Barenaked Ladies’ “All in Good Time” (2010) – The Weekend Review

By Chris Moore:

RATING:  5 / 5 stars

I’ll start by addressing the controversy surrounding the release of this album.

It’s only fair to clear the air, considering there’s been quite a lot of debate.  Although many will claim that it all began recently, I trace this issue back as early as 2006.

The issue I’m referring to, that I’m certain is on everyone’s minds, is the pressing question:

Is All in Good Time the eighth, ninth, or tenth album in the Barenaked Ladies’ not inconsiderable catalog?

(That’s what you thought I meant, right?)

To answer this question, you must revisit BnL’s past three releases: Are Me (2006), Are Men (2007), and Snacktime! (2008).  If you’re inclined to count them all as individual studio releases, then this year’s album is their tenth.  If you don’t count children’s albums, then it’s the ninth.  If you file the remaining two as an Are Me/Are Men double album proper, then we’re down to All in Good Time being the eighth.

You may be wondering, is it worth wasting energy considering such minutiae?

I think not.

However, as we stand at the precipice of a new decade of BnL being one of the most underrated and under-appreciated bands in contemporary rock music, it is worthwhile to take note of just how much they have achieved in recent history.

Believe me: the review may well afford you an enhanced understanding and appreciation of the band’s latest effort.

All in Good Time is an album of balance, an album of desperate searching and of confronting denials of satisfaction.  Contrary to stances I’ve read in the few professional reviews that have been written, All in Good Time is not a more serious departure from those fun-lovin, goofy Canadians we “used to know.”  Rather, any serious listener (i.e. no one under the employ of Rolling Stone‘s reviews department) would recognize that BnL’s catalog is deeper than “Be My Yoko Ono,” “If I Had $1,000,000,” “One Week,” and “Another Postcard.”  Particularly in the past ten years, this band has produced some of the most lyrically compelling and instrumentally impressive rock music available.

In many ways, All in Good Time borders on the concept-driven.  From the piano-laden lead-off single “You Run Away” to the deceptively upbeat track two “Summertime,” Ed Robertson and company quickly establish this as a post-traumatic album, a collection of songs that express various approaches toward disagreement and separation.

Please don’t misread my interpretation: I, for one, have found this album to have more depth than your average “breakup album.”  A comparison to the classics — Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, perhaps — just wouldn’t be right.  There is a certain strength of purpose here that other breakup albums simply cannot manage.  That may be why we’re drawn to them: as expressions of how it feels to cope with pain, loss, and even utter devastation of a lifestyle.

Instead, what I hear in Robertson, Kevin Hearn, Jim Creeggan, and even Tyler Stewart’s vocals is a certain solidarity we’ve come to expect from BnL.  When dealing with the most serious of trauma, their levity is woven in, even if it is more subtle than a song about laughing at funerals or running through a lawn sprinkler with your gym shorts on.  Consider Robertson’s line about crashing a party in “The Love We’re In,” to which he adds, “I’ll crash the plane” (referring, of course, to his own plane crash last year).

Additionally, not since their debut with 1992’s Gordon has such a sense of community been apparent in a BnL album.  More recently, particularly with those aforementioned past three releases, BnL has increased the number and degree of contributions from the so-called supporting members, namely Hearn, Creeggan, and Stewart.

In the wake of Steven Page’s departure (fine! I went and said it!), this is precisely what was needed to push the band to the next level in a career that has been marked by consistent evolution.

BnL's "All in Good Time" (2010)

BnL's "All in Good Time" (2010)

Starting the album with such a melancholy track as “You Run Away” — and sending it out as the first single — can only be classified as a bold, honest move on their part.  Either that or it indicates an utter lack of concern for marketing (which is well within their discretion, now, as an independent act).  Regardless, “You Run Away” builds up to such a degree that it’s a bit jolting to return to the beginning, so much does the second half rock out that you’re liable to forget just how slow the opening was.

“Summertime,” the second track, is framed by a big, beautifully crunchy riff and some vocal ba-da-ba’s on the outro that invoke seventies America.  Lyrically, Robertson asks, “How do we make it through the days?  How do we not cave in and bottom out?”  This is a tone-setter for the album as a whole, and as the choral response indicates, “Soon enough we’ll wake up from such a daze…”

See?  Even in an album imbued with such heartache and anger, BnL remains steadfast in their positive outlook.

The third track is one of Hearn’s three contributions, a slow-and-steady lament titled “Another Heartbreak.”  This is a song of accepting an inevitable failure, but, as Hearn sings, “it’s still a chance I had to take.”  This reminds me of that noble truth expressed by Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird: “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Chapter 11).

“Four Seconds” is perhaps the quirkiest, and the quickest, BnL song yet — and that’s saying something.  When I first heard it, I was somewhat surprised that it had not been chosen as the single, especially considering the characteristic Robertson rapping.  It’s the kind of song that makes you happy to have a lyric booklet to refer to as you endeavor to learn the song and keep up.

