| Gordon | 
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| Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Label: Sire / London/Rhino
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $0.68
You Save: $13.30 (95%)
New (25) Used (73) Collectible (5) from $0.68
Avg. Customer Rating:  148 reviews
Sales Rank: 8916
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 26956
UPC: 075992695626
EAN: 0075992695626
ASIN: B000002LU8
Release Date: January 8, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Shipped from Providence, RI . Shipped in a jewel case. FIRST CLASS SHIPPING WITH YOUR MEDIA MAIL ORDER. 11/19
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| Tracks:
| • | Hello City | | • | Enid | | • | Grade 9 - Barenaked Ladies, Creeggan, Andy | | • | Brian Wilson | | • | Be My Yoko Ono | | • | Wrap Your Arms Around Me | | • | What a Good Boy | | • | The King of Bedside Manor | | • | Box Set | | • | I Love You - Barenaked Ladies, Creeggan, Andy | | • | New Kid (On the Block) - Barenaked Ladies, Dibble, Scott | | • | Blame It on Me | | • | The Flag | | • | If I Had $1,000,000 | | • | Crazy - Barenaked Ladies, Roberts, Ed |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential recording
On this, their debut recording for a major label, Canada's quirkiest musical troupe introduced the world to their unique blend of scathing humor, skillful musicianship, and flat-out fun. Packed with songs that have become anthems to their adoring fans, Gordon is practically a collection of Barenaked Ladies' greatest hits. This CD features "Brian Wilson," an homage to the biggest Beach Boy and an exploration of the relationship between art and neurosis; "Be My Yoko Ono," a musician's entreaty to his winsome muse; "Box Set," a relentless indictment of one-hit wonders and washed-up rockers; and the staple sing-along "If I Had $1,000,000," which you can walk around humming all day without getting bored. Literally every song on this disc features the intelligent lyrics, tight arrangements, and astonishing vocalizations that BNL have made their stock-in-trade. It's a winner all the way around. --L.A. Smith
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| Customer Reviews: Read 143 more reviews...
PLAY IT ONCE, YOU'LL LOVE IT! March 10, 1999
31 out of 34 found this review helpful
Listen...put down the STUNT CD(which is BNL's 5th CD, by the way) and pick up GORDON. This first album is one of the music industry's best kept secrets. It is an infectious album with great lyrics, solid music, and loads of fun. It shows that BNL could play any style of music they want...After the first 5 songs, you'll think you're listening to a greatest hits album. From the classic "Brian Wilson" to the jazzy" Hello City" to the peppy, funny "Grade 9" and "King Of Bedside Manner"...you will not be disappointed! And listen to their lyrics, you'll laugh, you'll love it. Other highlights include the classic "Enid", the very funny "Be My Yoko Ono," and ofcourse the signature sing-a-long "If I Had A Million Dollars." Yes, the new CD "Stunt" is excellent, but there are 4 other great Cd's out there....including one of today's best live albums..."Rock Spectacle." This is not a one hit wonder band...they are finally getting the attention they deserve. Get Gordon...it will be one of your favorites. In a time when artists sell 2 million copies because of one song on an otherwise awful record, Barenaked Ladies is a refreshing bright spot.
Their best studio release, still. December 19, 1998
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
The Barenaked Ladies' first is still probably the best of their four studio releases. The album fluctuates from brooding and dark (Wrap Your Arms Around Me) to upbeat and playfully ridiculous (Be My Yoko Ono) and everything in between, and almost all of it works. The album is filled with strong songs, including such BNL standards as Brian Wilson (still their best song, in my opinion), Hello City, If I Had a Million Dollars, and What a Good Boy, but some of the real gems are the ones you maybe haven't heard before. The aforementioned Wrap Your Arms Around Me is quietly powerful, and Grade Nine and The King of Bedside Manor have a manic energy that is hard to resist, as does the clever Box Set, which uses a boxed set as a metaphor to look at the career of a fading rock & roll sellout. Gordon may not hook you at first, but a few listens and you won't be able to get it out of your CD player. A wise investment for any music fan.
 One of my 100 favourite CDs ever March 11, 2005
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I shy away from making pronouncements about "best ever" until I've had at least 5 years to live with a CD. Often a disc you thought brilliant in 1995, when you were looking for "something new" to listen to, seems just average when you look at it in the cold grey light of 2005. It's now 13 years later and I still find myself putting this disc in the player and singing along almost the whole way through.
