Barenaked Ladies - Talk To The Hand CD/DVD Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 11.13.2007
BNL makes their live DVD debut…
My Story
I don’t know when I started liking Barenaked Ladies specifically, but I remember my brother getting their Greatest Hits CD for Christmas one year and we were totally hooked. The Ladies seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle since they left Reprise for the indies in 2003, but fans know they’ve continued to make some pretty good music. Known for their entertaining live show, ill the release of their first ever live DVD generate interest again?
Their Story
The Barenaked Ladies were formed in Toronto, Canada around 1988 by pals Ed Robertson and Steven Page, a duo of teenagers who had taken to performing quirky rock songs on acoustic guitars. They soon added bassist Jim Creeggan, keyboardist Andy Creeggan and drummer Tyler Stewart to the mix. In 1991, they released a self-titled independent cassette of demos, which has grown to be known as “The Yellow Tape”. They shopped the demo around to little interest from Canadian labels, so they just began selling it as an album at their shows. (It should be noted that the band had a few demo albums at this point, including “The Pink Tape” and Buck Naked).
“The Yellow Tape” began to garner a great deal of good word of mouth, eventually going platinum in Canada, a first for an independent release. Further, a cover of Bruce Cockburn’s “Lovers In A Dangerous Time” became their first Canadian hit single, reaching #16. A deal with Reprise Records followed and, in 1992, the band released their proper debut album, Gordon.
Gordon was a slow starter, but the third single, “Brian Wilson” (a semi-tribute to the quirky leader of The Beach Boys), became the Barenaked Ladies’ first US Top 100 hit, reaching #68 and #23 on the Mainstream Rock charts. A follow-up single, “If I Had $1,000,000”, was an Adult Top 40 hit. The more serious Maybe You Should Drive followed in 1994 and, while it was the band’s first to enter the Billboard 200 (#175), its singles (“Alternative Girlfriend” and “Jane”) failed to chart.
Before the tour for Maybe You could begin, And Creeggan left BNL to focus on college. He was replaced on the tour by Kevin Hearn, who became a full-fledged Lady when recording began for the group’s third album. Born On A Pirate Ship appeared in 1996. The album charted the band another Hot 100 single (“The Old Apartment”), and reached a then-career best #111 on the Billboard charts. The biggest wave came, however, when the band performed on the hit TV show “Beverly Hills 90210”.
The TV appearances got the buzz out about the Ladies, who began selling out shows on their summer tour. A live CD, Rock Spectacle, was made during those shows and it became the band’s first real hit, going gold and cracking the Top 100. The live set breathed new life into several of the band’s songs (“Brian Wilson”, “The Old Apartment”, “If I Had $1,000,000”) and left Barenaked Ladies poised on the brink of stardom after eight years of struggling.
Stunt was released in the summer of 1998 and was an instant success. The lead single, “One Week”, shot all the way to #1 on the Billboard charts, pushing Stunt to #3 and a triple platinum certification by the end of the year. Rock Spectacle and Gordon also saw a sales boost thanks to the overwhelming radio success, going platinum and gold respectively. By the fall of 1999, Stunt had reached 4x platinum and had generated two more big Mainstream Rock and Adult Top 40 singles in “It’s All Been Done” and “Call And Answer”.
Unfortunately, through all the success, the band also suffered some turmoil, as keyboardist Kevin Hearn was diagnosed with leukemia, causing him to miss the Stunt tour. Fill-in players were brought in, but the band was most concerned with the health of their friend. Luckily, Hearn underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and was back in the band in time to record their follow-up. Maroon hit shelves in the fall of 2000, produced by Don Was. Maroon wasn’t quite the success that Stunt proved to be, but it still reached platinum status and reached #5 on the charts. The lead single, “Pinch Me”, was a Top 20 hit, and two more singles (“Falling for The First Time” and “Too Little Too Late”) did well on the Adult Top 40 charts. Born On A Pirate Ship became the band’s fifth gold record around this time, too.
Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001) came in 2001, celebrating the band’s best loved songs. The album was another Top 40 hit and reached gold. Following that, the band took some time off from touring and recording, eventually returning in 2003 with Everything To Everyone. The album reached #10, but was nowhere near the hit that Stunt or even Maroon had been. There were no big singles from the album, though “Another Postcard” and “Testing 1,2,3” were in the top 20 on the Adult Top 40 charts. Following the album’s tour, the band parted ways with Reprise Records, putting them on the indies for the first time in over a decade. In a nice move for fans, nearly all of the shows from the 2004 were available for download via the band’s website.
