Barenaked Ladies Album: “Gordon”

I shy away from making pronouncements about "best ever" until I've had at least 5 years to live with a CD. Often a disc you thought brilliant in 1995, when you were looking for "something new" to listen to, seems just average when you look at it in the cold grey light of 2005. It's now 13 years later and I still find myself putting this disc in the player and singing along almost the whole way through.

The Canadian band, for those not initiated, plainly have a love for melody, often trade in strong harmonies, adore pop culture, and believe that a good sense of humour is a good thing, avoiding the pretentions of "serious" musicians. That's not to say they don't have anything to "say"....just that it's usually buried under the surface and you have to find it for yourself.

Their fascination with pop culture shows itself two ways...in frequent medleys of covers of current pop hits they're fond of throwing into concert sets (anything from Prince's "When Doves Cry" to Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious") and tossing in riffs and references. Here they namecheck Duran Duran, Star Trek, the Our Gang series, Michael Landon TV shows, Yoko Ono, the Elephant Man, Rush, Styx...and that's just a few of them.

Singling out the "best" songs is difficult, but the songwriter's lament in "Brian Wilson", geekdom ode "Grade 9", whimsical "If I Had $1,000,000" and obsessive love song "Be MY Yoko Ono" are criminally catchy.

Besides those, others that rate nearly as high include "Box Set" (which alternates between pity for the singer's fans buying it "Maybe it's a lack of inspiration that makes me stoop" and himself because he's not allowed to evolve by fans who want the 'hits' ad infinitum "Every time I try to do something new, all they want is 1973"), the juxtaposition of tender and creepy in "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (it leaves you wondering if the song's main character is trying to renew a battered relationship..or if he's singing it to a lover he's killed in an effort to keep her with him forever), the on-again off-again lovers of "The Flag" and the boyband salute in "New Kid (On the Block)".

Perhaps the biggest tribute to the staying power of this disc is it that it's multilayered. I'm still hearing musical parts and countermelodies afresh...still pondering turns of phrase for new nuggets.

There are a few misses that keeps it out of the 5 star range. The sound effects laden "King of Bedside Manor" crosses the line from whimsy into inanity for me, "I Love You" is too slight to really connect and "Crazy" is why there's a 'skip button'. But out of 15 songs, 12 are good to great and that's rare. And the best ones are so superb that I keep coming back.

4 1/2 stars

This very early Barenaked Ladies disc shows their background and their sourcing of ideas. Some of the songs are very well produced, others are not. What struck me first -- and other reviews haven't really addressed -- is the frequency with which the songs on this album are derived from particular other songs or song styles.

Sometimes these relationships are obvious -- for example, the vocal harmonies in "Brian Wilson" are Beach Boys style harmonies but without the high falsetto. (The harmony on "Be My Yoko Ono' on the other hand reminds me more of the Four Freshmen.) 'Box Set' musically relates to bossa nova, but even more directly to Barry Manilow's Copacabana. The take-off is well done enough so it's not immediately audible, but if you listen to these two songs one after the other you can almost see the Barenakeds yukking it up in the background.

The most direct quotation, though, is the even less likely "I Love You" which is scored like, performed like, and features harmonies similar to several Manhattan Transfer songs. It even includes an excellent take off on Cheryl Bentyne in the verse that goes "You've given me a start, I ain't no doctor ..." that's sung really quickly, (just as C.B. often does).

For those who only know the Barenakeds from their recent radio outings, "Everything to Everyone" is probably a better choice --it has better production values and somewhat better songwriting, plus it's more consistently like itself -- there's fewer musical references to other things.

If you want to hear the Barenakeds from the early days, when they listened to lots of different music, and did takeoffs of it, and could have gone on to be what they are today -- or could have turned out to be another Weird Al Yankovic -- type band -- this record's really fine.

Once in awhile, an album just grabs you by the neck and demands to be respected (and loved?) upon first listen. Such is GORDON. I'm kinda a lazy listener sometimes, and when I throw on a new album, I often listen with just half an ear while doing other stuff. It's rare for an album to capture my imagination right off the bat.

