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| Barenaked for the Holidays | 
 enlarge | Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Label: Nettwerk Records
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $8.06
You Save: $9.92 (55%)
New (38) Used (16) from $7.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  102 reviews
Sales Rank: 437
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 40015
UPC: 624284001524
EAN: 0624284001524
ASIN: B0002XED3A
Release Date: October 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Jingle Bells | | • | Green Christmas | | • | I Saw Three Ships | | • | Hanukkah Blessings | | • | O Holy Night | | • | Elf's Lament | | • | Snowmen | | • | Do They Know It's Christmas? | | • | Hanukkah O Hanukkah | | • | God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman/We Three Kings | | • | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | | • | Carol of the Bells | | • | Footprints | | • | Deck the Stills | | • | Christmastime (Oh Yeah) | | • | Sleigh Ride | | • | Christmas Pics | | • | I Have a Little Dreidel | | • | Wonderful Christmastime | | • | Auld Lang Syne |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Few bands are better suited than the Barenaked Ladies to take obnoxious old Christmas jingles to an entirely new level of obnoxiousness. The Canadian pop group does a smack-up job on this generous collection, where they tackle children's relics like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," curious seasonal fare such as Band-Aid's Ethiopian charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas," and a handful of tongue-in-cheek originals that share the bookish humor of the band's hits like "One Week" and "Brian Wilson." Even the inclusion of three Hannukah songs doesn't raise the bar for reverence. The disc also includes collaborations with Sarah McLachlan and Michael Buble. --Aidin Vaziri
Album Description
Barenaked Ladies celebrate the holiday season with their ninth major release, Barenaked For The Holidays. This release features many holiday favorites, including "Do They Know It's Christ- mas"(written by Bob Geldof )and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," performed with Sarah McLachlan, and seven original tracks including BNL's new holiday single "Elf 's Lament," featuring Michael Bublé. Ed Robertson and Steven Page"s distinctive vocals give a fresh sound to traditional holiday classics. Barenaked For The Holidays is sure to be a holiday favorite that is fun,witty and dynamic.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 97 more reviews...
 Has the well run dry? November 21, 2004
111 out of 154 found this review helpful
I've been a fan of BNL since just before Maybe You Should Drive (I think I'm one of the 14 or so people in the world who loves that album), and have come to expect something different from the Ladies with each release. If they released the equivalent of Stunt 2, Stunt 3 and Stunt 4, for the sake of the masses and the band's popularity and commercial success, that schtick would get old really quick, and fans would criticize them for selling out.
So, while Maroon was a bit of a departure from Stunt, if you appreciate their experimentation with different sounds, it grows on you; it's truly a solid effort. Everything for Everyone, well, is half great/half mediocre (I'm resisting saying "terrible") -- rather, it seems like the band just threw something together to get their record label off their backs. (This is what I like to believe; the converse, that the band actually LIKED some of those songs and thought they were good, is too frightening to consider.)
So, here we have their holiday album. If Everything for Everyone seems thrown together, this project just reeks of a studio exec thinking "BNL's fame is waning; let's get them to release a 'Christmas' album right before the holidays, and squeeze as much money from their loyal fans as possible."
Folks, no matter how much I'd like to say otherwise, this CD is pretty bad. Now, I know I'm going to get a lot of "not a helpful review" comments from the BNL faithful, but they're not listening to the album. Listening to the entire thing is a chore; thankfully it's fairly short, so the pain is over quicker.
The best song on it -- "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" recorded backstage with Sarah McLachlan in 1996 -- is TRULY wonderful (hence the 2nd star). It's loose, relaxed, and a great take on an Xmas tune that can be pretty boring to listen to if done more traditionally. But, that song is available on a MUCH BETTER album put out by Nettwerk in 2000, entitled "Christmas Songs". There you get great tunes by the likes of Dido, Delirium, and Matthew Ryan, as well as Sarah McLachlan's wonderful cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Song For A Winter's Night"...
Do yourself a favor. Pick up Nettwerk's "Christmas Songs", or save your money for a show the next time BNL is in your area...
 Off-beat Beats for the Holidays October 5, 2004
57 out of 59 found this review helpful
BNL joins the tired ranks of groups to release Christmas albums. Of course, they do it in true BNL fashion, and are not content to simply record a bunch of slightly-warmed-over standards. Some of the songs are original compositions, such as "Christmastime (Oh Yeah)," and some are standards done up in BNL's jazzy, rock style. Still others sound as if they are being played on your Grandmother's old electric organ, complete with tacky drum machine. (I have to wonder if this last is a peek into their early Christmas traditions.) And lastly, there are some very off-the-wall tunes, like "Deck the Stills" and "Sleigh Ride" that pretty much sound like the guys screwing around.
All of the tracks are well-polished, and the entire album evokes a holiday spirit. So in that sense, this album is a huge success. I only subtract 1 star because if you're not a fan of the band, you won't be too interested in their interpretation of the standards, and the novelty songs will probably be a bit of a turn off. However, if you like BNL, this is a must-have, even if you skip a few of the songs after listening to them once.
 Oh Come On People.. Don't Be So Serious!! November 2, 2004
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
If you are not a fan of BNL, then you should probably skip this offering. If however, you are a true fan of BNL, and you are able to "enjoy the humor of the situation", then you will like this CD.
BNL has long been a band that has offered up a full spectrum of song styles, including downright goofy/light-hearted ones (i.e "Shopping", "Back", "Yoko Ono", etc). The goofy songs off of this disc are no different. BNL's interpretation of "Oh Holy Night" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" are about as cheesey as they come, and are reminiscent of songs that you would expect to hear at 10pm on a Saturday nite at a bowling alley during a holiday snowstorm.
There's truly something for every BNL fan on this disc. In addition to the mandatory goofyness, there are several touching songs, as well as songs that showcase the groups amazing harmonizing abilities.
If you are a fan of BNL and already have a collection of holiday discs, then do yourself a favor and purchase this one to add to your holiday repertoire.
 un-listenable November 12, 2004
14 out of 40 found this review helpful
BNL please stop. Put down the instruments and walk away. I used to be a disciple, garnering as many listeners as I could for you, following you up and down the east coast, buying Gordon for all my friends. I don't know what happened, but it has gone tragically wrong. I can't even listen to an entire song on this album. Just humiliating for everyone involved. Please stop.
Oh Holy Mother of God - turn off this racket! October 25, 2004
12 out of 25 found this review helpful
I've been a fan of BNL since their inception, and while some of their latest tracks haven't quite won my heart, I never expected to find myself as repulsed by an album as I am with this pathetic effort. Not only are the songs cheesy and uninspired, the vocals are mediocre and the production is awful. It sounds more like a elementary school's holiday concert than an album by a once-great band.
Seems to me like they're less concerned with jingling bells than they are the change jingling in their pockets. This is the ULTIMATE sell out - no need to bother with a Box Set anymore.
I love you, boys, but COME ON!
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