Customer Reviews

All In Good Time

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

So this is the first BNL CD following the departure of Steven Page. The guys seemed to have carried on with no apparent difficulty, as All In Good Time is one of their better albums in recent years. (Incidentally, Mr. Page is reportedly working on a solo album, and he also collaborated with the Art of Time Ensemble not too long ago.) In this quartet edition of the band, Ed Robertson continues as the primary lead vocalist and songwriter, although Kevin Hearn and Jim Creeggan split the lead singer and songwriter roles on five of the CD's 14 songs. While Good Time does contain several faster tunes such as "Golden Boy," the predominant mood is an introspective one, exemplified by the gentle ballad "I Saw It," a Creeggan song. The album's closing cut, "Watching The Northern Lights," from Mr. Hearn, is another mellow beauty. These new songs are often lovely melodies that sound really good coming out of the speakers, buds or earphones. After the first three tracks, I was also wondering if BNL had lost their sense of whimsy and wackiness. But then came "Four Seconds," one of those clever, rapid-lyrics wordplay songs they give us from time to time. This one has a kind of manic old-timey vibe. For me, All In Good Time was indeed a good time from beginning to end.

What do you do when you've lost half the duo that was the heart and soul of your band? Let the whole band be your heart & soul. Sure, you can still have your leader, but he was so good, you have to replace him with the rest of the band. Thus is the approach Barenaked Ladies have taken with the creation of this new album & the departure of Steven Page. Think about it, every major hit BNL has had has involved Page. The result is a more complete, but also more mature & slightly less interesting & original BNL.

Highlights Include:

Summertime

Four Seconds

On the Lookout

How Long

Original co-founder with Page, Ed Robertson is still the most seasoned & has the most consistently good songs in the band, but it is nice to actually hear the other members, all of which make a vocal appearance, if not songwriting appearance at some point in the album. Kevin Hearn takes the softer more folk approach to his songs (something you'd never have heard on a BNL album before, probably for good reason), and Jim Creeggan takes a more adult contemporary approach, in the vain of a Rob Thomas. But even with the new changes, something is still very noticeably off. Take for example lyrics like this:

"Even a busted watch is right twice a day"

Now, I may just be forgetting and the band may have had poorly written and lazy lyrics like this in the Page days, but it becomes all the more noticeable now. Something is off, and the band just isn't the same anymore. What's worse is that they've gone forcibly headlong mostly in the the lite hits/adult contemporary genre. If you're a fan of that genre, which the band had always hung around, you'll be very pleased with this album. But there simply isn't any chances taken apart from letting the rest of the band share the workload left by Page.

Overall, while it is far from being bad, and it's a pleasant listen, the Barenaked Ladies have put some clothes on to expose the member they've lost, and it shows. A more casual fan might not notice, some hardcore fans may not care, but for those of us that knew that part of the soul of the band was in Page, and thusly admired his work, the band simply isn't the same, but still do a great chorus. Take it or leave it at that.

First, let me say that this is not a bad CD. It is not great but it is not bad either.

If I try to listen to All In Good Time and not think that I am listening to The Barenaked Ladies, it seems better. I keep wondering if I would be looking at this differently if they would have changed the band name after Steven Page left. If you have ever listened to the two albums The Doors recorded after Jim Morrison passed away you know how empty they sound. The same can be said for this. If The Doors would have changed their name to something else and put Other Voices and Full Circle out, they may have been received differently.

The gaping hole left in this band by Steve's departure cannot be ignored. Ed, Kevin, Jim, and Tyler all have great musical abilities and will always have my respect but Steve was the guy that made it all work. Ed has had some incredible songs and vocal performances in the past but to me All In Good Time sounds like a half-hearted effort on his part.

I wish nothing but the best for The Barenaked Ladies and I hope I am proved wrong and this CD becomes a great success for them. The writing seems to be on the wall though. I just hope that if they choose to continue on they will have stronger material to offer in the future.

If history has taught us anything, no band has ever survived well after the departure of one its key members. There is usually a downhill slide of one mediocre release after another and the next thing you know they are playing the Indian casino circuit. I hope so much this will not be the path for this band. They have been magnificent and deserve much better than that.

