BARENAKED LADIES
''GRINNING STREAK''
JUNE 14 2013
44:51
1/Limits
Ed Robertson/4:30
2/Boomerang
Zac Malloy / Ed Robertson/2:36
3/Off His Head
Ed Robertson/4:12
4/Gonna Walk
Kevin Griffin / Ed Robertson/2:42
5/Odds Are
Kevin Griffin / Ed Robertson/3:04
6/Keepin' It Real
Ed Robertson/3:34
7/Give It Back to You
Ed Robertson/2:48
8/Best Damn Friend
Ed Robertson/3:51
9/Did I Say That Out Loud?
Kevin Griffin / Ed Robertson/2:30
10/Daydreamin'
Kevin Hearn/5:47
11/Smile
Ed Robertson/2:29
12/Crawl
Ed Robertson/6:48
REVIEW
by Matt Collar
The Barenaked Ladies' 11th studio album, 2013's Grinning Streak, finds the band sticking with the polished, mature sound they delved into on 2010's All in Good Time. The second album the band has released since splitting with lead singer/songwriter Steven Page in 2009, Grinning Streak is also the band's first for Vanguard. Once again, longtime singer/songwriter Ed Robertson takes most of the spotlight here, with keyboardist Kevin Hearn getting one self-penned turn at the mike. Clearly, with Page having been such a huge part of the band’s sound, Barenaked Ladies had a tough time rethinking their identity. Smartly, with All in Good Time, rather than trying to replace Page, the band moved in a more subdued, mature direction, making the most of Robertson's longstanding knack for writing particularly playful, but nonetheless heartfelt alt-rock anthems about love, loss, and the intimate little details that make up our lives. The band sticks to this approach on Grinning Streak with thoughtfully crafted arrangements that mix melodic pop with liberal electronic flourishes. In fact, the album has a bit of an ironic title, as the songs generally feature a tone of poignant reflection. Which isn't to say that the band has lost its sense of humor. On the contrary, it’s still there, but with more of a melancholy edge than when the band was an MTV favorite in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. To these ends, we get a handful of immediately hummable folk-pop tunes including "Boomerang" and the jaunty, lite-rap, feel-good anthem "Odds Are." While these songs certainly carry a bit more emotional weight than much of BNL’s past hits, they also reveal a hopefulness. On “Odds Are,” Robertson sings, “Sure, things can go wrong/ But I’ll take my chances/Odds are long, so why not play.” Ultimately, while the toothy smiles might be wiped off the faces of Robertson and the rest of the Barenaked Ladies' faces, Grinning Streak reveals that their hearts remains firmly on their sleeves.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey
By combining humor with an eclectic mix of folk and pop/rock, the Barenaked Ladies enjoyed considerable popularity in their native Canada before rising to international status with 1998's "One Week." Vocalists Ed Robertson and Steve Page launched the band in the late '80s as an acoustic act, traveling to different college campuses and playing warm-up gigs for comedy troupes. These early shows played an important role in the group's foundation, as Robertson and Page began injecting their performances with humorous exchanges to hold their audiences' attention between songs. The trick worked, and the band's mixture of comedy and musicianship was cemented.
Following the duo's tour of the college circuit, the Barenaked Ladies expanded into a tight musical group with the addition of bass man Jim Creeggan, his brother Andy on keyboards, and drummer Tyler Stewart. Several cassette tapes were released and helped increase the band's local popularity, but 1991's Yellow Tape was a different animal, selling so rapidly that it soon became the first independently released tape to reach platinum status in Canada. The hype was compounded by the fact that Toronto's mayor, June Rowlands, considered the band's name to be sexist and demeaning to women, and therefore forbade the Barenaked Ladies from playing a 1991 New Year's Eve concert near City Hall. The story found its way onto the front page of the Toronto Star, and sales for Yellow Tape promptly soared. Meanwhile, record labels had begun approaching the band with attractive offers, and BNL soon signed with Sire/Reprise and issued their full-length debut, Gordon, in 1992. Featuring "Be My Yoko Ono," "If I Had a $1,000,000," and "Brian Wilson," the album moved over one million units and initiated BNL's reign as Canadian pop kings.
At the height of grunge's popularity, producer Ben Mink came on board to helm 1994's Maybe You Should Drive, a mellow folk-pop album. Songs like "Alternative Girlfriend" and "Jane" became college radio favorites, but changes loomed on the horizon. Before the bandmates could collect themselves for a third album, Andy Creeggan left the lineup in order to finish college abroad, and Look People guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Hearn hopped on board for BNL's joint tour with Billy Bragg. Hearn joined the group as a permanent member in time for 1996's obscuro-pop album Born on a Pirate Ship, and the band charted new celebrity territory by appearing on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 to perform their Top 40 hit "The Old Apartment." Success in the U.S. came fast, and BNL began selling out their summer shows. Selections from the tour were captured on the band's first live album, Rock Spectacle, an uninhibited effort (complete with improvised rapping and stage banter) that introduced a new audience to one of BNL's strongest assets -- their live shows. Rock Spectacle became BNL's first record to be certified gold in the U.S., and it paved the way for their biggest album to date.
