On this, their second major label release, Barenaked Ladies get romantic without slipping into sappy sentimentality. Wonderfully witty love songs like "Jane," "These Apples," "A," and "Alternative Girlfriend" explore the p... more »itfalls of modern relationships with pointed candor and remarkable eloquence. Throughout, the troupe displays its expected high level of musicianship and vocal expertise, delivering full-bodied performances on every track. As always, Ed Robertson and Steven Page dominate the vocals, turning in particularly fabulous work on "Am I the Only One?" and "The Wrong Man Was Convicted." Perhaps the "hit" from this disc is "Life, In a Nutshell," a charming ditty about, surprisingly enough, a happy relationship. What bliss! --L.A. Smith« less
On this, their second major label release, Barenaked Ladies get romantic without slipping into sappy sentimentality. Wonderfully witty love songs like "Jane," "These Apples," "A," and "Alternative Girlfriend" explore the pitfalls of modern relationships with pointed candor and remarkable eloquence. Throughout, the troupe displays its expected high level of musicianship and vocal expertise, delivering full-bodied performances on every track. As always, Ed Robertson and Steven Page dominate the vocals, turning in particularly fabulous work on "Am I the Only One?" and "The Wrong Man Was Convicted." Perhaps the "hit" from this disc is "Life, In a Nutshell," a charming ditty about, surprisingly enough, a happy relationship. What bliss! --L.A. Smith
Candace G. from CARTERVILLE, IL Reviewed on 4/20/2007...
In spite of the Group's title, these guys are really poets. Listen closely to the lyrics, and you are certain to either laugh or cry.
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CD Reviews
Possibly BNL's Most Underrated Effort
tomthedog | 03/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Most of the people I know who are into BNL seem to think this is the group's weakest album. I couldn't disagree more. While Gordon was a tough act to follow, Maybe You Should Drive was a fantastic second album, continuing the tradition of shiveringly perfect harmonies, ultra-clever lyrics, and so much fun you almost have to restrain yourself from jumping around the room with glee.Possibly I'm prejudiced by the fact that I first saw the band in concert during the tour for this album. The sheer joy I got from seeing BNL live has always been linked in my mind with Maybe You Should Drive. "Jane," "Intermittently," "These Apples," "A," "Alternative Girlfriend," "Life, In A Nutshell"... all such strong, funny, bouncy, wild tunes... this album always seems fresh and new to me.From "A": "A is for Algebra, I learned it in school/A is what Fonzie said cause he was very cool."From "Jane," a pop culture reference so specific to the time of the recording, it was obscure 6 months later: "No promises as vague as Heaven/No Juliana next to my Evan."And here is the entirety of "Little Tiny Song," a 62-second nugget of bizarreness from bassist Andrew Creggan: "Hey I'm a cow, I'm curious/Hey watch me now, I'm furious/Hey I'm a cow, I'm full of hate/Hey watch me now, I'm on your plate."The songs and albums to follow Maybe You Should Drive were (and are) always good and often great, but this was the last BNL album that felt like 100% fun to me. You need to own it."
The Ladies Best
Zachary J. Powers | Savannah, GA | 01/26/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The only good things to come out of Canada: Hockey, the syllable 'eh', and Barenaked Ladies (no offense to all you wonderful Canadians).You're all familiar with the band's recent releases, "Stunt" and "Maroon", but their best work was this, their second album. I'd list the good tracks, as is my habit, but just read Amazon's provided set list because they're all good. My favorites (I feel the overwhelming urge to list something) are "Jane" and "Life, In a Nutshell", but I put this CD on and listen straight through, at least to track 10.As a follow-up to their first release "Gordon" this album demonstrates the honing of their art. The band is tighter, and the songs exemplify the bands uncanny ability to mix sincerity, depth and wit, often moreso than any of their other CDs.If you're familiar only with the Ladies new albums, then you should definitely check this one out. Its not as hard-edged as "Maroon" and not quite in the same vein as "Stunt", but its HIGH quality music in every respect. This album makes me believe there's hope for pop music yet."
An album that carries special sentimental value.
scp2115 | Mentor, OH | 07/05/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Two of the songs on this album (Everything Old is New Again and The Wrong Man Was Convicted) got me through a particularly difficult breakup with my girlfriend at the time. Needless to say, this album has a special place in my collection. It's a good listen all-around, and if you're in a difficult emotional state like I was, it may strike a chord with you as well. BNL has always been one of my favorite bands, and this album is a prime example of the way that BNL pours their collective heart and soul into their work."
This album should've crossed over...
twingrille | Houston, TX United States | 05/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Barenaked Ladies struck big with "Gordon" in 1992, introducing their trademark humor, cleverness, quirkiness, and excellent musical craftsmanship to become the biggest band in the Great White North. But it took a while for the Ladies to cross the borders of their giant homeland. However, the millions of Canadian fans and the thousands of non-Canadian fans wanted more, and they successfully delivered with "Maybe You Should Drive". Their sophomore album failed to make the dough, but passed with flying colors in quality. Right from the front album cover you know these guys are something else. This is one of the best albums BNL has ever released, and there's a good reason why. They show they're more than capable of writing thought-provoking pop songs, and they musical virtuosity has greatly improved as well. The album opens up with the fantastic "Jane" and the severely overlooked "Intermittently", which wins by a hair compared to the album's most popular tune, "Alternative Girlfriend". "These Apples" is a fine song about miscommunication between men and women, and the banjo solo is hilariously blissful. One wonders how Ed Robertson delivered that with a straight face. "A" is a clever song with a bit of a jazzy Latin feel to it, and "You Will Be Waiting" is also great. "Am I The Only One?" and "The Wrong Man Was Convicted" are very provocative and thoughtful, though "Am I..." is more profound, telling the tale of the aftershock of the death of Ed Robertson's brother. Overall, "Maybe..." opens up the band's more sensitive side, and is an overlooked gem in a field of colorless stones. Do yourself a favor, and check it out.FINAL SCORE-9.75/10"
Mellow
twingrille | 04/22/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Compared to other BNL releases, Maybe You Should Drive sounds like it was recorded by a different band. Unlike the musical collages which were the trademarks of Gordon and BOAPS, the majority of the tracks on this release hit a similar groove. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but think The Grateful Dead circa American Beauty, with a dash of the late-period Beatles thrown in for good measure, and you're probably halfway there. Most of the songs are low-key country-tinged affairs, positively laden with hooks, and for once the lyrics are relatively straightforward paeans to lost love, unrequited love, reflective love, joyful love, and any other kind of love you care to think of. It's true that this album doesn't grab you with the force of the others, but that's because it's a slow-burn kind of affair, the sort of thing you put on when you're in the mood for a bit of introspective reflection on the vagaries of human relationships. And then, just to prove that you shouldn't take it all too seriously, they hit you with one minute and two seconds of Little Tiny Song, being only the stupidest thing they've ever recorded. How can you possibly dislike guys like this?So in the final reckoning it edges out Gordon and BOAPS, but is it better than Stunt? Probably not, but I will say this - the other albums are music for our times, but this is music for the ages. Not to be missed."