As I’ve mentioned before, one of the joys of doing these reviews and running this site is discovering new music that I otherwise may let slip by. Now, Barenaked Ladies are hardly a “new” act, but I’ve genuinely encountered very little of their output beyond the theme to The Big Bang Theory which is actually on this album. So with no preconceptions, I popped this album on and let it flow over me.
I won’t go over the tracks too much as I’m sure any BNL fan worth their salt will recognise the whole lot with the possible exception of “Who Can It Be Now?” which is actually a song by Colin Hays. The tracks were recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on June 10th last year where they were ed on stage by Hays himself to perform this track. Also adding some skills is Blaise Garza of Violent Femmes on saxophone making this an interesting bonus track.
Keyboardist Kevin Hearne also gets his chance to front the band during the track “code” for which he does vocals.
What makes the album better than being just a collection of songs is the rapport with the audience. While the music is spot on and played by an obviously talented bunch of musicians, Ed Robertson really knows how to talk to a crowd with his bandmates popping in behind him to argue, tease and generally get more laughs.You can’t not get the feeling that this is a group who are enjoying the hour and a bit they have on stage to entertain their audience. The good-natured banter reminds me of the kind of thing that makes Bowling For Soup and Sabaton such great fun to see live.
Production and recording quality is top notch and you can hear the audience when it makes sense to do so, such as during the singalong sections of “Gonna Walk” and “If I Had $1,000,000”. The atmosphere if the gig has been very well captured audibly to the point where – with headphones wrapped around my ears and the volume up – you can picture the lighters/phones being held up in the air during “Light Up My Room”.
Annoyingly, I’ve just gone back to look at the press release and it states the band’s strong points as being “great songs, impromptu hilarious banter, fan participation and musicianship”. Given that this recording is my first major exposure to the band, I can hand-on-heart state that this is one press release that’s absolutely correct. All four of those boxes are ticked with a firm hand, in thick red pen.
As a new listener, would I put this album on again? Yes, absolutely. Tracks like “Duct Tape Heart” and closer “Rock and Roll” (yes, a cover, but a bloody brilliant one) are great in the car, and really show the band’s ability to entertain live off very well indeed.
This is a good thing as the band are touring the UK again in September and I’ve already decided I’m covering the gig before anyone else in the Moshville Times Crew gets a look-in. The poster with dates is off to the side.
So, yeah, in of “fan conversion” this is a great live album. I can only assume the those who are already fans will enjoy it as much as I did – I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t!
Track listing:
- Get Back Up
- The Old Apartment
- Odds Are
- Gonna Walk
- Brian Wilson
- Who Can It Be Now
- Falling For The First Time
- code
- Light Up My Room
- Duct Tape Heart
- Pinch Me
- Big Bang Theory Theme
- One Week
- If I Had $1,000,000
- Drawing
- Rock and Roll
BNL Rocks Red Rocks is out on May 20th
Barenaked Ladies: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
