Born On A Pirate Ship - Barenaked Ladies

1996 saw Canadian alternative rockers Barenaked Ladies at a turning point. Personal problems among the band's personnel and an inability to determine the direction they would take took their toll on the group, and it's no surprise that their release that year is a patchy affair - a hotch-potch of the quirky literate pop of debut album "Gordon" and the more emotional ballads of "Maybe You Should Drive", with an unwarranted dash of genre experiments mixed in too. "Born On A Pirate Ship" is, at best, a moderate success. It improves with repeated listens as you begin to pick up on more of the lyrics, but even when you're completely familiar with ...

Okay, here it is, the latest instalment of my Barenaked set of opinions. Released way back in 1996, Born on a Pirate Ship (BOAPS) is the Barenaked Ladies? third album. For me BOAPS is a transitional album, the music is still catchy and upbeat for the most but the music looks more at the serious sides of life like relationships breaking up, than previous albums. In my opinion BOAPS is probably the weakest BNL album I own but it?s still very easy to listen to and is pretty good without being exceptional. The Barenaked Ladies are a Canadian band, who released their first album in 1992, with a distinct style best described as ?geek/jangle pop?. The BNL?s are ...

This CD includes one of the Barenaked Ladies' most famous songs, "If I had $1000000", although for some reason it's the (UK edit) version. This, along with songs like "Call me calmly" are very reminiscent of They Might Be Giants, so if you like a zany edge to your music, you should be fine with this. There's more to the Barenaked Ladies than this, though - and this album has a serious side, with some very poignant songs, both musically and lyrically, e.g. "When I fall", and my absolute favourite, "Break your heart". On this ultimately soulful track, it's like Steven Page is completely opening up his heart ...