The Canadian band, for those not initiated, plainly have a love for melody, often trade in strong harmonies, adore pop culture, and believe that a good sense of humour is a good thing, avoiding the pretentions of "serious" musicians. That's not to say they don't have anything to "say"....just that it's usually buried under the surface and you have to find it for yourself.
Their fascination with pop culture shows itself two ways...in frequent medleys of covers of current pop hits they're fond of throwing into concert sets (anything from Prince's "When Doves Cry" to Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious") and tossing in riffs and references. Here they namecheck Duran Duran, Star Trek, the Our Gang series, Michael Landon TV shows, Yoko Ono, the Elephant Man, Rush, Styx...and that's just a few of them.
Singling out the "best" songs is difficult, but the songwriter's lament in "Brian Wilson", geekdom ode "Grade 9", whimsical "If I Had $1,000,000" and obsessive love song "Be MY Yoko Ono" are criminally catchy.
Besides those, others that rate nearly as high include "Box Set" (which alternates between pity for the singer's fans buying it "Maybe it's a lack of inspiration that makes me stoop" and himself because he's not allowed to evolve by fans who want the 'hits' ad infinitum "Every time I try to do something new, all they want is 1973"), the juxtaposition of tender and creepy in "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (it leaves you wondering if the song's main character is trying to renew a battered relationship..or if he's singing it to a lover he's killed in an effort to keep her with him forever), the on-again off-again lovers of "The Flag" and the boyband salute in "New Kid (On the Block)".
Perhaps the biggest tribute to the staying power of this disc is it that it's multilayered. I'm still hearing musical parts and countermelodies afresh...still pondering turns of phrase for new nuggets.
There are a few misses that keeps it out of the 5 star range. The sound effects laden "King of Bedside Manor" crosses the line from whimsy into inanity for me, "I Love You" is too slight to really connect and "Crazy" is why there's a 'skip button'. But out of 15 songs, 12 are good to great and that's rare. And the best ones are so superb that I keep coming back.
4 1/2 stars
Go back to the days of Gordon July 12, 2000
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
I remember listening to a CD my brother got in a music magazine. It was one of those new band compilations. One of the tracks was Brian Wilson by BNL. Both being impressd, my brother special ordered Gordon from the local music shop, and later saw them in concert at the Keswick Theater in Glenside PA. He was one of fifty. It's amazing how times have changed.BNL now has four studio albums; Gordon, Maybe You Should Drive, Born On A Pirate Ship, and Stunt. They also have legions of teenage fans that are nuts about their latest release, Stunt. In the midst of all the hype, Gordon remains their best to date, although Maybe You Should Drive is very strong as well. Bands tend to be more origional in their youth states, before they hit the big time. This appears to be the case with BNL. Yes their last few studio releases have had bright spots, but they seem to be pleasing a crown rather than delivering the music that made them great. With this in mind, all I have to say is go back. Go back to what made BNL what they are. Back to the days they were unknown and played for crowds of fifty. Go back to the days of Gordon.
A delightful debut album! July 21, 2000
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
One sudden listen to Gordon and the listener would assume s/he was listening to a rock band veteran 5-10 years with mature music, wits, and clever song writing. It's true that Gordon has all of that, but it's their debut album for a major label! The listener simply assumes that because they sound so confident, charming, and funny that they must be an older band. They aren't old, but they are confident, charming, and funny! Each song seems clever, creative, and brilliant! Looking up and down the track listings, one can see the originality of each song. Each idea seems fresh, cool, and interesting. Something no one has ever dared to attempt. For a rather hilarious album, it starts out pretty serious. "Hello City" is a song that is serious for BNL yet not for other bands. The song talks of being weird or eccentric. Wanting to eat at 3 AM, etc. "Enid," one of the singles off the album, is a song about a young relationship that didn't last. "Grade 9" is a funny and a song that most of us can relate to. Being a freshman in high school is a very scary thought, indeed! Many dismiss the song "Brian Wilson" as a pure homage to the most talented Beach Boy. I disagree. It's my belief that "Brian Wilson" was written in an attempt to relate the Beach Boy icon. From the mentioning to Dr. Landy, and the lying in bed, it's apparent to me that this song is not a homage of any type. Suddenly the album become downright hilarious! "Be My Yoko Ono" is pretty funny! It touches on John's and Yoko's love for one another, and how BNL wishes they could love someone that much. It appears to me that Gordon is filler-free. An album that is 100% filler-free is a very strong album. Some of the best artists to date, continue to write fillers. It is a shame to the music and to the fans. From "What A Good Boy" to "The King of Bedside Manor" each song has a very clever uniqueness that makes it a song worth listening to. I suggest you pick this one up!
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