Speaking of follower Mith, he dropped a note in the ol' Suggestion Box. He asked I review anything by the delightful Barenaked Ladies. So, back in the day I considered myself a pretty big BNL guy. I always picture them to be a band you'd see at a local carnival just getting on stage and being goofy but also putting on some decent tuneage as well. You can't listen to this with the expectation that you're going to hear awesome arrangements and enticing lyrics. The best you can hope for is simply a good time. For a bit of background, these guys are Canadians. This particular record is Diamond status in Canada and just Gold in the US. Gordon came out in 1992 and BNL didn't really crack the US charts until 1998's Stunt. They don't have a ton of exciting stuff to talk about - mainly because they are a jam band, that doesn't get a ton of publicity. They do this thing called 'Ships and Dip' cruises, where apparently you go on a cruise and listen to live tunes. Sounds pretty cool. They've done it at least twice that I can venture and both times they had good turnouts. BNL is going to keep making music that quite frankly you won't hear. I don't feel they're good enough anymore to crack the mainstream Top 25 in the US, but maybe it'll happen again for them. To be honest, they have a very loyal Canadian following a nice cult following in the US - it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't care too much about pop charts. I think these are truly guys who just want to go in the studio, experiment with new techniques and styles and make music. From that standpoint, these guys are a great group and fun to listen to. I'd recommend giving this one a shot. You'll have heard a couple from this album that were re-released on different albums in the US and then of course on their fantastic greatest hits work. Jam your way into Friday with BNL!
TRACK LISTING:
1. Hello City
2. Enid
3. Grade 9
4. Brian Wilson
5. Be My Yoko Ono
6. Wrap Your Arms Around Me
7. What a Good Boy
8. King of Bedside Manor, The
9. Box Set
10. I Love You
11. New Kid (On the Block)
12. Blame It on Me
13. Flag, The
14. If I Had $1,000,000
15. Crazy
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Brian Wilson
2. What A Good Boy
3. If I Had $1,000,000
FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars
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