Guaranteed to satisfy (Gordon - Barenaked Ladies)

Member Name: Delicate_Orchid1

Product:	Gordon - Barenaked Ladies
Date:	09/05/06 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Mostly good, thought - provoking tracks

Disadvantages: A few weaker links

If you asked me what things truly make me happy, one of the answers I would give you is: The Barenaked Ladies! Their music just has something so upbeat and energetic about it, that it cheers me up instantly. One of my favourite albums is “Gordon”. Many times have I taken the CD with me to work. Standing on the platform at a train station and playing these songs suddenly lifts me from my foul-spirited mood and makes me want to sing and dance. Nearly every song on this album is cheerful, and they few that are not have something else to say for themselves.


1. Hello City

This song starts with a piano and saxophone melody, which gives the track a very jazz-like feel to it. Then the accoustic guitar enters with a bit of bass. The melody is really upbeat, so upbeat, that it really gets me going on the way to the “City”.

The way I see it, the song appears to be about always going to the same type of bars while on tour, getting drunk, leaving the bar reeking of cigarettes – and wishing one could only wake up in its own bed.

The chorus, which is my favorite part and I enjoy screaming out loud, goes as follows:

“Hello City, you’ve found an enemy in me… .”

To me personally, this chorus truly embodies how I feel about London, though the rest of the song has no personal meaning.

Rating: 5/5


2. Enid

This song is another upbeat track that starts with drums, trumpets and accoustic guitar. It is a lot faster than the previous track and lacks the jazz-like feel.

The song’s lyrics truly reflect how teenagers feel about break-ups. It is from the perspective of someone reflecting upon a relationship he had at the age of 15, a break-up that took him two years to get over. He’s reflecting upon what happened, all the emotional drama, and comes to a conclusion in the chorus:

“Maybe we always saw right through each other anyway,
But Enid, we never really knew each other anyway.”

One of the verses that one could probably relate to if one has been in a troubled teenage relationship with loads of emotional canonballs flying around is embodied in these lyrics:

“There were times when I wanted to hurt you,
And there were times when I know that I did.
There were times when I thought I would kill you,
But can you blame me, I was only a kid.”

Rating: 5/5


3. Grade 9

Surprise, surprise, this is another upbeat track, this time with a slightly comical feel to it. There is a piano, drum and guitar entry that has a rhythm resembling a child jumping up and down on a trampolin.

This is truly a song that anyone who was not “cool” at school could relate to, as it is written from the point of view of a clutzy nerd in 9th grade, who is being bullied and laughed at all the time.

“I went to try out for the football team to prove that I’m a man
I guess I shouldn’t tell them that I like Duran Duran.”

“They called me chicken legs,
They called me four eyes,
They called me fatso,
They called me buckwheat…”

And in true Barenaked Ladies fashion, this is followed by a comical interjection

“They called me Eddie.”

The chorus to this song is rather weak, but the track overall is still amazing.

Rating: 5/5


4. Brian Wilson

This is a very quiet song in the verses, fast in parts, that starts with an acoustic guitar entry. It is one of the Barenaked Ladies best known songs and comes across a lot more energetic and impressive on stage.

It is a slightly odd song, as the tune is very upbeat, but the lyrics are a little sad. I am not sure what the song is about, as I only recently found out who Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) was. The lyrics may make a lot more sense to those of you who are Brian Wilson fans.

To be, the song is just about a sad lonely man who

“Drove downtown in the rain
Nine-thirty on a tuesday night
Just to check out the late-night record shop.”

There is a lyric suggesting that this is also about drug abuse, but I may be completely off the track here:

“I had a dream
That I was three hundred pounds
And even though I was very heavy,
I floated till I couldn’t see the ground.”

Despite not understanding what the song is truly about, I must say that I thoroughly enjoy it.

Rating: 5/5


5. Be my Yoko Ono

This starts with accoistic guitar, bass and hand drums and has a very upbeat rhythm to it. There is no need to explain who this song is about. It is basically making fun of John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s relationship, in a very endearing way.

The chorus just makes you want to tap your feet and dance away:

“You can be my Yoko Ono
You can follow me wherever I go.
Be my, be my
Be my Yoko Ono.”

My favorite verse is this one:

“I know that when I say this,
I may be stepping on pins and needles;
But I don’t like all these people slagging her
For breaking up the Beatles
(Don’t blame it on Yokey).
If I was John and you were Yoko,
I would gladly give up musical genius
Just to have you as my very own personal venus.”

