Barenaked Ladies Are Men [Enhanced]

Barenaked Ladies | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Raisin Records
• ASIN: B000LXHJY6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,270 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost in the Ladies, February 23, 2007

By 

Buzzipper "Buzzy" (Winterport, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barenaked Ladies Are Men (Audio CD)

My first thought: here we go again. Hot on the heels of their most prolific, diverse and artistically interesting album to date, the Ladies decide to return to form. Great. Just when I thought they were taking a step in a new direction. I played it once, found it to be what I'd grown tired of recently, which was Ed and Steve playing to their strengths, sandwiched between some obligatory Kevin Hearn weirdness. More rockin' than the previous release, which I still upheld as a far superior disc. I played it a second time, and started to feel the strengths of each song, and thought to myself, huh, glorified outtakes. I played it a third time, and I never review an album until I've played it at least three times, but then it started to hit me. This album is every bit as good, if not better, than Are Me. Smartly crafted, sonically unique and tirelessly aggressive, this is not the Ladies resting on their laurels. And here's the beauty of it; neither is Are Me! These are career milestones, in my opinion. Not quite a double album, not a package of extras, but pure creative adrenaline put to music. I've spun the new one several times since, and even played the two of them back to back. This is my prognosis: it was very wise of them to release Are Me first, because the power of this latest album might have overwhelmed the fragile, yet intense beauty of the first one. Song for song, this might actually be better than Are Me. It's unfolding like a puzzle. Just when I think I don't like a song, the next time I hear it, I love it. There are a few minor things, like some rhymes that come off as silly, but they are minor in the grand scheme of things. That's the best thing about these two releases. These guys aren't making silly music at all anymore; they are churning out great music from all over the landscape, but injecting it with their usual unusual take on things. "Fun & Games" is an absolute must-hear. I realized that tidbit somewhere between the third listen and wherever I am now. I'm too deeply involved with the album to keep track. I'm hooked. These albums are good stuff on their own, but together and complete, they're a total knockout.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stellar companion to "Are Me", February 21, 2007

By 

Wezzo (SW England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barenaked Ladies Are Men (Audio CD)

The second part of what is essentially a double-album, "Barenaked Ladies Are Men" thankfully does not disappoint. Those concerned about it being comprised of the rejects from "..Are Me", don't be concerned - if anything, this has the edge on the former in terms of sheer listenability.

The album covers all the ground you'd expect: from the emotional ballad ("Half a Heart", "The New Sad") to the rock'n'roll roller-coaster ("Something You'll Never Find", "Quality"), not forgetting their trademark witty, literate pop ("Angry People", "Running Out Of Ink"). It's a cliche, but there's something here for everyone.

On the whole, it's more upbeat than its predecessor, but there's no shortage of emotional balladry. "The New Sad" is up there with "War on Drugs" and "The Wrong Man Was Convicted" in terms of pure, gut-wrenching impact; while the semi-acoustic "Half a Heart" and "I Can, I Will, I Do" add to the atmopshere without slowing down the album's oft-frenetic pace. Opener "Serendipity" is vaguely reminiscent of "Are Me"'s opener "Adrift" in tone.

As good as the more downbeat tracks are, however, the real draw of this album are the catchy pop-rock tracks most of us love the Ladies for. The frantic pace of "Something You'll Never Find" and "Running Out of Ink" is reminiscent of the best of They Might Be Giants, and BNL's own "Gordon". "Quality" has one of the finest choruses of any BNL song, while "Angry People" is vaguely reminiscent of a poppier E2E's "Shopping" - but it's far superior, in every sense. Think Beach Boys crossed with "It's All Been Done", and you get the vague idea.

"Down to Earth" and "Maybe Not" are strong, rocky and catchy songs that can hold their own with anything from "Stunt" and "Maroon", the mid-tempo "Another Spin" is a beautiful fusion of jazz, pop and rock, while the closing double complement each other nicely and are superior to "Are Me"'s already-solid closer, "Wind it Up".

Lyrically, BNL remain at the top of their game here, wit, wordplay and sarcasm all present and correct - but I would suggest that the political sentiment of "Fun & Games" is a little too overbearing. I'm not sure whether they're being semi-sarcastic and self-deprecating in their anti war rant, but if they're not it'd probably be a good plan to keep their politics distinct from their music in future. Their hearts are in the right place, no doubt, but it's a little jarring when such a catchy, upbeat song is filled with such harsh and explicit sentiment.

But that is just a very minor criticism of what is honestly a brilliant album. There are no truly 'weak' tracks, and there are plenty of standouts. If you're already a BNL fan, I'm preaching to the converted; if you're not, this is as good a starting point as any.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars pretty disappointed, April 13, 2008

By 

Bruce Robertson (Salem, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Barenaked Ladies Are Men (Audio CD)

I was kind of surprised that I hadn't heard any of the songs from this album get at least a little air play, but after listening to the CD, I can see why. Just about all the tracks sound muddled. I was pretty disappointed by the mixing. To me, the instrumental portion of the songs drowns out the lyrics. It is really hard, harder than it should be, to understand the words because the singing is overshadowed buy the instruments.