BARENAKED LADIES: POWER TO THE PEOPLE

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By Tom Semioli BNL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This feature appeared in Amplifier Magazine, August 2006

We record….you decide!

Toronto’s favorite adult alternative-rock sons, the Barenaked Ladies, are set to release their eighth album-  Barenaked Ladies Are Me. Sort of. It’s your job to choose the tracks, running order, physical format, artwork, and method of delivery.

Fear not, Barenaked Ladies fans who have little or no experience on the bandstand, in the studio, record company boardroom, art department, pressing plant, and retail- you have options aplenty: purchase the physical thirteen song compact disc on September 12 in stores; or download the thirteen songs plus two bonus-tracks; or opt to download the twenty-seven song digital package Deluxe Edition; or access all of the above or combinations thereof by way of a USB flash memory stick with two extra tracks. Sound easy?

“The Barenaked Ladies are learning to let go,” reveals guitarist / vocalist Steven Page. “Historically the album was only a construct of what the technology could hold and what labels and publishers were willing to pay for. We are certainly conscious of the fact that so many fans listen to music in shuffle mode, and we’re not offended by that. You can still be an artist with integrity and allow your fans some level of control with regard to how they use your end result.”

The eclectic platinum-selling quintet continues to meld folk and pop with a healthy dose of humor. Comprised of Page, Ed Robertson (guitar/vocals), Tyler Stewart (drums), Jim Creegan (bass) and Kevin Hearn (keyboards), BNL have witnessed births, marriages, deaths, and near death in their two decades running musical sojourn together. Are Me, whichever way you choose to hear it, finds the band refreshed, melodic, and accessible.

Explains Page “we performed all the songs live in the studio, but the guitars and vocals were often replaced. They were redone to get better sounds and, in my case, better performances! The foundations of the tracks have the feeling of a band that has played live together for nearly twenty years—which is the truth.”

Though the band produced Are Me, legendary engineer Bob Clearmountain (Bruce Springsteen, Pretenders, Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow) shares the credit for recording the Ladies in all their resonate glory. “We have always been a fan of his work, especially Crowded House’s Woodface album, which has been something of a touchstone for our band. He was our catalyst in the studio.”

Are Me essentially began when Page and Robertson met up for a writing session in the spring of ’05. With three songs composed, “Home,” “Rule The World With Love,” and “Wind It Up,” they split for summer vacation. It was back to the grindstone in fall at Robertson’s cottage. Fifteen or so songs jelled in a mere four or five days. Meanwhile Hearn was “writing a dozen songs per day” across town. (Stay tuned for Hearn’s eventual solo album.) When all the Ladies convened in winter, they pared the list “down” to twenty-nine tracks. Eschewing Page and Robertson’s usual method of elaborate demos, all the band members put their personal stamp on the tunes, thereby making Are Me the most accurate representation of the group dynamic on record.

“We were sick of saving things for soundtracks, b-sides and whatever. By releasing it all, we could move forward as artists. A double album can be very pricey at retail, so we chose to divide the physical content into two chunks, which is also easier to digest for the more traditional CD buyer, and the second of which, Barenaked Ladies Are Men, comes out in early 2007.”

The Barenaked Ladies Are Me and Barenaked Ladies Are Me: Deluxe Edition from Desperation Records will be available whichever way you choose it beginning September 12, 2006.