Gordon (album)
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| Gordon | |||||
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| Studio album by Barenaked Ladies | |||||
| Released | July 28, 1992 | ||||
| Recorded | Spring 1992 | ||||
| Genre | College rock Folk rock Power pop |
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| Length | 58:15 | ||||
| Label | Reprise | ||||
| Producer | Barenaked Ladies, Scott Dibble, Michael Phillip Wojewoda, Robin Billinton | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Barenaked Ladies chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
Original album cover (1992-1996)
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Gordon was the debut album and first major-label release by Barenaked Ladies. It was released in 1992 in Canada and went double platinum in record time. Many of the band's signature tracks appeared on the disc, including "If I Had $1000000", "Be My Yoko Ono", "What a Good Boy", "Grade 9" and "Brian Wilson".
The only track recorded for the album but left off the finished record is a remake of the Public Enemy song "Fight the Power" (a shorter version of this song appeared on the successful Yellow Tape). Although left off the album, it later appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Coneheads and was later released as a promo-only single.
The album was a massive success in Canada, where it topped the album charts for 8 weeks and sold over a million copies. Although US interest was virtually nil, with Gordon never charting there at all, the album eventually did earn a gold record in America after their sudden rise to fame there in 1998 after the hit single "One Week".
During the recording of the song "The King of Bedside Manor," the band felt they needed to inject some sort of raw enthusiasm into the track, and one of the band members suggested that they record this song completely in the nude. The idea worked, and began a tradition called the "naked track," where the band recorded one track on every studio album naked. This practice ended with the recording of the band's 2005 album Barenaked for the Holidays.
The album is also notable for containing a significant number of pastiches of other artists: "Hello City" contains an imitation of "Happy Hour" by the Housemartins (this is apparently a reference to early criticism of BNL sounding too much like the Housemartins). "Grade 9" includes a nod to "Tom Sawyer" and "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush (Robertson and Page are good friends of guitarist Alex Lifeson, and Jim Creeggan credits Geddy Lee as his biggest influence), as well as the piano riff from Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy", also known as "The Peanuts' Theme". "The King of Bedside Manor" segues into a pastiche of "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. "New Kid (On the Block)" contains several vocal references to songs by boy band New Kids on the Block. "Blame It on Me" makes a reference to Milli Vanilli's single Blame It on the Rain.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Hello City" (Page, Robertson) – 3:22
- "Enid" (Page, Robertson) – 4:07
- "Grade 9" (Creeggan, Creeggan, Page, Robertson, Stewart) – 2:53
- "Brian Wilson" (Page) – 4:47
- "Be My Yoko Ono" (Page, Robertson) – 2:45
- "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (Creeggan, Page, Robertson) – 4:35
- "What a Good Boy" (Page, Robertson) – 3:52
- "The King of Bedside Manor" (Page, Robertson) – 2:24
- "Box Set" (Page) – 4:48
- "I Love You" (Creeggan, Creeggan, Page, Robertson) – 4:08
- "New Kid (On the Block)" (Dibble, Page, Robertson) – 4:12
- "Blame It on Me" (Page, Robertson) – 3:54
- "The Flag" (Page) – 3:53
- "If I Had $1000000" (Page, Robertson) – 4:27
- "Crazy" (Robertson, Wilson) – 4:08
- "Dat Fodder" (Hidden track, CD only - Features studio outtakes and general band goofiness).
[edit] Personnel
Barenaked Ladies
- Steven Page - vocals, guitar, synthesizer, sound effects, shaker
- Ed Robertson - guitar, vocals, synthesizer, sound effects, shaker, cowbell
- Jim Creeggan - double bass, vocals, sound effects, shaker
- Andy Creeggan - organ, piano, conga, sound effects, tambourine, triangle, vocals, claves, cuica, shaker, mark tree, guiro, finger cymbals, cabasa
- Tyler Stewart - drums, sound effects, vocals, shaker
The Jimmy Crack Horns
- Nic Gotham - baritone saxophone
- Gene Hardy - tenor saxophone
- Chris Howells - trumpet
- Tom Walsh - trombone
The Horn Cuskers
- Nic Gotham - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Gene Hardy - tenor saxophone
The Suburban Tabernacle Choir
- Dave Allen
- Mike Barber
- Gregor Beresford
- Arlene Bishop
- Chris Brown
- Erica Buss
- Meryn Cadell
- Naida Creeggan
- Matthew DeMatteo
- Kate Fenner
- Gene Hardy
- Natalie Harbert
- Shelley Hines
- Sally Lee
- Lewis Melville
- Jason Mercer
- Janet Morassutti
- Moxy Früvous
- Keith Nakonechy
- Blair Packham
- Matthew Page
- Steve Pitkin
- Jason Plumb
- Rheostatics
- Wilma Robertson
- Tannis Slimmon
- Earl Stokes
- Wayne Stokes
- Bob Wiseman
Additional Personnel
- Dave Allen - fiddle, vocals
- Chris Brown - organ, vocals
- Nic Gotham - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Chris Howells - flugelhorn
- Catherine MacDonnell-Stephens - bassoon
- Lewis Melville - pedal steel, steel guitar, vocals
- Martin Tielli - guitar, vocals
- Tom Walsh - trombone
- Tim Wilson - bagpipes
- Bob Wiseman - accordion, vocals
- Michael Phillip Wojewoda - bass, keyboards, sound effects, tambourine, vocals, shaker, keyboard bass
[edit] Production
- Producers: Barenaked Ladies, Scott Dibble, Michael-Philip Wojewoda, Robin Billinton
- Engineer: Michael-Philip Wojewoda
- Remixing: Michael-Philip Wojewoda
- Mastering: Greg Calbi
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
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| 1992 | The Record Canadian album charts | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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| 1992 | "Enid" | CFTR Top Hits of 1992 | 16 |
| 1992 | "Grade Nine" | CFTR Top Hits of 1992 | 42 |
| 1992 | "Be My Yoko Ono" | CFTR Top Hits of 1992 | 48 |
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