Next comes a Creeggan track, “On the Lookout.”  This is a beautiful track, making full use of Creeggan’s smooth vocals for a fitting lead.  Like “Summertime,” there are all manner of interesting effects and instrumentation stretching out just beneath the surface.

“Ordinary” is strung together by Robertson’s intricate picking, but this is a track that clearly features the individual vocal and instrumental contributions of each of the other three members.  Like “You Run Away,” this track is an exemplar of the start-out-slow-and-build-up-to-full-speed arrangement.

The muted electric notes at the intro of “I Have Learned” provide an instant contrast with the acoustic “Ordinary.”  The result is a murky tone, as though there is something lurking beneath the surface.  Turns out that the “something” is a passive aggression.  Listen for the notes Robertson (or Hearn?) plays just before the minute and a half mark; if one’s temper being tweaked could be translated to electric guitar, this is what it would sound like.

As “Every Subway Car” rolls out, it becomes clear that this is not an album devoid of love songs.  The spray paint metaphor — the narrator’s handy work being brilliantly described as “urban gardens in bloom” — is classic Barenaked Ladies, and the track is catchy as hell.

Just in time, Hearn returns with a change of pace in “Jerome,” a ghost-town ballad through “Bloody Basin Road” to a locale populated by “bar brawlers and drifters, gamblers and gun fighters, ladies of the evening, and copper miners.”  This really isn’t a story so much as a song that establishes the proper setting for just about anyone to fill in the plot with their own ghosts.  Perhaps that is what Hearn intended: for his listeners to recall the memories that fill their own “jailhouses”…

The Barenaked Ladies have never produced a better angry rock song than “How Long.”  Lyrically and vocally, the song peaks at the middle as Robertson nearly screams, “I know you know I know you… so don’t say it!”  This song is so good that I can almost forget the “it’s for reals” line entirely… almost.

The band pulls back a notch for “Golden Boy,” but the passive aggressive undertones continue, punctuated by a distorted electric guitar under the vocals.  There are so many ways to read into and interpret the lyrics, that I won’t even begin.

“I Saw It” is, no arguments, one of the prettiest, most heartbreaking songs in the BnL canon.  In their twenty year career, Jim Creeggan has written a wide range of eccentric songs, but now that he has punched out several more straightforward tunes, it is clear that he can write with the best of his bandmates when the inspiration is there.  Of all the sad melodies on this album, “I Saw It” is unsurpassed.

Like ripping a band-aid, I’m just going to say it: “The Love We’re In” sounds, at least lyrically, like a song penned by early 2000’s John Mayer.  (Now, don’t get me wrong, as early John Mayer is, in this writer’s opinion, the only John Mayer worth listening to.)  To be fair, the comparison ends after the first verse is finished, but I had to note it.

An extremely brief forty-five minutes after the first piano note of “You Run Away,” the album comes in for a final run with “Watching the Northern Lights.”  Initially, I didn’t think much of this song, but the more I’ve listened, the more I’ve appreciated Hearn’s subtle genius and the more his lead vocal has crept into my mind and lingered there.

What more is there to say?  Instrumentally impressive, vocally brilliant, and lyrically interesting: All in Good Time is yet another Barenaked Ladies album worthy of making the best-of lists.  Don’t hold your breath for the “professionals” to acknowledge it, though: go out and listen for yourself.

The BEST COLLABORATIONS of 2011 (The Year-End Awards)

By Chris Moore:

The following artists are being recognized for their notable collaborations.  Had they not worked together, their tracks and, in some cases, albums would not have been nearly as successfully rendered.  Wanda Jackson and Jack White have to earn the top mention for the comeback release of the year.  Jackson was once a hitmaker, a notable player in the rockabilly scene (dating Elvis Presley for a time), but I certainly hadn’t heard of her before this year.  With White’s electric leads and the fitting arrangements that walk the line between classic and modern, The Party Ain’t Over makes good on the claim in its title.

Beyond this collaboration, the others on this list are more traditional.  8in8 was a cool idea: get together to write, record, and release eight tracks in eight hours as a way of showing just how much the music industry has changed in even the past several years.  Gillian Welch’s role, dueting on the Decemberists’ The King is Dead, was a vital one, just as Norah Jones and Jack White added their vocals to a couple tracks and elevated the Rome soundtrack.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out and praise the (brief) reunion of Ben Folds Five, just as much as if I didn’t note that some of the tracks on The King is Dead have a strongly R.E.M.-esque vibe to them at least in part because Peter Buck is playing on them.

