quibble over, and the fact that "Maybe You Should Drive" is totally ignored as an album and their earliest hit, "Be My Yoko Ono" is left off are serious miscalculations. The packaging is also barenaked. No liner notes, album listings, significant art, nada. Just a folding paper-sleeve with a torn-up collage of album artwork, track listing and writer/publisher credits. Pretty skimpy.

That said, BNL have always been masterful popcrafters. Their melodic chops, tight harmonies and whimsical sense of humor always made them stand out, even if "One Week" became such an annoying presence on the radio that you wanted to slap 'em. Both Steven Page or Ed Robertson could have carried any band as singular songwriters, together they turned out clever song after clever song without falling into the trap of self-parody. The pop conventions would reference other genres (the backwards guitar in "Pinch Me," the pseudo rap of "One Week") while maintaining the band's identity. There are few bands in the past couple of decades to blend their influences so ingeniously, at their best, frankly, BNL rivaled 10cc or XTC. Maybe a bit less whimsical than XTC or as arty as 10cc, Barenaked Ladies managed to create a run of singles that most pop bands would sell their passports for. "Hits From Yesterday & The Day Before" pretty much shortchanges the group, but BNL still is a worthy listen.