Stunt, the group's fourth studio effort, was issued in July 1998 and transformed the Barenaked Ladies into stars in both the U.S. and U.K. Buoyed by the chart-topping single "One Week," the album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts and went on to sell over four million copies. BNL upgraded to stadium performances for their subsequent North American tour, leaving behind the theaters and clubs that housed their previous shows. In the meantime, Hearn took a half-year hiatus to recuperate from leukemia, having been diagnosed with the disease earlier that spring. Geggy Tah's Greg Kurstin and multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown filled in for Hearn on the Stunt tour. After a bone marrow transplant in October, Hearn was free of all cancerous cells, and BNL were reunited at their commercial peak. Maroon followed two years later and reached platinum status on the success of "Pinch Me"; it also netted the band two Juno Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Group, as well as a nomination for a Grammy. A greatest-hits collection, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001), was issued in fall 2001 to celebrate the band's first decade.
Two years later, BNL released Everything to Everyone and effectively fulfilled their contract with Reprise Records. The album sold relatively poorly, and Reprise neglected to offer an extended deal, thus returning the band to independent status for the first time since 1992. BNL responded by creating their own label, Desperation Records, which they used to release their next four albums. A holiday record, Barenaked for the Holidays, arrived in 2004, while the companion albums Barenaked Ladies Are Me and Barenaked Ladies Are Men were issued in 2006 and 2007, respectively. A children's album entitled Snacktime! followed in 2008, but the tour that followed its release was marred by Steve Page's arrest for cocaine possession. The band canceled several shows in response, and while the charges were later reduced to misdemeanors, Page nevertheless announced his decision to leave the group in early 2009. Thus reduced to a slimmed-down quartet, the band formed a new label, Raisin' Records, and returned in 2010 with All in Good Time, an album that featured lead vocals by Robertson, Hearn, and bassist Jim Creeggan. The greatest-hits compilation Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before was released in 2011, followed in 2012 by Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before!, which collected ten unissued tracks (demos, outtakes, live cuts, and studio B-sides) along with a pair of previously released rarities, all of which were recorded between 1992 and 2003. In 2013, BNL returned with its second studio album since Page's departure, the polished and mature effort Grinning Streak.
DoWnLoAd
''GRINNING STREAK''
JUNE 14 2013
44:51
1/Limits
Ed Robertson/4:30
2/Boomerang
Zac Malloy / Ed Robertson/2:36
3/Off His Head
Ed Robertson/4:12
4/Gonna Walk
Kevin Griffin / Ed Robertson/2:42
5/Odds Are
Kevin Griffin / Ed Robertson/3:04
6/Keepin' It Real
Ed Robertson/3:34
7/Give It Back to You
Ed Robertson/2:48
8/Best Damn Friend
Ed Robertson/3:51
9/Did I Say That Out Loud?
Kevin Griffin / Ed Robertson/2:30
10/Daydreamin'
Kevin Hearn/5:47
11/Smile
Ed Robertson/2:29
12/Crawl
Ed Robertson/6:48
REVIEW
by Matt Collar
The Barenaked Ladies' 11th studio album, 2013's Grinning Streak, finds the band sticking with the polished, mature sound they delved into on 2010's All in Good Time. The second album the band has released since splitting with lead singer/songwriter Steven Page in 2009, Grinning Streak is also the band's first for Vanguard. Once again, longtime singer/songwriter Ed Robertson takes most of the spotlight here, with keyboardist Kevin Hearn getting one self-penned turn at the mike. Clearly, with Page having been such a huge part of the band’s sound, Barenaked Ladies had a tough time rethinking their identity. Smartly, with All in Good Time, rather than trying to replace Page, the band moved in a more subdued, mature direction, making the most of Robertson's longstanding knack for writing particularly playful, but nonetheless heartfelt alt-rock anthems about love, loss, and the intimate little details that make up our lives. The band sticks to this approach on Grinning Streak with thoughtfully crafted arrangements that mix melodic pop with liberal electronic flourishes. In fact, the album has a bit of an ironic title, as the songs generally feature a tone of poignant reflection. Which isn't to say that the band has lost its sense of humor. On the contrary, it’s still there, but with more of a melancholy edge than when the band was an MTV favorite in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. To these ends, we get a handful of immediately hummable folk-pop tunes including "Boomerang" and the jaunty, lite-rap, feel-good anthem "Odds Are." While these songs certainly carry a bit more emotional weight than much of BNL’s past hits, they also reveal a hopefulness. On “Odds Are,” Robertson sings, “Sure, things can go wrong/ But I’ll take my chances/Odds are long, so why not play.” Ultimately, while the toothy smiles might be wiped off the faces of Robertson and the rest of the Barenaked Ladies' faces, Grinning Streak reveals that their hearts remains firmly on their sleeves.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey
By combining humor with an eclectic mix of folk and pop/rock, the Barenaked Ladies enjoyed considerable popularity in their native Canada before rising to international status with 1998's "One Week." Vocalists Ed Robertson and Steve Page launched the band in the late '80s as an acoustic act, traveling to different college campuses and playing warm-up gigs for comedy troupes. These early shows played an important role in the group's foundation, as Robertson and Page began injecting their performances with humorous exchanges to hold their audiences' attention between songs. The trick worked, and the band's mixture of comedy and musicianship was cemented.
