I have personally always regarded main men Ed Robertson and Steven Page to be two of the best song writers since 1990, and I
have dared compare their innovativeness to the likes of Supertramp’s Rick
Davies/Roger Hodgson or Don
Henley/Glenn Frey of the Eagles in
their own right. Barenaked Ladies
were very experimental, yes, but throughout their recording career, especially
in the first four or so albums, they brought in such unique influences and
blended them with the bands different style of rock sound. Songs such as Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank or In The Car are songs that most bands
from the 90’s and even today wouldn’t have bothered making because other
artists simply don’t have the creative juices to incorporate such influences in
to their songs.
In 2009, after releasing nine studio albums with the band, Steven Page left Barenaked Ladies, the reason given is simply that the band wasn’t
the fun environment that it once was (if you listen to the songs in the early
days compared to later stuff, I guess that makes sense). For a band who had
never really been through any line-up changes, save for one back in the 90s, to
lose one of the two faces of the band (and frankly the most recognizable of the
two) was devastating for fans and probably for the band as well. The band
continued as a four piece and 2010 released the first album with this newly
reduced line-up, All In Good Time.
It got terrific reception from critics and great sales in Canada, but only went
to number 23 in the USA, the first single (something they swear wasn’t written
about Steven Page) was called You Run Away. This album marked a
turning point for the band in sound, not just with the absence of Steven both
as a writer and singer, but with the increase in vocals from other band members
Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn.
In early June of this year, they followed up All In Good Time with their latest
album Grinning Streak. It is obvious
that the level of comfort in the band has increased greatly. The band admitted
that they were getting their feet wet with All
In Good Time adjusting to their new situation, but the band sounds 100%
comfortable on this new album and I was rather satisfied with the result.
The album has a bit of an experimental side in terms of
sounds used on songs, but nothing comparable to the bands early days. The
opening track Limits starts off
almost electronically, even with the background vocals sounding somewhat
robotic. The song is a slow song, a little upbeat sounding but still a little
bit odd of a track to start the album with. The experimental aspects kind of
also show in the slightly faster paced Off
His Head. Did I Say That Out Loud?
Also features experimenting with electronics.
The albums leading single, Boomerang, shows that Ed
Robertson hasn’t forgotten the 90s and the essentials to writing a good catchy
alternative rock song. This song is likely to be VERY refreshing to the 90’s alternative
rock fan that listened to more than just grunge and rather just enjoyed the
happier side of songs. This same feel can be heard in Best Damn Friend. While this track doesn’t sound like it could have
been written in the 90s the way Boomerang
does, it does have that positive feel with electric guitars and slightly
heavier drums playing in the back.
Barenaked
Ladies have never really shied away from using an acoustic guitar
as the primary instrument in their songs as opposed to an electric guitar. This
album is filled with that familiar stripped down guitar sound with songs like Gonna Walk. Odds Are, also an acoustic track, is the kind of interestingly
lyrically worded song that Ed has made a career of writing. The song sings
about numerous worries that people have, such as being struck by lightning or
stung by a bee, and how the “odds are” these kind of things will never happen,
at least not until tomorrow. One of my favourite lyrics Ed has ever written is
in this track “somewhere in the world, someone is gonna fall in love by the end
of this song”, which displays how well Ed can write around a song titled “Odds Are”. My personal favourite song
on the album is the almost completely acoustic track Give It Back To You. Always a sucker for ballads, this album is the
closest the band comes on this release to recording a ballad.
The album isn’t all fun and dandy. Keepin’ It Real, while still being predominantly an acoustic song,
has a very dark feel. I believe this is among the best written songs on the
album because it sounds like so much more than just another Barenaked Ladies rock song. It has a
very heavy drum beat and angry sounding vocals, kind of sounding like it
belongs in a neo-western scene. Topped with an electric guitar solo, this song
is a definitive moment in the bands career.
Unlike All In Good
Time, only one song on Grinning
Streak features someone other than Ed on lead vocals (there is also a bonus
track that doesn’t feature him on lead vocals, which would technically make two
songs). Daydreamin’ is Kevin Hearn’s sole lead vocal
performance on this album. While not a gifted singer (some of his previously
sung songs such a Vanishing have
been slightly lacklustre) he fares well singing on this song. A gifted musician
for the band with his multi-instrumental capabilities, he has always been a
terrific song writer, which shows in this musically filled song. Should his
vocals not appeal to you in this track, the music certainly might.
The album ends with the tracks Smile and Crawl. Smile is a short but happy sounding
song; it is not titled ironically, the song actually does sing about smiling. Crawl ends the album with a song that
sounds somewhat different from the album. This song is one of few on the album
to feature an electric guitar, and really the only song where an electric
guitar is the primary stringed instrument used on the song. It has a similar
feel and sound to the rest of the songs on the album, slow and mellow and
heavily drum driven. I regard this as a great song to end the album with
because it sums up the album very well.
Even though this albums release came rather unexpectedly, to
me at least, the album sales have been the best the band has had in the USA
since 2003’s Everything to Everyone.
If there is but one complaint about the album it is that it may as well be an
Ed Robertson solo album; he sings all but one song and wrote all but one song.
The rest of the bands only contribution to the album is that they performed on
it, where All In Good Time was a
real band effort. However, the band has released what I will say is one of their
best albums; a very mature standpoint of grown men who have made music long
enough to have matured with the times.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHT
FINAL RATING
9 (Out of 10)
Track List:
1.
|
"Limits"
|
4:28
|
2.
|
"Boomerang"
|
2:34
|
3.
|
"Off His Head"
|
4:10
|
4.
|
"Gonna Walk"
|
2:40
|
5.
|
"Odds Are"
|
3:02
|
6.
|
"Keepin' It Real"
|
3:31
|
7.
|
"Give It Back to You"
|
2:46
|
8.
|
"Best Damn Friend"
|
3:48
|
9.
|
"Did I Say That Out Loud?"
|
2:28
|
10.
|
"Daydreamin'"
|
5:45
|
11.
|
"Smile"
|
2:26
|
12.
|
"Crawl"
|
6:47
|
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