Out done again, period. The Barenaked Ladies have again out done their previous efforts with their album Maroon! This album is a collection of some fantastic songs that offer some new and fresh artistic sounds from Barenaked Ladies. I am a huge Barenaked Ladies fan and I liked this album 20 times more than I did Stunt when I listened to it for the first time! When I listen to Barenaked Ladies music and any music for that matter, I really don’t try to analyze lyrics and messages, probably because I am not good at it! I listen for the music, the instruments and I take the lyrics as they are and on Maroon there is a great combination of music and lyrics.
The Barenaked Ladies are a group of awesome musicians in their own right, but with Maroon they shine bright! Kevin Hearn in “Never Do Anything” plays the organ, piano, sampler, clavinet and the accordion all in the same song, how does he juggle them all! In “Go Home” Jim Creegan plays the double bass, baritone guitar, and the glockenspiel in this great song. These guys amaze me, I love it! I love the melodies, I love the different sounds, I freaking love this album! I just want to get up and tango to “Sell, Sell, Sell” right now!!
Maroon takes off right from the start with a catchy up beat tune named “Too Little Too Late”, which when I first heard it I was thinking “Alright, let’s kick it up a notch!” The album goes on from there to sound a lot like stuff on Born on a Pirate Ship and Maybe You Should Drive, specifically along the same lines as “Alternative Girlfriend”. “Pinch Me” the third song on the album and the first single is a catchy tune by Ed Robertson, rap style somewhat similar to “One Week” off of Stunt.
This album does a real nice job exposing Steven Pages’ awesome voice with the strong back up of Ed Robertson. “Conventioneers” does the best job of setting Stevens voice apart from the rest. This is an interesting song about two co-workers who “hook-up” for that “one time” deal in a hotel room and soon discover that now they have been with each other they aren’t going to have much to say to each other back at work. Those that have been in the position can relate….
My personal favorite on the album is a song called “Baby Seat”. This song is written by Steven Page and Stephen Duffy, Duffy has helped co-write songs on Gordon and other BNL albums. This song has just an awesome beat, super catchy chorus and the melodies are great. The lyrics to this song are not the strongest on the album but it is just a song I can listen to over and over again!
Other highly recommended songs on the album are “Falling For The First Time”, “Off The Hook”, which has a great bass/rap beat to it that dissolves into a song that just seems to flow together. “Helicopters” and “Tonight I Fell Asleep At The Wheel” are two very deep songs that deal with the end of life respectably. “Tonight…” is especially a very sad song where the song is sung in first person by the person that was killed in an automobile accident. There is a bonus track on Limited Edition CD’s, the song is called Hidden Sun by Kevin Hearn.
As with every BNL song and album, there are songs that everyone will like and some will dislike. For example, I may LOVE “Baby Seat” and others may think it is weak. I really like this album and I would put it right near the top of all of their albums so far. There are hints of older BNL in some songs and in others there is just a whole new fresh sound that really makes listening to these guys a blast! Barenaked Ladies are the best live band ever and I can’t wait to hear the band perform these songs live! GO GET MAROON!!!
1998 s quadruple-platinum smash Stunt catapulted Barenaked Ladies from alternative favorite to major pop stardom. The colorful Maroon, produced by Don...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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