Review 1 of 4

Jason96 writes:

4of 5 Stars

The common critical assessment of Barenaked Ladies Are Me is that it's BNL's first "mature" album. Although such an assessment shows some critics' relative ignorance of Barenaked Ladies' entire work as well as an apparent forgetfulness of their own work (many writers hailed Maroon and Everything to Everyone as the band's "mature" albums), it's fair to say that a serious tone pervades the album. On songs like the acoustic-driven first single, "Easy," and the buoyant, sing-along-inducing "Bull in a China Shop," long-time songwriting partners Steven Page and Ed Roberston explore the familiar BNL themes of self-doubt and relationship complexities. Elsewhere the duo sharpen the political commentary that emerged on Everything to Everyone. The strongest of the politically-minded tracks (and perhaps the strongest song on the entire album) is "Maybe You're Right," which builds from sparse instrumentation to a resounding brass-filled finale. The album isn't devoid of BNL's trademark humor, though. On "Bank Job," a quirky waltz that could be the premise for a Cohen brothers' film, Robertson sings of a heist stymied by one of the robber's "crisis of conscience" when the bank is full of nuns. And, on "Wind It Up," the album's southern-rock closer, Robertson delivers possibly the funniest line of the album: "I was a baby when I learned to suck/But you have raised it to an art form."

Keyboardist Kevin Hearn and bassist Jim Creeggan also contribute some songwriting, with Hearn penning the Queen-esque "Sound of Your Voice" (sung by Page) and "Vanishing," and Creeggan providing "Peterborough and the Kawarthas." Hearn's songwriting contributions, including two other tracks on the deluxe edition, are his most prolific with the band, but his soft, colorless vocals are an acquired taste.

Despite many fans welcoming the band's continuing departure from fallacious ditties (No songs about postcards with chimps? Hallelujah!), some prefer early-era BNL (Gordon to be specific) and will no doubt be disappointed with the scarcity of BNL's customary hyperactivity. Of the thirteen tracks, only a handful could really be considered "peppy." Given that the band had written plenty of uptemo songs during the recording sessions--songs like "Running Out of Ink," "Down to Earth," and "Maybe Not," all of which are available on the deluxe edition of the album--one has to assume BNL consciously pursued a mellow vibe. The album doesn't really hit toe-tapping territory until the third song, "Sound of Your Voice," and two tracks--"Adrift" and "Vanishing"--are peaceful to the point of being downright somniferous.

Although the album could use the jolt a song like "Running Out of Ink" would provide, the bulk of the material is by no means dull. The music is the sound of five guys who clearly enjoy the new-found freedom of making music on their own terms. BNL's greatest strength has always been their songwriting, and the album shows Page, Robertson, and Co. returning to form after the uneven Everything to Everyone. Barenaked Ladies Are Me not only surpasses its predecessor but also stands among the best work of the band's career.

Sep 30, 2006 08:27:17

Review 2 of 4

Mamufa writes:

5of 5 Stars

Man, I'm impressed with this album. It's not silly or
forgettable, it's not boring, it's not trying to please everybody.
It's just great music. I think the Ladies have grown up a lot,
and if that means they're making quieter, or at least smarter
music, than I think that's a good thing. This album floored
me. I totally expected someting that rode on the coattails of
their earlier work, or tried to top their last album, in terms of
defining who they are now, or their place in the world. What I
got was reinvention. They didn't try to step up, but they took
a step to the side, and in doing so, created something totally
new that built on their whole catalog, but took it in a new
direction. And that was, in fact, a step up. I love this album.
As a fan since Born on a Pirate Ship, I can easily say this is just
as good, if not better. It's acoustic in places, rockin' in places,
easygoing, but still bitter and quirky, without being juvenile. I
absolutely love it. I hope they keep it going like this, and if
not, I can't wait to see what they do next.

Sep 22, 2006 09:25:23

Review 3 of 4

Jokerman5000 writes:

4of 5 Stars

On their newest album, Barenaked Ladies Are Me, BNL provide their fans a surprisingly enjoyable departure from recent efforts. From the first few bars of Adrift, the album's dreamily folky opening track, one can't help but realize that BNL have -- gasp! -- grown up.

Sure, there are still the BNL hallmarks that admirers have come to love -- the skewed metaphors and similes, those "Surprise!" narrative moments -- but they are fewer and farther between, tempered by an overarching sense of thoughtful and world-weary maturity. These are songs written by men who have real lives, problems, conflicts and relationships, and they reflect a depth that the Justin Timberlakes and Beyonces of the world can not approach.

Dismiss this album, if you will, as "Dad Rock." The loss is entirely yours.

Sep 20, 2006 16:21:02

Review 4 of 4

moumusic writes:

4of 5 Stars

I agree with Stephen Page (lead vocals for BNL) when he said in his most recent podcast, "The reviews will come out and they won't like it. They'll say, 'It's more serious than their previous efforts'."

Why does that make it bad? Why does BNL always have to come out with goofy songs to please the reviewers? And, since Ed Robertson has the largest hand in writing the "funny" songs, why does he get all the singles from the albums?

For instance, the best song on this album (in my opinion) is the well-crafted "Sound of Your Voice." It's sung by Stephen Page and written by keyboardist Kevin Hearn.

So what do they do? They release "Easy" as the single. A nice song, but I don't think I'll ever hear it on the radio.

Barenaked Ladies have always been "up there" with my other favorite bands. However, they could never really reach the status (in my mind) of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Moody Blues (another RS "favorite"- yeah, right), and others that had contributions from every band member.

Well, on the last few albums, BNL has had song contributions from Page and Robertson, but also from Hearn and Jim Creegan, bassist for the band. On their "Barenaked for the Holidays" album, two of the best songs are written by Creegan and Hearn! Plus, Jim has a great voice and even though Kevin's is a bit on the weak side, I still love it. It's rock bliss--a band with four songwriters. Everything stays fresh, everyone stays happy.

So, I ask Rolling Stone (because I haven't seen the review yet) to actually LISTEN to this album. They gave "Everything To Everyone", a very solid album with plenty of great moments, TWO STARS!! That very same week, they gave the new Britney Spears album THREE STARS!!!?!?! She doesn't even play an instrument! So, you've got five guys writing, playing, and singing (harmonies) their hearts out and you can only muster up two measley stars?

Maybe for this album, we should set our CD players to "repeat" to actually give this album a chance. I would challenge anyone to say to me that they LOVED (I mean, 5-stars love) the new Dylan album on the first listen. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of that album, too. But, I just think that Stephen Page is the best contemporary songwriter out there and the whole band deserves some overdue respect.

Sep 13, 2006 07:22:37