No Need To Purge This From Your Collection! (Purge - Bif Naked)

Member Name: delawney

Product:	Purge - Bif Naked
Date:	16/05/03 (570 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A delicious rock-pop cocktail!

Disadvantages: Only available on import

THE QUICK REVIEW (For those in a hurry)

Bif Naked, although not terribly well known in the UK does have a small following, mainly due to her appearance on the fourth season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the feature of her track "Lucky" on the BTVS soundtrack.

"Purge" is her third 'music' album, although it is her fourth full-length release if you count her spoken-word album. It's a delicious mixture of hard rock, pop and thoughtful ballads - with a bit of dance thrown in for the remixed bonus track.

Everything Bif Naked does has a twist - don't expect her ballads to be all sweet and soppy. This is a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind, and as such she will inject anger, irony and a good dose of humour into her music.

Bif will push your buttons if you like rock or pop with a rocky edge that dares to be just a little bit different. Which delawney does, so that's handy!


THE FULL OP

Bif Naked is a person, not a band! Real name Beth Torbet, Bif came from an old school nickname, and she adopted the Naked during her time in the US punk rock scene.

I first encountered Bif Naked with her track "Lucky" on the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television soundtrack CD, and it instantly became my favourite track on the album. I had to find out more. I purchased her then current album "I Bificus" from Amazon and was immediately hooked. When her latest album "Purge" was released in her home country of Canada in the summer of 2001, I couldn't wait for it to be released here. I ordered my copy from an online retailer in Canada for about £11, including shipping.


*** The Packaging ***

"The opinions I spew are completely my own and it's nobody's fault if I say things you don't like"

Bif's CD inserts are always a treat, covered in her cartoons and gems of wis
dom - a real entertaining read. All lyrics are included (yippee!) and there's a good selection of Bif in sultry pose photos.


*** The Track Run-Down ***

*** CHOKING ON THE TRUTH ***

"I thought it was my candy
But I'm choking on the truth"

The album starts as it means to go on with a catchy guitar intro to a real bouncy number. A good start that really gets your foot tapping.


*** TANGO SHOES ***

"My new tango shoes are gonna help me dance away from you"

This is probably my favourite track on the album. It's a classic dump-your-useless-man-and-feel-good-about-it track, with an incredibly catchy sing-along chorus. (I'm singing it now!). I challenge any woman not to relate to this song, even if they've never worn a pair of tango shoes!

It's pop, yet it's rock, and it's funky baby! A real corker.

If you get the chance try and catch the video - good fun!


*** DAWN ***

"It's not that you don't know what love means
It's just that you do not love me"

Another cracker of a track, instantly catchy with a really delicious chorus that will seep into your subconscious and get lost there for weeks. In fact, I'd go as far as to say this track is beautiful. The verses are sultry and atmospheric, yet the chorus rocks. Yummy.


*** I LOVE MYSELF TODAY ***

"I love myself today!
Not like yesterday
I'm cool! I'm calm!
I'm gonna be okay!"

I have to confess I was a little dubious about a collaboration between Bif and songwriter/producer Desmond Child. He is probably most famed for his work with artists such as Bon Jovi on tracks like "Living on a Prayer". Good as those songs are, I didn't really associate them with Bif.

I was delighted to be proved wrong. This is a real belter of a track, a
nother with a positive uplifting feel. From it's spoken verses to its roared chorus, it's a real rocking little number.

If I have one small criticism here, it would be that there's one or two lyrics that are a little below par for Bif, definitely bordering on the cheesy. That said, it doesn't really detract from the track so, who cares?


*** STOLEN SIDEWALK ***

"And who said love would always mend
and fill the emptiness again"

Track five and finally we hit ballad mode - a simple piano-led track with suitably accompanying strings. This is a pleasant enough number, and it does have some moving lyrics, but it doesn't pull any surprises.


*** OCTOBER SONG ***

"I can't seem to find anyone
Who hasn't fallen
Fallen down"

Another really catchy number, full of poppy hooks. We see Bif taking on a little taster of falsetto vocals on the chorus here, and it's effective - even if it does make her sound a bit girly!

Although this song definitely has a pop feel to it, the lyrics certainly have a more grown-up edge than your average bubblegum pop. And this doesn't loose it's flavour either!


*** LEADER (for the psychopath-crazy-sadsack-stalker) ***

"You don't know me - so, don't touch me
I'm not here to validate your behaviour"

This is another one of my faves. A real angry, raucous belter of a track - contrasting well after it's poppy predecessor.

Written in response to her experience of a stalker, Bif spits her anger out throughout the track, with some very clever lyrics. Loud guitars back her up nicely.

The bridge before the final chorus is particularly menacing - brilliant.


*** YOU ARE THE MASTER ***

"I guess you are the master
I am the dog, I am the dog
Waiting for you to love me"

I wasn't
sure about this one at first, but it has really grown on me. Bizarre as it sounds, the dog analogy employed throughout the lyrics of this song really works!

Music-wise, this is an effective soft rocking number, but no particular surprises here.


*** REGULAR GUY ***

"I'm just lookin' for
A four-eyes-really-square
regular guy
(Just like you)"

Bif is never afraid to have a giggle in her songs, and this one is a classic example. "Let me tell ya 'bout the kind of guys that like me: they're in jail". So she's after a different kind of man! You also get an insight into the more romantic side of Bif.

Upbeat and poppy, this is a great singalong track, with a very effective repeated hook at the end of the chorus - it'll get into your head and you will be humming it for hours. Great fun!


*** HOLD ON ***

"I'm a small honeybee
I drown in the water
You are my hand in the well"

This one opens with an acoustic, almost spanish-sounding guitar. Yep, we're back in ballad mode, with a latin feel throughout.

A delightful enough, expressive ballad.


*** STORY OF MY LIFE ***

"I dropped a trail of candy hearts
hoping you would search for me"

The pace is upped once more and the guitars are turned back up, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for a really catchy keyboard hook that's going to get right in your head!

The song is pretty much an apology by Bif to her mother for her somewhat dubious behaviour in the past.


*** RELIGION ***

"You are my religion"

A real gem to end the album on. It's one of those that starts relatively gently (in a kind of sexy way) and then builds and builds to an orgasmic climax. Top stuff indeed.


*** 'HIDDEN' BONUS TRACK - DANCE VERSION OF I LOVE MYSELF
TODAY ***

Whilst the rock version is far superior to this, it has to be said it still works surprisingly well as a dance number. I like it much more than a lot of the dance tracks in the charts anyway!



*** The Verdict? ***

This is a smashing follow-up to "I Bificus" and is no disappointment. There's a delicious mix of tracks from the hard-rocking to the poppy to the ballads, showing the real diversity Bif is capable of. While she may now have a more commercial edge, you can still hear the underlying US punk roots.

If I were being particularly picky, I would say I would have loved it to feature just one of Bif's brilliant spoken word tracks, which really serve to exhibit her powers of observation and her skill with words, but I guess they are not so commercially popular.

I give this four-and-a-half stars.

All in all, this one receives a hearty recommendation from delawney - and you know I only speak the truth ;)



*** The Useful Information ***

"Purge" is currently selling on Amazon for a whopping £14.99, but it is only available on import. You might be better off doing as I did and ordering it direct from Amazon.

For more information check out the website at www.herroyalmajestysrecords.com/bif/


"Purge" (2002)
Lava/Atlantic CD 83509


*** If You Like This... ***

... you might also like Live On Release - "Seeing Red", also available on import from Canada.

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