Album Description: Barenaked Ladies Are Me still exudes the band's sense of fun while musically and lyrically demonstrating a maturity you'd expect from guys who have played together forever.
Amazon.com: 15+ years after their winsome indie debut, Canada's Barenaked Ladies come full circle here, dropping off the major label merry-go-round to re-embrace a DYI sensibility with typically breezy aplomb. But, as this collection's strong songs and crisp production attest, that hardly means the band didn't learn a thing or three during its successful tenure in the majors. The gorgeous melancholy of "Adrift" is apt preamble to a collection that's more thematically balanced and graced by an expansive sense of artistic democracy. While mainstays Steven Page and Ed Robertson contribute such patently torqued, BNL-mirthful fare as "Bank Job," "Bull in a China Shop," "Rule the World With Love" and "Wind It Up," there's a growing maturity and sense of reflection in their work as well, as evidenced by Page confessing his own emotional disconnection via the evocative, banjo-accordion lament "Everything Had Changed." But it's the strong, equally literate contributions of fellow band members Jim Creeggan ("Peterborough & the Kawathas") and Kevin Hearn ("Sound of Your Voice," "Vanishing") that truly expand BNL's horizons at a career juncture when many bands are all too happy to rest on their laurels or hew religiously to the formula that garnered them. --Jerry McCulley
Barenaked Ladies Are Me If you are a fan of Bakenaked Ladies, you'll enjoy as much. N0 disappointment.
Love this group This contains both Barenaked Ladies Are Me & Barenaked Ladies Are Men, both in 5.1 surround sound. Disc 1 is better than disc 2, but there's good stuff on both. I particularly love the dreamy quality of "Adrift", "Something You'll Never Find", "Home", "Half A Heart", and the best track on the album, "Maybe You're Right". Steven Page has a terrific voice. Fun group!!
absolutely amazing I certainly consider myself a BNL fan. However, I only own their cd's (no dvds etc) so apparently I don't actually qualify as a real fan. I must say though that BNL ranks up there in my top three favorite bands. I've been listening to them since 1993 or so.
This being said, this cd is MY FAVORITE. I cannot stop listening to it. It was like this with Everything for Everyone, but I wasn't AS addicted as I am to this one. This cd is very rich and it is clear (as if it weren't before) that these guys are EXTREMELY talented. Take it Back is the best song on the cd, but not by that much. The other songs are also incredible. I had to listen to it three times before I became completely addicted. I own BLAMe, but have only listened to it once since I can't stop listening to this one.
Creative and daring for this pop outift The Barenaked Ladies (BNL) career could be divided into two parts that flows into two countries. When they first started their career in their native Canada one of the first songs people heard from these merry popsters was their cover of Bruce Cockburn's Lovers In A Dangerous Time at the beginning of the 90's, a very grown-up, somber ballad that the Be My Yoko Ono boys pulled off beautifully (this February I attended a BNL concert where the song received one of the best responses). Meanwhile stateside the boys were a few years away from attaining success. But when they did finally conquer the U.S. their number one single One Week was the first song many south of the border heard from this pop outfit, quite the opposite of Lovers, One Week is an up tempo piece of pop silliness anchored by Ed Robertson's freestyle rap.
When listening to Barenaked Ladies Are Me (BLAM), the thought of how fans view this band will very much define its reception. Something tells me BLAM will be more appreciated by their Canadian fan base then their U.S. counterparts. The reason is the silliness that flowed through One Week and even their live shows that vaulted them to success south of the border is nowhere to be found.
BLAM instead is a showcase of five experienced musicians trying to write great not necessarily pop songs, but great songs. Rejecting the Another Postcard approach that saw the band appearing to pander for album sales with a return to Ed Robertson's rapping, BLAM sees the creative energy of the band put front and center as a freewheeling ethic flows through the album. The multiple lead vocalists on the record reveal this as Kevin Hearn and Jim Creggan both increase their roles contributing lead takes on Peterborough And The Kawarthas and Vanishing respectively, leading to a depth of sound as each do not bring the distinctive, and maybe overplayed, BNL style to their performances.
BNL's blast of artistic freedom, likely the result of leaving a major label, lead Ed Robertson and Stephen Page to some of their most daring work in years, or as daring as these pop mainstays will ever be. The best example of this is Bank Job, Ed Robertson's precisely put together explanation of a robbery gone wrong and the frustration an experienced criminal must be feeling after leaving the scene. Bank Job is revealing of the tone for the entire record as the cheery pop hooks of previous songs like One Week and Shoebox are basically cast aside on this collection, very much explained in the chorus of Everything Had Changed, a mandolin played look at life in a new situation, which also serves as Stephen Page's most interesting walk through BNL's new sense of freedom. The wink of awareness that defined the band and allowed you to jump into their goofy sound is replaced by a weathered look at life as there is bitterness on BLAM, much like Maroon. Therefore, much like the lyrics to Lovers In A Dangerous Time, BLAM contains more of a somber, mellow energy that allows the band to craft some of their most interesting work in years.
Not happy at all I am a big fan. I have seen the live shows. So the question remains - what went wrong here? There are a few great tracks - Bull in a China Shop, Easy, Take It Back and Bank Job. The problem is the rest of the tracks lack anything distinctive. There is nothing that makes you want to listen to the rest of the tracks. It is rather boring. The lead track is just slow and never develops. That is the problem with this cd. Where is the wit? And why is Kevin singing so much on this? I did not buy "thin buckle" or whatever his band is. The sad thing is the "sister" cd is not much better, in fact is worse. I hope they find their way again.
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