The Vent Pipe: Initial findings...

My report on the initial findings of just how good the new Barenaked Ladies cd is? Well, I think it's really, really great. A lot (and I do emphasize LOT) better than their last c.d., which I hated at first but have since grown to love.

For this album, Barenaked Ladies Are Me, the 'ladies return to the label they recorded on over 15 years ago. And what an improvement. Lots of old-school 'ladies stuff going on. Great bass lines. Witty lines woven throughout the music (i.e. "I can't believe that you'd believe that I would fake it/Wait--unless you count those things I said when we were naked." from track 13: "Wind It Up"). And some of it is even a little bit 'harder' than the usual stuff.

I'm ecstatic to be listening to a new BNL c.d., but the pisser is that the store released c.d. features 13 new songs, including the first single "Easy." Fans can download the digital copy of the c.d., which includes two bonus tracks, but there is also a digitial "Deluxe" version which contains twenty-eight tracks. I don't really want to sink $30 bucks into getting all three, but I've already bought the store version. I'll have to investigate more.

I've only listened to the cd about 4 times, but I haven't sat down and just listened to it all the way through yet--that is, I've listened to it while I was cleaning the dorm (for room inspections) and studying. But if I had to pick my top four favorites they would go in this order:

4. Easy

3. Wind It Up

2. Rule the World With Love

1. Sound of Your Voice

Numbers 2 and 1 could easily be switched and probably will be by the time I've listened to the CD several times.

The stuff written by Ed and Steve (Robertson and Page, respectively) are, great and thankfully they comprise the majority of the album. The stuff written by Jim Creegan is, well, different. And Kevin Hearn is just weird (except for "Sound of Your Voice" which is a great song). Overall it's a very good c.d., especially for anybody who's a long-time BNL enthusiast.

Either version is available for download here. If you're a fan (or a potential fan) visit the official site, which is newly redesigned.

Tags: Music, BareNaked Ladies