Gordon

by

Barenaked Ladies

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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.

I'm sure that I'm one of many listeners who were introduced to the Ladies through a friend playing "If I Had $1000000", more or less the Ladies' signature tune. However, while this sampling certainly spurred me on to buying BNL albums, Gordon was my second buy after Born On A Pirate Ship.

As a whole, I have to admit that Gordon is not the greatest album I have ever listened to, and is certainly my least favourite of the current BNL catalogue. Most of the songs are, to be honest, unremarkable; the wit and intelligence in the lyrics are certainly obvious in all the tracks, but as yet the music is merely a vehicle for the words in most of these songs, and not all that interesting. Certainly few of the songs, apart from the perrenial "If I Had $100000" which is indeed worth the hype, stuck in my mind, and I find it hard to recall the tunes of some of them.

Having said that, the promise of Gordon as a debut ablum is undeniable; Grade 9 has the upbeat ! feel of some of the later Ladies hits, Box Set is an interesting look at the end of a musical career (all the more interesting for appearing on a debut album), and I Love You has a funk to it that's hard to dislike.

But its the last three tracks that really made Gordon worthwhile for me: The Flag begins the tradition of the BNL mellow track, If I Had $1000000 is, well, If I Had $1000000, and Crazy just has something about it...

It's not a bad album, but it really shows only a fraction of the talents to be displayed on Born On A Pirate Ship and, in particular, Stunt. As debut albums go, it's hard to start out with a classic-fest like Moxy Früvous' Bargainville, and Gordon, although enjoyable enough, comes a definite second.