1)  Wanda Jackson and Jack White (The Party Ain’t Over)

2)  Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and Damian Kulash (8in8)

3)  The Decemberists and Gillian Welch (various tracks on The King is Dead)

4)  Danger Mouse, Daniele Luppi, Norah Jones, and Jack White (Rome: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

5)  Ben Folds, Darren Jesse, and Robert Sledge (as Ben Folds Five for three new recordings)

6)  Norah Jones and Hank Williams (“How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart”)

7)  The Decemberists and Peter Buck (various tracks on The King is Dead)

8)  Bob Dylan and Hank Williams (“The Love That Faded”)

9)  Kevin Hearn and Garth Hudson (“The House of Invention”)

10) Lupe Fiasco and Matt Mahaffey (“State Run Radio”)

The Weekend Review: December 2011

By Chris Moore:

Here they are: the final two reviews of the year!  It’s taken me a week, but I’ve prepared all my “end of the year” lists, and they’ll be going live a day at a time, starting tomorrow…

 

El Camino (The Black Keys)

Producer: Danger Mouse & The Black Keys

Released: December 6, 2011

Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Little Black Submarines” & “Lonely Boy”

Instantly accessible, this new Black Keys album picks up more or less where its predecessor, Brothers, left off, though this time around some of the nuances have been dumped in favor of a streamlined, more formulaic sound.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it does create a sort of unity on the album, but it also tends to make the tracks run together a bit too seamlessly.  “Little Black Submarines” is the standout here, if only for its use of acoustic guitar to establish the track before picking up, though “Lonely Boy” was the perfect choice for a lead-off single (you’ll get no argument from me there).  Others, like “Run Right Back” and “Nova Baby,” are notable for their hooks, but the remainder of the songs generally feed into one album-length grunge/blues-rock fest that is, again, instantly accessible for the tracks’ consistent tightness, brevity, and catchiness.

 

Cloud Maintenance (Kevin Hearn)

Producer: Kevin Hearn & Michael Phillip Wojewoda

Released: December 20, 2011

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Always Changing” & “Northland Train”

Cloud Maintenance is about what you would expect from a Thin Buckle or a Kevin Hearn solo album, with an added sense of sonic and thematic unity that hasn’t always been present on previous releases.  Perhaps due to his soothing vocals or to the overwhelming sense of utter calm his instrumentation often projects, Hearn’s releases have the potential to be overlooked, or simply admired for their quirkiness yet denied the honor of future listens.  Here, however, there is a thread that weaves each track together, and the lyrics, though quite simple in most cases, tell a story for those willing to listen.  From the opening refrain of “Northland  Train,” there is a theme of departure and loss — of presence, of position — that pervades the first several tracks.  “She Waved” adds a bus to the transportational imagery (not to mention a gorgeous barrage of lush vocal harmonies), just as “Don’t Shuffle Me Back” brings in playing card imagery to express, again, the loss of a position once held dear.  “Grey Garden” delves deeper into the sense of loss, and “Tell Me Tell Me” ponders, albeit from afar, on what Hearn has disclosed as the cover painting by artist Don Porcella.  In “The House of Invention,” the tone begins to shift to a brighter, fairy tale-esque perspective.  The touching, beautiful “Always Changing” settles the contemplation explored earlier in a sturdier, life-encompassing paradigm that suggests wisdom and ease arriving at last.  “The City of Love” opens up a brief window that hints at fresh possibilities in a world that was previously possessed by the “could have been” and the “once was.”  Finally, “Monsters Anonymous” takes a twist, adding the humorous MA meeting introductions of seven classic scary fellows, each suggestive of a deeper layering of underlying thoughts, concerns, and regrets.  In this sense, there is the same positive, if pensive, energy here on Cloud Maintenance: you just need to experience the indecision and sad feelings of loss to reach it.  (And, with only eleven days to share, Hearn offers up my favorite stanza of lyrics of 2011: “I’m Frankenstein’s creation / and here’s my explanation, / why I’m bad at pro-creation: / my nuts are in my neck.”  So, there’s that.)

My 100th “Favorite” YouTube Video!

By Chris Moore:

Hello all you faithful Laptop Sessions viewers!  I’m back so soon after my previous post to announce a milestone that, in all actuality, doesn’t really mean all that much to anyone other than me…

…my 100th “favorite” YouTube video!!

That’s right, today I clicked on the “Favorite” button for the 100th time since I signed up for YouTube on October 26, 2007.  I figured that it was time to take a retrospective glance back through my 100 favorite videos and choose the top ten best videos — my votes for the ten best videos on YouTube.  You may not agree with me, and you may even outright disagree with some of my choices.  But you can tell a lot about me based just on these ten.

So, without further ado, here they are in reverse order:

10)  “Please Stay” Live at the Webster Theatre

Possibly my all-time favorite moment touring with MoU, and it’s captured here on video!  We played not only the Webster Theatre but, as a last-minute promotion, the main stage!  This is probably one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written and my favorite performance — for once, I think we all felt like we had, if only for a moment, made it to the big time.

