Sometimes They Get Serious (Maybe You Should Drive - Barenaked Ladies)

Member Name: bishops

Product:	Maybe You Should Drive - Barenaked Ladies
Date:	25/09/00 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Less wacky than Gordon

Disadvantages: Less catchy too

Like all fans of all bands, I'm always inclined to say of BNL that the less known "early" stuff is better than the (more popular) later stuff. Translation - I liked them when they were good, before the hoi polloi discovered them !

Unfortunately, with this band it's largely true. "Gordon" is great if you can see past the wackiness. "Born On A Pirate Ship" (the album after this one) is good but a little over-angsty. By the time you get to Stunt, the content has gone and the wackiness is all there is left.

So what about this one ? "Maybe..." is less self-consciously off the wall than Gordon, and a bit less eclectic as well. Lyrically it's just as strong, and it benefits from being less scatter-gun in its' styles. However it also lacks the real major catchy numbers of Gordon, and it maybe takes a while longer to grow to love it. Live with it for a while though, and it should get right under your skin.

I spend many, many hours in my car, and the cassette with Gordon on one side and Maybe... on the other is one of my most-played driving tapes. Great singalong music, the occasional tear-jerking lyric, not too demanding - shame they didn't continue to fulfill their potential.

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