Barenaked for the Holidays

by

Barenaked Ladies

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BNL joins the tired ranks of groups to release Christmas albums. Of course, they do it in true BNL fashion, and are not content to simply record a bunch of slightly-warmed-over standards. Some of the songs are original compositions, such as "Christmastime (Oh Yeah)," and some are standards done up in BNL's jazzy, rock style. Still others sound as if they are being played on your Grandmother's old electric organ, complete with tacky drum machine. (I have to wonder if this last is a peek into their early Christmas traditions.) And lastly, there are some very off-the-wall tunes, like "Deck the Stills" and "Sleigh Ride" that pretty much sound like the guys screwing around.

All of the tracks are well-polished, and the entire album evokes a holiday spirit. So in that sense, this album is a huge success. I only subtract 1 star because if you're not a fan of the band, you won't be too interested in their interpretation of the standards, and the novelty songs will probably be a bit of a turn off. However, if you like BNL, this is a must-have, even if you skip a few of the songs after listening to them once.

My wife, being a Christmas Junkie, buys around 5 new Christmas albums each year. Starting mid-November, pretty much the only music in the house, in the car, in the portable CD player is christmas music. Since we're BNL fans, this was one of the ones she chose this year. It is very consistent with their musical style - the quirky semi-ad libbing kinda thing they do.

The problem (for us) is that the quirkiness is funny the first time you hear it on a Christmas album, but having heard it once, there's no reason to hear it again. For instance singing the Happy Birthday Song to Jesus would be great if you were at a concert and everyone sang along campily (and to be honest, our kids, 4 and 2, are still singing happy birthday Jesus). Or inserting the age-old "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, Robin laid an Egg."

This isn't an album that we are likely to listen to more than once a year (if at all in the future), and when you're paying that much for an album with so little replayability, it's somewhat discouraging. If you like to get a lot of mileage out of your albums, this probably isn't one to get. If you're looking for something to play for a college Christmas party where everyone will hear it once and get a real kick out of some of the silliness, then this album is probably for you.