Barenaked Ladies – Greatest Hits

Artist: Barenaked Ladies

Title: Greatest Hits

Label: Reprise

Rating: 8/10

Let’s do something fun. We’ll review the song’s chronologically by album release:

Gordon:

“Enid” and “Be My Yoko Ono” – Okay. But do they really belong on this album?

“If I Had $1,000,000” – The song that broke them wide open. It still sounds as odd, corny, and wonderfully silly today as it did back then.

Maybe You Should Drive:

“Jane” – Simple and all that gives BNL their potency.

“Alternative Girlfriend” – Could live without it.

Born On A Pirate Ship:

“The Old Apartment” – This is my favorite BNL song, hands down. It’s dark, but the reminiscing that exists for stories in every corner of your mind is fantastically powerful. “Why would you paint the walls?” An amazing look into the past that seems so sad as those who come back to a life they left without leaving.

“Shoebox” – Not as up to par with the rest of these songs, but still, far from average.

Rock Spectacle:

“Brian Wilson” – Sounds even better live as the crowd dives into the song soul first. A song that is both soulful and driven. Quite a notch in their belt.

“What A Good Boy” – Sweet, yet powerful.

Stunt:

“One Week” – Perhaps their best song. You can hear how much they matured musically and vocally on this track from those previous.

“Call and Answer” – One of my favorite BNL songs. Again they weave their stories while selling it with beautiful melodies and instrumentations. And as serious as it sounds, they still know how to give humor to each situation.

Maroon:

“Too Little To Late” – Underachieving, yet above the fold.

“Pinch Me” – Still yet another hit, but more than that. This song digs into you while you try to figure out what this is all for.

“Falling For The First Time” – Good.

Soundtracks:

“It’s All Been Done” – Only appears on the Drive Me Crazy Soundtrack and limited edition import for Stunt. Classic track.

“Get In Line” – Appears on the King Of The Hill soundtrack. Very enjoyable.

Covers:

“Lovers In A Dangerous Time” – A cover of Bruce Cockburn’s track has been hard to find for fans, but I’m not sure why.

New Songs:

“It’s Only Me (The Wizard of Magicland)” – Interesting. Does it belong here? No.

“Thanks That Was Fun” – See previous.

To be honest it took this greatest hits album to remind me how truly good the Barenaked Ladies are.

+ rae gun