Following the duo's tour of the college circuit, the Barenaked Ladies expanded into a tight musical group with the addition of bass man Jim Creeggan, his brother Andy on keyboards, and drummer Tyler Stewart. Several cassette tapes were released and helped increase the band's local popularity, but 1991's Yellow Tape was a different animal, selling so rapidly that it soon became the first independently released tape to reach platinum status in Canada. The hype was compounded by the fact that Toronto's mayor, June Rowlands, considered the band's name to be sexist and demeaning to women, and therefore forbade the Barenaked Ladies from playing a 1991 New Year's Eve concert near City Hall. The story found its way onto the front page of the Toronto Star, and sales for Yellow Tape promptly soared. Meanwhile, record labels had begun approaching the band with attractive offers, and BNL soon signed with Sire/Reprise and issued their full-length debut, Gordon, in 1992. Featuring "Be My Yoko Ono," "If I Had a $1,000,000," and "Brian Wilson," the album moved over one million units and initiated BNL's reign as Canadian pop kings.
At the height of grunge's popularity, producer Ben Mink came on board to helm 1994's Maybe You Should Drive, a mellow folk-pop album. Songs like "Alternative Girlfriend" and "Jane" became college radio favorites, but changes loomed on the horizon. Before the bandmates could collect themselves for a third album, Andy Creeggan left the lineup in order to finish college abroad, and Look People guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Hearn hopped on board for BNL's joint tour with Billy Bragg. Hearn joined the group as a permanent member in time for 1996's obscuro-pop album Born on a Pirate Ship, and the band charted new celebrity territory by appearing on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 to perform their Top 40 hit "The Old Apartment." Success in the U.S. came fast, and BNL began selling out their summer shows. Selections from the tour were captured on the band's first live album, Rock Spectacle, an uninhibited effort (complete with improvised rapping and stage banter) that introduced a new audience to one of BNL's strongest assets -- their live shows. Rock Spectacle became BNL's first record to be certified gold in the U.S., and it paved the way for their biggest album to date.
Stunt, the group's fourth studio effort, was issued in July 1998 and transformed the Barenaked Ladies into stars in both the U.S. and U.K. Buoyed by the chart-topping single "One Week," the album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts and went on to sell over four million copies. BNL upgraded to stadium performances for their subsequent North American tour, leaving behind the theaters and clubs that housed their previous shows. In the meantime, Hearn took a half-year hiatus to recuperate from leukemia, having been diagnosed with the disease earlier that spring. Geggy Tah's Greg Kurstin and multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown filled in for Hearn on the Stunt tour. After a bone marrow transplant in October, Hearn was free of all cancerous cells, and BNL were reunited at their commercial peak. Maroon followed two years later and reached platinum status on the success of "Pinch Me"; it also netted the band two Juno Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Group, as well as a nomination for a Grammy. A greatest-hits collection, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001), was issued in fall 2001 to celebrate the band's first decade.
Two years later, BNL released Everything to Everyone and effectively fulfilled their contract with Reprise Records. The album sold relatively poorly, and Reprise neglected to offer an extended deal, thus returning the band to independent status for the first time since 1992. BNL responded by creating their own label, Desperation Records, which they used to release their next four albums. A holiday record, Barenaked for the Holidays, arrived in 2004, while the companion albums Barenaked Ladies Are Me and Barenaked Ladies Are Men were issued in 2006 and 2007, respectively. A children's album entitled Snacktime! followed in 2008, but the tour that followed its release was marred by Steve Page's arrest for cocaine possession. The band canceled several shows in response, and while the charges were later reduced to misdemeanors, Page nevertheless announced his decision to leave the group in early 2009. Thus reduced to a slimmed-down quartet, the band formed a new label, Raisin' Records, and returned in 2010 with All in Good Time, an album that featured lead vocals by Robertson, Hearn, and bassist Jim Creeggan. The greatest-hits compilation Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before was released in 2011, followed in 2012 by Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before!, which collected ten unissued tracks (demos, outtakes, live cuts, and studio B-sides) along with a pair of previously released rarities, all of which were recorded between 1992 and 2003. In 2013, BNL returned with its second studio album since Page's departure, the polished and mature effort Grinning Streak.
DoWnLoAd