Rating: 5/5


6. Wrap your arms around me

The entry is a gentle accoustic guitar, followed by very gentle and soft singing. The atmosphere that is painted is a dark, windy moonlit night. Two people are in a room by candle light in a beach house, just with each other. The ultimate love-making song in my eyes.

“I concede that you were right about this place
I can make a perfect likeness of your body if I trace
I can hold you, turn the light out and I can’t see…”

“I put my arms around your neck
And you wrap your arms around me.”

The song is very sexual and romantic to me, but the last verse has never made sense to me. How can a man taller than a woman physically put his hands around the woman’s neck while she wraps her arms around him? I have tried. It is very ackward. It would make much more sense the other way around.

Rating: 5/5


7. What a good boy

This is not one of my favourites. It has accoustic guitar and slow singing, it is not very melodic, though. It seems to be like the song is about all the expectations people raise of others from the moment that they are born:

“When I was born, they looked ar me and said
What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy….”

“We’ve got these chains that hang around our necks
People want to strangle us with them
Before we take our first breath,
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same.”

Rating: 3/5


8. The king of beside manor

This is a short song, with quick accoustic guitar and drums. It sounds a lot like “The Devil went down to Georgia” and has the rhythm of traditional Jewish songs.

Rating: 1/5


9. Box set

This song has a very jazz-like feel to it, with a keyboard entry which reminds me a lot of the Sex & The City theme tune at the beginning.

The song is basically about a rock/pop star reflecting upon his career. He sings about about how his box set album says everything about his life:

“Disc One
It’s where we begun, it’s all
My greatest hits, and if you are a
Fan then you know that you’ve already got ‘em.

Disc Two
It was all brandnew, and album’s
Worth of songs, but we had to
Leave the whole disc blank
Because some other label
Bought’ em.

Disc Three
This is really me in a grade
School play; I had about a hundred thousand
Lines, but of course I forgot ‘em.”

By the time he gets to disc six, his career is down the tubes, songs are merely used in advertisments for bathroom cleaners and his fans believe they are a sell-out. Truly like the rock’n roll world ends for most stars.

Rating: 4/5


10. I love you

This song has a bass entry, followed by a piano. It again has a very jazz-like feel to it and reminds me of the Fraser theme tune in the beginning.

It is a really silly song, but upbeat and funny

“I love you
And you love me
I love you
So let’s make a family tree.”

“I like soup, and I like ice cream
Sandwiches, too.
I like fish sticks,
But I love you.”

How would you liked to be compared to fish sticks, eh?

Rating: 3/5


11. New Kid (on the Block)

This is one of the faster tracks on the album, starting with guitar and drums. The song is, in many ways, mocking the generation of fabricated pop bands and stars and making fun of the music industry.

“I didn’t ask to be famous, but I am not sore,
Cause you can see my face it the window
Of every store.
You can buy my lunchbox, and you can wear my clothes.
You can remember my name just
As plain as under your nose.”

“I’m a new Kid on the Block
Though I may not be Johann Sebastian Bach.
So we may not write the songs we sing,
But look at Elvis, he sold his soul
And you made him King.”

I would highly recommend this song as an opening tune to X-Factor and Pop Idol.

Rating: 5/5


12. The flag

This is a slow song, starts with a slow guitar and a very solemn singing voice. The song seems to discuss the tragedy of abusive relationships.

“The phone rings, it’s early, it’s 7 a.m.
He says, sorry, I woke you, but I just had to talk
You know last night, remember when I tried to choke you?
I didn’t mean it, I was drunk, it was only a joke.”

“The next night he’s over and over
And under
And after he’s finished, she lies
There and wonders
Just why does she need him and
Why does she stay here?”

This is without doubt the sadest track on the album, but very emotionally impacting:

Rating: 3/5


13. If I had $1,000,000

To end the album, we have another very cheerful and upbeat song with drums harmonica and bass – with a very folksong-type feel to it. This is one of the Barenaked Ladies most famous tunes and is, yet again, much better on stage than live.

The song basically covers what to do if one had £1,000,000. None of the suggestions are serious, though. The “Ladies” thus suggest that they would buy their loved one a fur coat, a green dress, an exotic pet (like a llama or an emu), or a monkey (have you not always wanted a money?) Oh, and with all this money, there would be no need to walk to the store – instead one could take a limousine (because it costs more).


***The verdict***

This is definitely a must-have album, despite the few weak links on the album.
You can buy it at HMV, Virgin or on amazon.co.uk. I have seen it priced between £10 and £13.

Happy listening!

Summary: An album guaranteed to cheer you up.