MattA75's Full Review: Disc One: All the Greatest Hits 1991-2001 by Baren...
Much has been made about Canadian pop-rockers Barenaked Ladies releasing a "Greatest Hits" album. After all, the band has had one huge smash here in America, the extremely fun yet extremely overplayed One Week, and have sprinkled in five to six minor to major hits before and after that song. Even I can see the fault in having a greatest hits disc from a band that has only been big for 3 years. However, before I actually go on to review the disc itself, it should be noted that in just about every press interview I've seen the band do for this disc, they themselves have said it is mistitled. So, for this review, we'll say I'm reviewing "The Best Of:1991-2001" by Barenaked Ladies. Why? Because I said so!
When you open up the jewel case, the first thing that might strike you is the actual artwork on the disc. It's made to look like a CD-R, with handwriting and everything. Personally, I laughed at this, knowing some BNL fan out there had this exact tracklisting on some CD-R with cra*py handwriting and all. This artwork gives the album a grass-roots type of feel to it before you even listen to it. I like that, and let's face it, something like that is very Barenaked Ladies-ish.
This disc includes 17 previously released tracks, including a couple of rarer songs only previously found on a benefit album or a soundtrack. There is also two brand new songs included here, the first of which I was lucky to see performed live this past summer when I saw the Ladies in concert. Speaking of live shows, that is the best place to experience this band. However, this disc is an excellent introduction to the band.
It opens with the anthemic rock of The Old Apartment, a song that is very paced and very structured, harkening back to the days of cheesy 70s rock radio, yet in a good way. That's immediately followed by the more up-tempo Falling for the First Time, a song from the band's most recent disc of new material, Maroon.
The opening notes hit, and the crowd noise starts, and the band has done the right thing in picking the live version (from their Rock Spectacle album) of Brian Wilson. I've always liked this song, even though I think the band played it a little too frenetically during this performance. This was the song that opened things up for the Ladies in America, which of course led to One Week, the next song on the record. Let's face it: in the summer of 1998, when you first heard it, you loved this song. Sure, it might've been a guilty pleasure, but you LOVED it.
That ends the first string of hits the band puts together on this record. Be My Yoko Ono is a fan favorite, though not much more. It's a country-tinged track, but it has a nice pace to it, if nothing else. That's followed by Alternative Girlfriend, which is wonderfully described in the liner notes as being written "at the height of the grunge revolution" and the Ladies "strumming on our old banjos and singing about macaroni. It felt like we were the ones being daring." This song is very structured as well, although the band seems to loosen up as the song goes on.
This is followed by the first of the two new tracks, It's Only Me (The Wizard of Magicland). This is classic Barenaked Ladies, as it not only kind of rocks, but it drives forward with urgency and passionate vocals by Steven Page, who shows he IS quite the wordsmith.
The band's banjo driven hit If I Had a $1000000 is next and I think they made a mistake in not including the live version. Having said that, the best thing about this version is it forces you to listen to the simplicity of the lyrics and just exactly how sweet and sincere they are in professing love.
I've always liked the simplicity the band brings forth on Call and Answer and I'm so glad it's included here. Page really gets to show off his wonderful vocal range, and lyrically, I think it's one of the best songs the Ladies have in their catalog.
Get in Line is ridiculous, and was featured on the King of the Hill soundtrack. This song is almost as bad as the show. It's All Been Done gets things right back on track though, with it's excellent rock beat and it's "whooo hoo hooo" chorus. Jane is another acoustic tinged track that is another good example of Page and Ed Robertson's lyrical writing ability.
Lovers in a Dangerous Time is a song originally recorded for a tribute to Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn. It starts off slow but eventually becomes a retro-rockabilly type of song. This is followed by the hit Pinch Me, a song that isn't so bad except for the fact that some of the lyrics are ridiculously bad ("there's a restaurant down the street where hungry people like to eat), and then there are some that are just nothing short of brilliant ("you try to scream but it only comes out as a yawn").
Shoebox is a a bit of a driving song that doesn't go much of anyplace, but it's a fun bouncy song, and god knows we could use some more fun bouncy songs in the pop-rock world these days.
What a Good Boy is a song I had never really listened to until I bought this CD, but I have to say it impressed me from the first listen. I like the simple guitar melody, and Page's voice sounds fabulous. I say I haven't really listened to it because that's the truth. It's one of those songs I always skipped on Rock Spectacle, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why.
Too Little Too Late is one of my personal favorite BNL songs, as I think it perfectly captures everything BNL is truly about. Enid is a schizophrenic bastard of a song that just doesn't do anything for me.
The album closes out with the other new track, Thanks That Was Fun. It's a bit of a lullaby, even though some might say that description doesn't fit because it does drive forward at a couple points.
As a whole, this is a great introduction to the Barenaked Ladies music. It shows off all the band's sides, from the goofy to the sublime to the wonderfully introspective. However, I do have a question for the band: where the hell is Alcohol?
Nineteen of Barenaked Ladies most popular songs are included in this compilation album, plus two brand new tracks and two songs that have never appear...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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