Stop In for "Stop Us"

One of my favorite bands, Barenaked Ladies, has recently released a new album. Sort of. Entitled "Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before!", the album is a collection of rarities and unreleased tracks from the band's history. It's probably a must-have if you're a fan of the band, but there's an interesting double-edged sword quality to what's here.

A significant number of the tracks are alternative versions of existing songs. In some cases, this is not a good thing. There's the "Pull's Break Remix" version of the band's biggest commercial hit, "One Week," which is disappointing in being barely different from the original track; a rather light dance beat is really the only difference. An early version of "I Can, I Will, I Do" is so close to the finished version (ultimately released on the album Barenaked Ladies Are Men) that it's really not worth the space on the disc some other rarity might have occupied. ("Roadrunner," for example.)

But on the other hand, a Barenaked Ladies "historian" will enjoy the primordial quality of hearing an early acoustic-guitar-only demo of "The Old Apartment." A first shot at "Second Best" (before its release on the album Everything to Everyone) is probably neither better nor worse, but is interesting in its less rock treatment. And then there are two tracks that were so excellent, I was confused why the band tinkered with these versions before releasing them. "Adrift" (later on Barenaked Ladies Are Me) is presented here in a more atmospheric way -- blessedly without the banjo of the final version -- and is far more effective as a result. And "Half a Heart" (later on Barenaked Ladies Are Men) is presented here without the slow rock backbeat, and with a far better lead vocal from Ed Robertson, in what might be one of the band's most emotional non-Steven Page leads.

Not everything on the album is an alternate take, however. There's "I Don't Get It Anymore," a decade-old song that has only been played at concerts. (It's reminiscent of "Take It Outside," but not bad.) There's "Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!", previously released only as a B-side to a single (and which I'd never heard before) -- a fun, up-tempo track. And there's the clever "Long While," recorded for an earlier album but never released, a jaunty little song contrasted with surprisingly dark lyrics.

The middle of the album contains a number of concert tracks, including a BNL original track called "Teenage Wasteland" that never made it to an album or single before, but is a good show for the band's signature pop culture-laden, rapid-fire lyrics. There's also a cover they performed of the Beastie Boys' Shake Your Rump. (Not really my thing; probably would have been fun to see live, but isn't as exciting on MP3.)

Perhaps the real treat of this album is that it serves as something of a band reunion. All in Good Time, the band's last album, was the first since Steven Page left to go solo. Though it was good overall (and had one or two truly exceptional tracks), it's still nice to have Page back in the mix on these old recordings.

I skip over enough tracks in different spots on this album that I'd rate the whole thing a B. But I feel I more than got my money's worth out of the tracks I do enjoy. (Again, this version of "Half a Heart" is so good, it's probably transformed that song into my favorite off the entire "B.L.A.M." double-album project.) Basically, if you're a fan, this review is a possibly long-winded way of letting you know the album is out there now, and that you should pick it up.