Suffering From Insomnia? Barenaked For the Holidays Is Your Cure!
Written: Nov 30 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: a few good tracks, especially Green Christmas and Elf's Lament
Cons: the half a*sed treatment given to Rudolph, Sleigh Ride, among others
The Bottom Line: Barenaked for the Holidays lacks that BNL charm, which, with this being a Xmas album, is the only thing that could've saved it in the first place.
MattA75's Full Review: Barenaked For the Holidays by Barenaked Ladies
I hate Christmas albums.
Let me repeat that, just in case it didn't sink in: I HATE Christmas albums.
Thankfully, as mainly a fan of rock, I don't have to worry about Pearl Jam or Nine Inch Nails coming out with a holiday record (though PJ does have a great Xmas song in their catalog, Let Me Sleep, from 1991). Occasionally though, an artist I like and/or respect will put out a holiday album. Not that I ever pay them any attention, in fact, it usually works as an instant way for an artist to lose some credibility with me.
I was ready to make an exception though when I heard that Barenaked Ladies had recorded an album of holiday classics and some original holiday tracks. Surely, if any current pop band could make a Christmas album with personality and crackling with energy, it was BNL. Unfortunately, Barenaked for the Holidays comes up way short in both personality and energy. And when any BNL album, be it a regular release or a holiday album, comes up short in both of those things, you're in for a long ride.
Jingle Bells starts the album off, and I like the arrangement the band gives the song. At least at first I do. It starts off very slow, with vocalist Steven Page singing over bare piano accompaniment. Now, obviously, I don't think this arrangement would work for the entire song, and the song should become more and more upbeat. The problem is is that the song is split into two parts: a slow part, and a fast obnoxious part. The fast obnoxious part sounds oh so cheesy, and Page, who is one of the more gifted vocalists and songwriters in the pop/rock world, sounds like absolute crap. He's not exuberant, he doesn't have charisma, he just sounds like crap. There's no other way to put it.
Thankfully, the second song on the record is a lot better. The first of a few originals penned by various members of the band, Green Christmas features a nice vocal performance from guitarist Ed Robertson, as well as some nice harmonizing work with Page.
Unfortunately, the band lets the other band members get into the act vocally as well. What sounds like keyboardist Kevin Hearn sings the opening lines on I Saw Three Ships, before thankfully, the rest of the band gets in on the act. I actually like the banjo that drives the song, continuing in the theme of the wonderful For You from the band's last regular release, last year's Everything to Everyone.
Granted, it's not such a bad thing when the other members sing, as long as its part of a harmony part. And that's what might be most disappointing about this record. Songs that you would think the band would be able to knock out of the park, they don't. Instead, songs like O Holy Night, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Carol of the Bells are nothing more than instrumentals that sound like they came out of an elevator headed straight for hell. Rudolph should have been a highlight of this record, instead, it's mandatory that you skip it.
Occasionally, that classic BNL charm does show through. Perhaps the best example of this is Deck the Stills, which finds the band singing "Crosby Stills Nash & Young" to the tune of Deck the Halls. For some reason, this cracks me up everytime I listen to it. And Elf's Lament is a terrific pop song that finds Page and Robertson trading off vocals over a bouncy beat and catchy melody. And bassist Jim Creeggan's Christmas Pics is a cute, funny track, even if it creeps along at the same pace of every other holiday song ever written.
Too much of the album is weighed down in depressing, slow songs that make the disc feel like a chore to get through. Among these is the band's version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings, which features a guest vocal from Sarah McLachlan, who for all her talent may be the most depressing artist on earth to listen to. Snowman isn't a bad song lyrically, but I don't like the arrangement of it at all, as it sounds a bit too much like 2 or 3 other holiday songs. And if you're going to write an original song called Snowman, may I ask why? Just put an exuberant version of Frosty on here and be done with it. And Footprints is much the same way: it sounds like 2 or 3 other songs on this record alone, never mind on other holiday records.
For those wondering if Jingle Bells is the only obnoxious moment here, it's not. Sleigh Ride is a complete half-a*sed version with the band bopping their way vocally through it (literally). And is there any real need for another recording of Do They Know It's Christmas? As if Band Aid 20 isn't bad enough!
Luckily for the band, the album closing version of Auld Lang Syne nearly makes up for all the band moments of the record in one fell swoop. While it becomes almost a bit too much of a power ballad, the vocal performances are spot on, and one can't help but feel that if the band had taken this much care with the rest of the album, they could've had something very special on their hands.
I'm sure the BNL fan boys and girls will rip on me for ripping on this record. But the fact is, I'm a BNL fan. I know when I hear a crappy, half a*sed record. When it's a crappy, half a*sed Christmas record, that's even worse, because the writing process is essentially taken care of for you. Despite some decent moments, there's too much crap to get through in between those moments. 2 stars.
Barenaked Ladies celebrate the holiday season with their ninth major release, Barenaked For The Holidays. This release features many holiday favorites...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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