Barenaked Ladies: Barenaked For The Holidays : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Leave it to the clown princes of Canadian pop to offer up badly needed comedic relief for the holidays. Excitable as five-year-olds, the Barenaked Ladies are often playful, but never ill-spirited, even when they sing the "Happy Birthday" song to Jesus and perform (the normally haunting) "O Holy Night" as an up-tempo instrumental using consumer-grade Casio drum programs and roller-rink organ. But the album's not completely flip, either. "Snowman" is a tender original, and their "Auld Lang Syne" is moving. Steven Page writes a new Festival of Lights song, "Hanukkah Blessings," to accompany two other Jewish standards, and the Canadians' ties to the Queen are evident on their inclusion of Sir Bob Geldof's "Do They Know It's Christmas" and Sir Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime." Tapping into their inner child, the Barenaked Ladies make the holidays fun again, even if you're not the kid you used to be.