When I Dream, I Dream of Stunt (Stunt - Barenaked Ladies)

Member Name: Insane Tommy

Product:	Stunt - Barenaked Ladies
Date:	15/08/02 (208 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Songs, Great to Chill to, Party Starter

Disadvantages: Couple of weak songs

If we were dabbling in a game of word association and I said 'pop music', I'd probably be greeted with responses of 'S-Club 7', 'Hearsay' or '{Insert Expletive}'. As you will have gathered from my recent op's I am one of the world's biggest Barenaked Ladies fans. The BNL's produce the best pop music around and Stunt is a typical example. Fear not, they are not a group of scantlily clad women or over-hyped commercial tarts, they are a band that produces music that's easy on the ears accompanied with lyrics that are incredibly witty and intelligent. They combine all the lighter aspects of rock music perfectly with country and jazz styles to create an instantly likeable, yet amazingly unappreciated, style of music.

The Barenaked Ladies are a Canadian band, who released their first album in 1992, with their own distinct style best described as 'geek/jangle pop'. The BNL's are Steve Page, Jim Creegan, Ed Roberston, Tyler Stewart and, having replaced Andy Creegan, Kevin Hearn. Stunt, released in 1998, is their fifth album and has been their most successful album so far. For a band that has always done well in their native Canada, Stunt was the breakthrough into the American market and was their first album to really do anything over here in the UK. The hit single 'One Week' taken from this album saw the BNL's appear on CD:UK, the highlight in any pop star's career.

The album cover and insert have a typically zany feel to them. The cover instantly jumped out at me when trawling through the local MVC. It's plain and simple but complex at the same time, a bit like their music I guess. Set on a cream/yellow background is this little abstract picture of a bloke which I felt was a little bit different to the other covers surrounding it. On closer inspection the little man is in fact the 'Stuntman' and is an abstract portrait of the band members all combined i
nto one. Ok I'm not really sure why I am mentioning this but it just grabbed my attention, perhaps it will grab yours? It goes without saying that the insert has all the lyrics and thnakyou type stuff for the album.

I ought to point out that being the flump that I am, I bought the plain old Stunt album that has 13 songs on it without realising that there is a limited edition album with an extra couple on it. Not that it would matter if I was just an average listener but I'm an absolute nut and haven't been able to track these two songs down driving me completely insane!

Anyways the album opens with 'One Week'. I'm sure you've heard this one (even if you don't know it). It was used in a couple of movies, American Pie I think was one, and received loads of airtime here and on the other side of the pond. Primarily 'One Week' is a lightening-paced white rap that isn't embarrassing and is in fact one the catchiest tunes I've ever heard. Like most BNL songs it has a distinctly humorous feel to it yet if you look deep enough you'll see it is about a couple who have fallen out and are struggling to get it back together. 'One Week' is a real chuckle, no other band could pull off lyrics like 'Chickity China the Chinese Chicken, Have a Drumstick and your brain stops tickin' (referring of course to the Hong Kong flu outbreak in 1997) but the BNL?s do. It's incredibly unbeat, incredibly catchy and incredibly hard to sing at Karaoke because it's so damn fast.

It's All Been done is the second track and is equally upbeat and contains some equally strange lyrics involving 'the Price is Right'(that's a gameshow by the way). I haven't worked out exactly what the song is about but that's not always the point, though I suspect it is all just one big dig at the music industry for loosing it?s inventiveness and for becoming too commercial; 'and if I
play the same three cords, will you just yawn and say, it's all been done?' Sometimes you can just like a song for no apparent reason and this is one of them, you can whack it up to full volume and sing along or let it softly massage your ears in the background, either way it's wonderful.

Track three is 'Light Up My Room' and is a much slower, less catchy but more emotional song. Moving away from their previous work 'Light Up My Room' is in akin with the whole album, it is more about the darker issues of love and life than previous albums that were very upbeat. For me 'Light Up My Room' is about unrequited love. Ed's soft voice and Kev's blues style of organ work couples emotional lyrics and music perfectly. 'Light up my room' is followed by 'I'll be that girl' a song which is instantly likeable, very upbeat and very catchy, with a similar undertone of unrequited love. Track five (Leave) is one of my favourites. It deals with a man trying to get over a love that he has lost; 'I've informed you to leave', 'Apparitions still won't leave me alone, it's as if you never left'. It has a definite 60's feel to it with a bit of country mixed in.

Track six is entitled 'Alcohol' and is perhaps my least favourite track. The song is a return to the humorous style of the BNL's. Unsurprisingly it is a song about Alcohol and how it can act as an excellent means of escaping life. It's important that you don't take this song too seriously, it may sound as if they are condoning heavy drinking, and they do pull out lines like; 'It's a fine line between self-control and self-abuse' but the song doesn't really spark anything inside me like the other tracks. Having said that it's still really catchy and a pretty good party-starter type song.

'Call and Answer' is track seven and is a very effective ballad ab
out what it takes to make a relationship work, Steve Page's mellow tones are spot on for songs of this nature. It's not a mainstream song but I like it. 'Call and Answer' is followed by 'In the Car' which isn't the best I've heard. It's about a boy's first sexual encounter and is pretty upbeat. It contains some witty lyrics as well as a couple of slightly weird ones; 'freezer-burned ice cream'??? Again doesn' spark anything off in me.

Track nine is 'Never is Enough' and marks the return to the good stuff. It has everything, the funny lyrics, the catchiness, just everything about it is great. Ok it's about working in jobs you hate when you've finished college or school but despite the subject matter it's just fantastic, maybe I'll relate to it even more when I've got my degree and end up working in 'Wendy's'. Any song that can pull out lines like; 'I can go to Europe, travel with my friends, I can blow a thousand deutsche marks to get drunk with some Australians' has to be a classic.

Next up are 'Who Needs Sleep', 'Told You So' and 'Some Fantastic'. All great songs. 'Who Needs Sleep' has some incredible guitar work and is extremely enjoyable but a little difficult to follow. 'Told You So' and 'Some Fantastic' are typical BNL. Clever and catchy, e.g. 'Told You So' compares the breakdown of a relationships with a viral infection.

The finale is 'When You Dream' and is pretty much the perfect song. It's calm and mellow, completely unlike the beginning of the album. I guess it's about Steve's toddler son and the emotions invovled are apparent in his voice as he takes lead vocal. It keeps the humorous lyrics that typify the album; 'Do you dream about Jesus or quantum mechanics, or angels that sing lullabies?' and has a distinct Pink Floyd feel to it.
It has so many different levels. It could be a simple lullaby to send you to sleep. It could be a song about the innocence of a young mind. It could be about Steve trying to understand his new son. It could be one of the best songs I have ever heard. Even if you don't like the BNL's I suggest you download or find this because it is exceptional.

Stunt has a much more commercial feel to it than previous albums but in the end that's what sells and whilst many fans feel that band shouldn't have gone down this road I think they should. Whilst I agree it's not as raw as earlier work it retains all the witty lyrics and catchy tunes that make the BNL's what they are. There are a couple of weak songs on the album but most albums have weak songs, and there is plenty of quality on the album to make it an excellent purchase. Anyone who loves sixties music, or Pink Floyd and similar artists really should take a look. The music is perfect to kick start a party or just to have on the background. I like it, I like it a lot.

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