GORDON starts with "Hello, City" which may be the weakest song on the album...so that's a drag. But this is soon followed by perhaps the strongest string of three songs in a row since a Beatles album. "Grade 9" is a laugh-out-loud funny song (at least for people who graduated high school somewhere around 1980). Lots of hysterical cultural references, great rhymes and a salute to RUSH!! I love it. This is followed by the beautiful, haunting "Brian Wilson," and then by the playful, only slightly bitter "Be My Yoko Ono." I can listen to these songs over and over.

"What a Good Boy" is sensational as well, sad and thought-provoking. Barenaked Ladies are terrific lyricists...funny and silly when they want to be...serious and romantic other times. They trade lead vocal duties between Ed Robertson (best known for his fast singing on songs like "one Week")...his stuff tends to be a bit more upbeat and sincere. Stephen Page ("Brian Wilson") has a more plaintive voice, and his lyrics are often heavily tinged with cynicism or even self-loathing.

It's all great stuff, nicely tempered by excellent musical craftsmanship. These guys aren't musical geniuses, but they do know how to craft a pop song!! That ain't bad!!!

Finally, I give major props to "If I Had A Million $," just flat out one of the funniest songs ever to get radio play. It's the perfect showcase for the wacky side of BNL (and if you ever get to see them in concert...this song always changes.) GORDON is just such a joy to listen to. You may not fall in love with every single song, but some of the songs are going to grab you and hold on. And as a whole collection, GORDON is one of the strongest albums I have EVER heard...and that's a bold statement from me. Check it out!

I got this CD right after I went to the BNL concert at Pine Knob in September. I love this CD! After you've bought Stunt (the newest BNL CD as of now) and you also have this, you've got the two best CD's in the world! This CD may be sort of old, but the music is good enough it could've been released yesterday! This is a great CD for anyone who owns a CD player and doesn't listen to only classical music on it (all of you, I HOPE!) BUY THIS CD! IT ROCKS!

GOD I love Gordon! I have to admit, through all these years, it's still my favorite BNL album. Maroon is a close second, as it really has grown on me....and then MYSD, because it's very subtle and laid-back- not like usual BNL fare! I like Stunt and BOAPS, too- but just not as much as GORDON! It's amazing that they were able to bring out such a great record on their first attempt- from start to finish, this is just a fresh and exciting array of musical brilliance! It's start of with the light and bouncy Hello City, which I certainly can relate to! Then comes Enid, which is a fan favorite at their concerts- it's exciting and well written. Grade 9 was an anthem for me when I was first started high school (obviously), and I liked Duran Duran, too (still do). Brian Wilson is perhaps one of their most classic songs, with it's ominous look about a guy who's going throught the same problems that the aformentioned musician went through (well, not quite). Be My Yoko Ono was one of their first #1 singles in Canada, and it's another song that will FORCE you to sing along with (oh, and someone tell Steven Page that we MUST blame it on Yokey!). Wrap Your Arms Around Me is an absolutley gorgeous song- right up there with When I Fall and Call and answer-it always gives me a sensation which is hard to describe (and people said that the naked ladies can never be serious!) Good Boy is another great, heartwarming song about love between friends. Bedside Manor- just plain Off-the-wall- I love it! Box Set is an almost sneering song- not bad. I Love You is straightforward in it's message, and still is a very good song. New Kid On the Block is rather ominous song-much like Brian Wilson- great song, and it almost makes you feel sorry for those guys (or maybe not). Blame It On Me- a slow, relaxing song, once again a reference to a terrible 80's group- Milli Vanili. Flag is decent, but If I Had a Million Dollars- yet another gem! It's soo great live, and it's another "could-be" favorite song of mine. Finally, Crazy is...just that- great way for them to end the album. So kids, not much more to say, other than if you haven't gotten this album-, whether or not you're a BNL fan- get it. NOW.