Search - Barenaked Ladies :: Gordon

Joanne K. (JerseyGirl-exit30) from SOMERS POINT, NJ
Reviewed on 8/15/2006...

Especially love "Grade 9" and "If I Had $1,000,000"

PLAY IT ONCE, YOU'LL LOVE IT!

03/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listen...put down the STUNT CD(which is BNL's 5th CD, by the way) and pick up GORDON. This first album is one of the music industry's best kept secrets. It is an infectious album with great lyrics, solid music, and loads of fun. It shows that BNL could play any style of music they want...After the first 5 songs, you'll think you're listening to a greatest hits album. From the classic "Brian Wilson" to the jazzy" Hello City" to the peppy, funny "Grade 9" and "King Of Bedside Manner"...you will not be disappointed! And listen to their lyrics, you'll laugh, you'll love it. Other highlights include the classic "Enid", the very funny "Be My Yoko Ono," and ofcourse the signature sing-a-long "If I Had A Million Dollars." Yes, the new CD "Stunt" is excellent, but there are 4 other great Cd's out there....including one of today's best live albums..."Rock Spectacle." This is not a one hit wonder band...they are finally getting the attention they deserve. Get Gordon...it will be one of your favorites. In a time when artists sell 2 million copies because of one song on an otherwise awful record, Barenaked Ladies is a refreshing bright spot."

One of my 100 favourite CDs ever

Greg Brady | Capital City | 03/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I shy away from making pronouncements about "best ever" until I've had at least 5 years to live with a CD. Often a disc you thought brilliant in 1995, when you were looking for "something new" to listen to, seems just average when you look at it in the cold grey light of 2005. It's now 13 years later and I still find myself putting this disc in the player and singing along almost the whole way through.



The Canadian band, for those not initiated, plainly have a love for melody, often trade in strong harmonies, adore pop culture, and believe that a good sense of humour is a good thing, avoiding the pretentions of "serious" musicians. That's not to say they don't have anything to "say"....just that it's usually buried under the surface and you have to find it for yourself.



Their fascination with pop culture shows itself two ways...in frequent medleys of covers of current pop hits they're fond of throwing into concert sets (anything from Prince's "When Doves Cry" to Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious") and tossing in riffs and references. Here they namecheck Duran Duran, Star Trek, the Our Gang series, Michael Landon TV shows, Yoko Ono, the Elephant Man, Rush, Styx...and that's just a few of them.



Singling out the "best" songs is difficult, but the songwriter's lament in "Brian Wilson", geekdom ode "Grade 9", whimsical "If I Had $1,000,000" and obsessive love song "Be MY Yoko Ono" are criminally catchy.



Besides those, others that rate nearly as high include "Box Set" (which alternates between pity for the singer's fans buying it "Maybe it's a lack of inspiration that makes me stoop" and himself because he's not allowed to evolve by fans who want the 'hits' ad infinitum "Every time I try to do something new, all they want is 1973"), the juxtaposition of tender and creepy in "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (it leaves you wondering if the song's main character is trying to renew a battered relationship..or if he's singing it to a lover he's killed in an effort to keep her with him forever), the on-again off-again lovers of "The Flag" and the boyband salute in "New Kid (On the Block)".



Perhaps the biggest tribute to the staying power of this disc is it that it's multilayered. I'm still hearing musical parts and countermelodies afresh...still pondering turns of phrase for new nuggets.



There are a few misses that keeps it out of the 5 star range. The sound effects laden "King of Bedside Manor" crosses the line from whimsy into inanity for me, "I Love You" is too slight to really connect and "Crazy" is why there's a 'skip button'. But out of 15 songs, 12 are good to great and that's rare. And the best ones are so superb that I keep coming back.



4 1/2 stars

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