Music Review: BareNaked Ladies, Gordon

It seems odd talking about a band that became so big and has faded from view and focusing on a record that occurred before all of that.  I would like to take a look at the Bare Naked Ladies Gordon for awhile now.   This is their first record and occurs well before their hits phase.  I think the best know track is going to be "If I had a 1,000,000 dollars."  But lets take this record and run with it for a bit.

The album was released in 1992, the early nineties were a weird time.  It seems like change was in the air but besides grunge no one knew what this change meant. This record feels like that, its so weird being heartfelt and goofy often in the same song.  I think that is perhaps the best deception for the record as a whole, Canadianly Goofy.  That's not an insult its more saying it seems weird to us in the U.S. but may feel normal in the Great White North.

Hello City and Enid are very much what i am getting at here.  They are silly but animates.  They don't really rock but they have a good vibe to them like they polka and roll rather than rocking.  When you get into Stuff like Grade 9 and Yoko Ono the band has gone full on dork this is goofy fun stuff.  Rush bits are hidden in the music and It feels like they have gone from serious but fun into comedy.

Then you have songs like Wrap your arms around me, what a good boy and the flag that have no hint of comedy or irony.  These are just great songs.  Sometimes beautiful actually. But then there are Bedside Manor, box set and New Kid on the block.  These are as silly as you can get. 

So you are left with a mixed bag.  This is basically a fun light hearted offering with much bounding into full blown comedy.  But there are a couple of serious song.  These are not you later day hit makers they had no shame and a ready to have some fun.  Expect something much more playful than you have seen in other records.