9)  Counting Crows – “1492” Live in the Studio

What a cool video — an inside peek into what the recording process looks like for one of my favorite bands, as they recorded one of my favorite albums of the year!

8)  The Wallflowers – “Beautiful Side of Somewhere”

This is the official music video for this Rebel, Sweetheart track.  It’s such an interesting concept, incredibly rendered.  I love to watch it.  I love to listen to it.  And I NEVER would have seen it without YouTube for two reasons — one, I never watch music video television, and two, those stations would never play the Wallflowers anyway.  (Which is a big reason why I don’t watch them!)

7)  Jeff Tweedy – People Talking During Concert

This is the video that officially pushed my interest in Wilco and Jeff Tweedy to the next level.  I officially felt like I had reached fan status after watching this and cracking up, loving his onstage presence and personality.  I could see Jim or I wanting to say this to some of the crowds we have played in front of!

6)  TNA: Sting arrives to help Christian Cage

One big change for me this year has been my loyal viewing of wrestling.  I never would have believed it if someone had told me even a couple years ago that I would spend every Thursday in Jim’s parents’ movie theater of a basement, eagerly awaiting the next match on TNA: Impact!.  But I do, and this video is one of my all-time favorites.  Does it get any better than seeing Christian Cage in the ring (albeit a not-so-flattering moment for him) and then seeing the lights go down, only to come back on to the sight of Sting clearing house?  The answer is no!

5)  Elliott Smith on David Letterman

One of my absolute favorite videos and truly proving the merits of YouTube, as I would never have seen this performance of Smith’s “Stupidity Tries” otherwise.  It’s not just that it’s a great performance, but I love to watch this because — if only for three minutes — the typically reclusive Smith took center stage on a primary late-night talk show, playing one of his best tracks from perhaps his greatest album.  I love it!

4)  R.E.M. – “Living Well is the Best Revenge”

This is the music video they released for this track off their 2008 album Accelerate.  What an intriguing concept: play the song in the car, while driving!  This is exactly what Jim, Mike, and I would do when we were in high school and college, just driving around and making up ridiculous songs (especially when accompanied by Alberto Distefano)!  A great YouTube find…

3)  Adam Sandler – 50 First Dates

This is the first of two videos that Jim will no doubt recall… as I played him this Adam Sandler clip about 100 times this past year.  He already had a similar clip on his iTunes that I used to beg him to play every time I saw he was on his computer with iTunes open.  It’s hilarious, classic Adam Sandler combined with a reference to the Beach Boys.  How could it get any better?

2)  Barenaked Ladies- “Pollywog in a Bog (Extended Version)

I first chose the Kevin Hearn-illustrated “Drawing” video for this list.  Then, I remembered this amazing music video for this Snacktime track.  This is one that you will enjoy — any age, any musical preference, whether you like BNL or not.  Puppets playing musical instruments, a reggae-style middle, and did I mention REALLY cute puppets?  Yet another case of BNL creating impressive work that relatively few will ever see.

And, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

1)  Super Troopers – Farva food scene

Okay, this comes with the disclaimer that this is some mature language in this clip.  And by some, I mean a lot.  But it is, hands down, my favorite YouTube clip of all time.  It is my favorite moment in the Super Troopers movie.  It makes me laugh no matter how many times I play it, and I’ve played it a lot.  If I played the Adam Sandler clip for Jim 100 times, then I played this one for him 1,000 times!  And, whenever I watch or even think of it, I am reminded of spending fun, relaxing times with my closest friends of all-time, watching late-night movies, eating late-night snacks and Taco Bell, drinking fruity-flavored beers, and just enjoying life.  So, this video wins based on all the criteria I can think of — number of times played, memories evoked while viewing, overall quality, etc.  Go ahead, you know you’re interested…

http://www.youtube.com/chrismooremusic

Okay, I can’t resist.  Here are the “HONORABLE MENTIONS:”

– “Sting Custom Titantron (TNA Theme)” – Very appropriate (and oft-employed by yours truly) while turning the light off and on, appearing with a baseball bat to beat up a friend.  Jim can vouch for this one!

– “The Wallflowers – ‘One Headlight’ (Feat. Bruce Springsteen)” – The clip isn’t the best quality, but the performance is top-notch, the duet is a match made in heaven (in my mind, at least), and I would have completely missed out on this great video if it hadn’t been for YouTube!

– “Cowboys of Moo Mesa intro” – For some reason, I found this online after a conversation with Jim and just played it and played it.  And played it.  And played it some more.  I think Jim, Mike, and I will someday do a full-band version of this… that’s how well we know it now!  And YOU tell ME — how many people do you have in your life that know the “Cowboys of Moo Mesa” lyrics by heart?  There you go ladies, that’s at least one reason to look up my number and cross your fingers…  🙂