I've been a fan of Barenaked Ladies almost their entire career which amounts to about half my life at this point. To me, they had the trifecta of qualities that I require in a great band - music artfully arranged so that it is catchy yet complete, poignant lyrics that you can relate to without being pompous, arrogant or taking themselves too seriously, and the ability to perform those songs live without compromising the integrity of the other two qualities. After listening to this album and then seeing them play live last week, I realized that all three of these qualities were what Steven Page brought to the band and now without him they are a hollow shell of the band they once were. The album is forced, fumbling, lacking sincerity, and even the cheeky wit that made them famous is now missing. Their performance was over-the-top, showy, and arrogant in a way that I've never seen this band. Gyrations, thrusts, jumping around stage, the "OMG, I'm surprised I just changed chords - how awesome am I?" faces, multiple comments about how long they've been playing together, etc. All things you expect out of an 80s hair-band but not a sincere or humble adult alternative band. A band that was once before their time is now well behind it.

If they were to change their name as others have suggested, I would consider them a mediocre yet promising band. As the Barenaked Ladies, I believe they will always live in the shadow of their own success. It hurts me to say this, but I am no longer a BNL fan. I will always be a Steven Page fan.

I saw them live a few weeks back. I've always been moderately interested in Barenaked Ladies ... but definitely not one of my favorite bands. Good music, catchy, etc. But when I heard some of their new songs, I was really pleasantly surprised. It is a new direction for the band, and, in my opinion, it is the RIGHT direction. They definitely moved up a notch on my playlists. Robertson has always been underrated. Old fans need to adapt and see the new BNL.

Yes ok Steve left... but the band is still great. I have seen them twice since he left and they are still the same band but different. They have added a different dimension with Jim and Kevin singing. I guess if you just liked Steve then you will not like this album. I keep listening to this album and the songs are great! The lyrics are still engaging and the music is toe tapping. I keep having to remind myself that HE is gone.... that means I'm not missing him. With an open mind listen....

All In Good Time meshes the familiar sounds and voices of Classic Rock and modern music in the space of 50 minutes. I bought this upon release, played it, put it aside, and picked it up again. I listen to it regularly now. This is the kind of impact BNL's latest offering may have on you. Previous BNL albums hook you right away and keep you playing them. This one may need to grow on you.

I dock it one star because of Steven Page's absence. The playfulness that BNL was best known for is sadly missing. Compare 'Are Me', 'Are Men', and 'Snacktime' to this album and you may get the picture. Steven's 'smile' which you hear and 'see' on the recording is a large part of BNL's past appeal. Will BNL perservere without him? I suspect they will, but overall dynamic of their future output will be different.

For now, this album is a good listen on the merits of being good music. I recommend playing this album and Steven Page's A Singer Must Die back to back. This way, you get the best of both worlds.

Something's different about this Barenaked Ladies album, and it's not just the lack of co-founder Steven Page. Think of every other BNL album you know. They all have at least one song that's completely out of left field, hilarious, and memorable. "If I had $1000000", "Alcohol", "Pinch Me", "Another Postcard", "Bank Job", etc. There was always a bit of humor and whimsy in BNL's tunes, but it's been toned down this time - humor is not a main focus here. "Four Seconds" comes close to the silly songs of old, but that's the only one. Some of the other songs have background instrumentation that has more obscure instruments in addition to the usual guitars/keyboard/drums, though, which has always been a BNL staple. "On the Lookout" is one good example of this.

Now that's not necessarily bad. The departure of a founding member is an excellent reason for the band to sport a more mature sound. "You Run Away" is a great song that would have seemed out of place on any previous BNL album, but it fits here. Although Page's absence is definitely felt, it's not a negative. It just means that BNL continues to evolve.

This also means that other band members are getting more opportunities to sing lead. Though Ed Robertson is lead on most of the songs on the album, Kevin Hearn and Jim Creeggan contribute lead vocals as well, as they occasionally have for previous albums. Jim sounds great. "On the Lookout" and "I Saw It" are not only good "Jim songs", but good songs in their own right. Kevin's songs aren't my favorites, but he still contributes three solid tracks. Since the lead vocalists for each song also wrote the song, the style changes somewhat with each lead singer. As opposed to many other bands which are heavily driven by a front man, BNL is and has always been a team effort and the variety of different song styles are part of why I like BNL's music so much.

