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Click on this link to see barenaked ladies ... honestly ... Gordon MacRae
Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 A band called the Barenaked Ladies suggested death-metal to me … or some other type of music that is pure evil and barely listenable. But, as I was listening to the album’s first track “Hello City,” those erroneous notions were thrown out the window. All of the songs on Gordon are tuneful and enjoyable. A few of them are ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS, and another handful are sweet and thoughtful. All the other ones might be neither, but they’re enjoyable all the same. Even though The Barenaked Ladies fail to escalate their album to the grandiose likes of Revolver, this is still a remarkably consistent one. Plus, the band manages to be consistent while exploring a few different styles of music. Most of it are novelty-type numbers with genuinely funny lyrics to them. However, there is a little salsa in here, folky ballads, jazz stuff, adult contemporary (that’s really not that bad), and that’s not all! The Barenaked Ladies also come with their very own free waterproof wristwatch with every album purchase! I wouldn’t know that, of course, because I’m digitally streaming this. So, all you people! Enjoy the Barenaked Ladies with all their magical splendor! They really are quite a bit better than their name might suggest. (Because, really, would I ever listen to a band named “The Barenaked Ladies” on purpose? I don’t think so.) Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 (A delight. Diverse alterno-pop for the 1992 college person … unfortunately, they’ve all hopefully either dropped out or graduated, and there aren’t too many of them in college anymore. But everyone else should enjoy this as well.) Average Song Score: 8.5 (Fifteen tracks and all of them are smooth and professional! And, there was a few memorable ones as well.) Album Tilt: 8.5 (I can’t confuse this for a GREAT album, but I can confuse this for a good album. And it’s very much fun as well.) Artist Rating: 8.5 (The Barenaked Ladies don’t strive for anything great with Gordon, and they don’t achieve anything great. They strive to be enjoyable, however, and that they do with flying colors.) Track Reviews Hello City 9/10 And the goofy, enthusiastic jazziness of The Barenaked Ladies comes off to a strong start with “Hello City” … a tuneful, catchy, and … … it just makes me so dang happy. (And they manage to do this without being too cheesy.) Really, I didn’t know Canadians could be so awesome. Enid 10/10 Wow … this melody is just perfect. And the pacing here is just so fast and merry! … Oh yes! I feel ***MERRY*** when listening to this song! Only from Canada, baby … the homeland of hockey and the red maple leaf thing. Grade 9 8.5/10 Another merrily goofy song that has absolutely HIL-arious lyrics, too! How infrequently I usually comment on lyrics, this one’ll have to be an exception. The Barenaked Ladies do a great job, anyway, of singing their songs so that the lyrics are perfectly clear and understandable. That and the catchy melody makes this another memorable song. Brian Wilson 8.5/10 I don’t know what this song has to do with Brian Wilson. Besides that, this is a good one. It starts out slowly (and rather boringly) and then it picks up its pace. It’s not as manically insane like the previous songs were, but this one works perfectly well on a more normal level. Very strong songwriting. Be My Yoko Ono 9/10 This is one of the very few songs that incites a laugh every time I listen to it! I personally think this song is great because it manages to insult probably who’s the most infamous person ever in rock-and-roll history, but it works surprisingly well as a love ode. The melody and the crisp instrument playing are as great as always. (Oh … and that brief moment in here where they all give their Yoko Ono howl … … If you’ve heard some of those old John Lennon solo albums with Yoko on it, you’ll find that part a special treat!) Wrap Your Arms Around Me 8/10 This is a remarkably strong attempt at trying to recreate some of the old ballads by bands such as The Byrds, Crosby Stills and Nash, etc. They’ve been hookier (on this album), but this rather quiet song is rather entrancing. What a Good Boy 8/10 Hmmmm … Adult contemporary … … Those lead vocals are a bit unusual for this to sound like it’s completely suited for the radio. All they needed was to kidnap Celine Dion or somebody and they would have had it. That said, I’ve listened to Celine before (against my will), and this is considerably better than that bint’s material (especially as it reaches toward its climax … there’s actually some feeling here). The King of Bedside Manor 8.5/10 This is a fairly entertaining novelty-type number! … It’s a lot like the ones we’ve already heard in this album! And most of those were better than this … but this is still undeniably fun. (And you’ve got to dig that Styx tribute, which is there for no particular reason whatsoever.) Box Set 9/10 Now, THIS is what we’ve all been waiting for from the Barenaked Ladies: A LITTLE SALSA, BABY! … And, I’ll tell ya, Marc Anthony ought to have kidnapped these Canadians, because this salsa is less generic than that stupid Puerto Rican could ever bother to muster up. This is a tangy and another highly enjoyable song from this awesomely cool band. I Love You 8/10 This is a strange little jazzy romantic song that is about a man wanting to make a family tree with a woman. (…Personally, I’m good at making family trees by myself … all it involves is cutting out cardboard and a little pasting…) This jazzy thing seems a bit unfocused, but maybe it’s supposed to be. It’s entirely fun, though. New Kid (On the Block) 8/10 I remember that STUPID BAND way back from when I WAS A KID! … They were idiots. And all of those stupid girls in my first grade class who liked them, too, were total morons. … Uhhhhh … Oh wait, this song (actually about that band) is sort of a sarcastic tribute. … Yoko’s was much better, but this one is alright, too. Blame it On Me 7.5/10 Still a crisp and spicy taco! However, this slow but trotting song is a bit on the dull side when you compare it to everything else on here. But a 7.5? Who is to complain? The Flag 8/10 This sounds like the Barenaked Ladies were trying to do a little Bob Dylan impersonating (without trying to recreate his voice, that is). To tell you the truth, this is more engaging than it ought to be (for a slow folky song), and their thoughtfulness toward their melodies was another major saving grace. It almost seems like The Barenaked Ladies are unstoppably consistent at no matter what they try doing. Awesome! If I Had $1,000,000 9.5/10 Very funny. This is also allegedly The Barenaked Ladies’ most successful song, but considering that I spent most of the 90s banging my head on coffee tables, I never actually heard this before. At any rate, the lyrics are really funny and the song is tuneful and catchy. I don’t really think this song deserved a full-fledged 10, but it deserves that 9.5 with all the breath in its body! Crazy 8/10 Whew! What a lengthy album! Are all rock albums from the 1990s this long? … Oh, crap! Anyway, we’re at the last song … finally. It’s not an all-in-all impressive track, but it’s another tuneful, interesting, and all in all STRONG one. (The ending here is pretty funny, too.) Wanna get naked, lady? Leave any comments you might have (and clothing) about this album here, sweetie cakes. slb23@shaw.ca (Simon B.) received Oct. 5, 2004 This is was my first and favourite Barenaked Ladies CD. I've
been listening to it (on and off) for more than 10 years, and it is
still pretty damn good. Even though some of the pop culture references are
dated (Milli Vannili or New Kids on the Block anyone?), the funny stuff
is still funny, and the serious stuff still strikes a serious chord
within. (Also, on a side note: it took me years to hear the Rush riff
samples - "Tom Sawyer" and "Spirit of the Radio" - on "Grade 9".)
Surely one of the best debuts of the last 20 years.
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All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. Chicken broth runs through his veins.