The band’s first independent release was Barenaked For The Holidays, put out by their own Desperation Records. For the next two years, the band busied themselves with several projects, both BNL-related and solo, including a failed variety show pilot for the FOX network. Eventually, they returned to the studio to work on their first true LP post-Reprise. They wound up recording 29-songs for the effort, which led to the 2006 release Barenaked Ladies Are Me, followed closely by the 2007 companion CD Barenaked Ladies Are Men. The two discs contained material from the same sessions, and were released together in some forms, but are ultimately considered two separate albums. Are Me reached #17 on the Billboard charts, while Are Men placed much lower.
In 2007, the band released their first ever live DVD and a companion CD. Currently, they are busy with many side projects, charities and an annual cruise called the “Ships & Dip”.
The Album
On November 6, 2007, Shout! Factory, Desperation Records, Groove Pix and Sony Music Entertainment released Talk To The Hand: Live In Michigan, the second official live album and first live DVD by the Barenaked Ladies. The album is available as a CD/DVD package and also as a single DVD. The show was recorded on June 15, 2007 at DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan. The DVD is recorded in 16:9, 5.1 DTS Surround, and includes the following special features: a “Backstage With The Ladies” featurette, a sound check recording of “Angry People” and a concert photo montage. In keeping with the band’s recent “green” efforts, the CD and DVD packaging is 100% eco-friendly.
The Band: 8.0
Steven Page: vocals, guitar
Ed Robertson: vocals, guitar, banjo
Tyler Stewart: drums, backing vocals
Jim Creeggan: bass, strings, vocals
Kevin Hearn: keyboard, vocals, guitar
Talk To The Hand is a much more subdued effort than Rock Spectacle, the band’s previous official live album. The band kind of coasts through the big hits (kicking off the set with “One Week”?), in order to get to the slower and newer songs. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, seeing as how the people who needed their “Old Apartment” fix can do that elsewhere.
In fact, the band shines on the lesser known tunes, especially acoustic versions of “For You” and “Be My Yoko Ono”. BNL is a tight group that has been playing together for nearly twenty years now, so they’ve got their live chops down pat. Beautiful, crystal clear recording also benefits this album, as the recordings are nearly studio quality.
As for the DVD portion, this is where BNL comes alive for the uninitiated. Their stage show is energetic and extremely fun, with a sense of friendship and love for their fans that spills over and out of the screen.
The Songs: 7.5
1. One Week
2. The Old Apartment
3. Sound Of Your Voice
4. Bank Job
5. Too Little Too Late
6. Adrift
7. For You (Acoustic)
8. Be My Yoko Ono (Acoustic)
9. Wind It Up
10. Angry People
11. Pinch Me
12. Powder Blue
13. Brian Wilson
14. Easy
15. If I Had $1000000
The songs on Talk To The Hand focus pretty heavily on BNL’s later material, with six of the tracks drawn from the band’s latest release (Are Me/Are Men). It’s actually a pretty good blend of early hits and modern tracks, as most of the band’s post Stunt singles are represented. Songs like “Pinch Me”, “Brian Wilson” and “Too Little Too Late” provide perfect points of reference for the album cuts.
In all, this set is a fan’s perfect companion-piece to Rock Spectacle, and the DVD half makes it absolutely necessary, capturing the funny and quirky Canadians in their element, singling out audience members for jokes and silly jams. Plus, seeing as how the band’s biggest hits (namely “One Week” and “Pinch Me”) were yet to come when Rock hit shelves, Talk To The Hand picks up nicely where it left off with little overlap.
In the same way that Rock introduced (or re-introduced) fans to classics like “Brian Wilson” and “If I Had $1000000”, Hand has the potential to spotlight overlooked tracks like “For You”, “Angry People” and the rare “Pinch Me” B-Side “Powder Blue”.
The 411: While, on its surface, Talk To The Hand seems like an album that will only appeal to hardcore Barenaked Ladies fans, the album has the potential to appeal to folks as broadly as Rock Spectacle, the band’s big breakthrough, did. While the energy isn’t quite as manic as that previous record, the songs are quite good and some are getting a second chance at getting their due after being lost in the shuffle on some of the band’s lesser known albums. The sound is excellent and there are enough hits to keep the casual fans listening. Above all that, you have the band’s live DVD debut, and that’s worth the price of admission alone.