If you're a Barenaked Ladies fan, don't let the lack of Steven Page put you off. It's certainly different, but it's still BNL, and it's still great.

If you've liked BNL's previous offerings but wouldn't call yourself a fan yet, you may want to check out the songs first before taking the plunge. Make sure you like what they've done with their sound before you take the ride with them. Still, if you do, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If I was to write reviews for all of the Barenaked Ladies' previous albums, my Amazon profile would be filled with reviews rated 5 stars - I love their quirky folk-rock sound and their crazy lyrics. Over the past 15 years or so I've listened to their albums literally thousands of times. They are probably my favourite band of all time. So when I heard that one half of the lead vocals, Steve Page had left the band, I was devastated. All In Good Time is the first album without Page and after playing it quite a lot over the last few weeks, I will say it is....different.

Not necessarily a bad different but certainly not what I would have expected. Ed Robertson is the lead vocalist on a majority of the songs. I've always preferred him to Page (well, the songs where Robertson is the lead are usually my favourites) but without Page the variety, even if it is just a few "laaaa's" in the chorus, is lost a little and can become a bit repetitive after a while. It is a lot more grown-up sounding too - there are still some of their more upbeat tracks like "Four Seasons" and "Summertime" but there's nothing really in the style of "One Week", "Another Postcard" or "Get In Line" here.

Kevin Hearn takes the lead on 3 tracks - "Watching the Northern Lights" (my personal favourite from the album, and is very similar to "Here Come The Geese") and "Another Heartbreak". These tracks are very mellow and flow nicely whereas "Jerome" is more just a bit of fun. Jim Creeggan also leads on "On The Lookout" and "I Saw It" - both are good tracks but nothing spectacular. The first single "You Run Away" is hardly a classic but is still an great song - one that really grew on me after a couple of listens.

This is a very good album - the more I listen to it, the more I like it. However it lacks the fun and uniqueness that made BNL so different to other bands. I'm giving this album a 3.5 star rating as it isn't the classic I'd been hoping for but is still one of the best albums I've heard in 2010. I'm just looking forward to hearing what Steve Page's solo project is like now.

All in Good Time is the Ladies' 12th studio album. This Canadian band has been deemed my favorite artist of all time, because of the joyful melodies and sing-able collection of songs they have created over the years of my life. In 2009, I was sad to find out that their original lead singer/songwriter Steven Page would be leaving after drug problems (for which they still deny). I did not think a 4 man band would ever make up for such a vital loss in the Barenaked Ladies rotation. I thought that my favorite band had been shot by the war on drugs.

Ed Robertson leads the singing in All in Good Time, as he did for many years with Page. I was actually satisfied with the music. The album cover seems to replicate the mood that was set in the lead single, "You Run Away." I still find the single to be appropriate-yet-uncomforting. The lyrics: "You run away/You could turn and stay/But you run away from me.//" and "I tried to be your brother/You cried and ran for cover/I made a mess, who doesn't/I did my best but it wasn't enough.//" seem like a disturbing cry for Page to come back. I think many dear BNL fans could find this cry for the former Barenaked Lady "brother" to come back. Although, not all of the newest BNL album is gloomy. My favorite song on the album is "Summertime," because the melody gives me the excitement of the season as it has been downing upon me for the past month. Each track seems more different than the next. The song titled "Four Seconds" is very entertaining to hear Robertson's EXTREMELY talented fast tongue-twisting rap solo. It kind of makes me wonder how he would do in an 8-mile setting. Sadly, the singing by the rest of the cast on "Four Seconds" was awful to say the least; lots of obnoxious yelling and screaming. BNL likes to portray themselves as the humorous quirky fat middle-aged white nerd band, but throughout the years they have over done it (listen to Everything to Everyone as an example). The album has many up and down tracks, that were actually appetizing. There's the all-rock angst sample "I Have Learned," and the enjoyably cutesy love song "Every Subway Car." You can't expect another Maroon or Stunt from the Ladies, but it was a well-rounded and entertaining album. I wish I could study it more and delve into it deeper, it is just hard to listen to a Barenaked Ladies album for the first time and not hear one of the best voices in Pop, Steven Page.