BNL - Barenaked For The Holidays

Another wonderful JenInTosa suggestion comes in the form of BNL. To show you how not with the times I am on holiday albums, I had no idea this existed. If there is one band I feel I'd enjoy this type of novelty from, it'd be these guys. They seem to have the right frame of mind for it. And don't ask what I mean by that - because I have no follow up. It's just something that I typed out and makes sense to me. Anyhow, I'm going through this for the second time now. Starting with the first track, it's not totally what I expected. Jingle Bells starts off very methodical, and slow. A very different adaptation from anything I've heard before. I guess I was kind of expecting a 'If I Had 1,000,000 Dollars' comical rendition of most of the classics. It really isn't that at all. It's still a BNL jam band style rendition - but not totally what I was thinking I'd vibe on. Which is 100% fine - because this is really good too. I was certainly not expecting a cameo by Michael Buble. Those two acts couldn't be much more different....other than the fact they're both Canadian. Maybe that was it. Again, I don't want to judge any of these albums by looking up facts - but it seems they created their own collection of holiday songs too. 'Snowman' was the first I really noticed and thought, "Huh, this has to be original!" And I like it. Seems they have a few tracks that are new on this album. Kinda neat by comparison. I believe if you're a holiday nut (and this one is truly holiday, they have a couple Hanukkah tracks) you'll enjoy it. Maybe not amazing, but it's fun. And that's what Christmas is about.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Jingle Bells
2. Green Christmas
3. I Saw Three Ships
4. Hanukkah Blessings
5. O Holy Night
6. Elf's Lament
7. Snowman
8. Do They Know It's Christmas?
9. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings
11. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
12. Carol of the Bells
13. Footprints
14. Deck the Stills
15. Christmastime (Oh Yeah)
16. Sleigh Ride
17. Christmas Pics
18. I Have a Little Dreidel
19. Wonderful Christmastime
20. Auld Lang Syne

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (it reminds me of a rendition I'd hear at the ballpark)
2. Snowman
3. Deck The Stills (funny the first time I heard it)

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

Barenaked Ladies - Gordon

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