Barenaked Ladies – Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before!  (Rhino Records) review

The thing that surprises me the most about Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before is that it hasn’t been done before.

The Barenaked Ladies have cultivated a rabid following in the 20 years since the release of their debut Gordon, yet this marks their first-ever rarities compilation.  For a band that’s staked their claim to fame on quirky songs, you’d expect some oddities included in any collection of outtakes, and in that sense, it does not disappoint.

“Shake Your Rump,” a live rendition of a Beastie Boys’ song, is goofy fun.  There’s also a few truly revelatory tracks, especially the acoustic demo of “The Old Apartment,” one of the band’s most-loved songs, presented in a much more gentle setting than the one that got released.

The collection opens with an unreleased track, “I Don’t Get it Anymore,” which was originally cut in 2001 for their first hits collection, Disc One, but ultimately was left off that set.  It features Ed Robertson, who is now the undisputed leader of BNL after the departure of Steven Page.  Although a strange choice to open the album, since it’s rather slow, it has a great melody and bridge.

Three of the songs here are early versions of tracks that were later re-recorded for later albums.  “Half a Heart” is a much earthier, less polished version than what eventually got re-recorded for the Barenaked Ladies are Men, but “I Can, I Will, I Do” is so close to the released one, it’s inclusion is a head-scratcher.  “Adrift” has a more electronic, ethereal feel than the one that made it onto The Barenaked Ladies Are Me.

There are several tracks that show just how great the band was live, including an early version of “Same Thing” from 1992, which quotes “Is She Really Going Out With Him” by Joe Jackson at the end.  And, even if you’re a freaky BNL fan that owns everything they’ve ever done, you’ll still be amazed at the inclusion of the incredibly rare “Teenage Wasteland,” recorded at the legendary Massey Hall in 1993, and never released in any form before.

And, there’s even an alternate version of their number one smash, “One Week,” here in it’s “Pull’s Break Remix” form.  It’s not so much a huge departure, but it’s refreshing to hear a different spin on one of the most-overplayed songs from the Nineties.

While all of this adds up to a fun, eclectic listen, the biggest problem with Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before is it’s length – only 12 tracks for a band that’s been making music for well over two decades.  Especially considering that the guys put out several self-released cassettes, including the Yellow Tape, which are extremely difficult to find.  The inclusion of some of the very early material would’ve made this collection even better.  Still, there’s plenty rare stuff here, and everything is of high quality, there’s enough here to please even the ficklest of BNL fans.  –Tony Peters