Barenaked Ladies
Shoe Box E.P. (Reprise)
by Marc Hirsh
Barenaked Ladies
Shoe Box E.P. (Reprise)
by Marc Hirsh
originally published in the Public News, May 15, 1996
An advance scout from the Canadian band's Born On A Pirate Ship album, this is a winning little gem whose merits are well-hidden. It's also the music industry's latest technological toy, an enhanced CD.
While not exactly new (I've seen "CD+Graphics" stickers on discs for years now), it's only now that the music industry is marketing them in a serious way. So what appears to be a standard CD single actually has a "bonus" CD-ROM track for you to play around with when you get bored with the music.
The E.P. is itself a pleasantly innocuous quartet of tracks. Pirate Ship's "Shoe Box," presented in two (mostly indistinguishable) mixes, is a pleasant acoustic-based bit of pop whimsy about where the narrator keeps track of everything he's ever lied about. Also included are an alternate version of "If I Had A $1000000" (from the band's debut Gordon) and the unreleased "Trust Me," which steals a melody line from the Nails' "88 Lines About 44 Women."
It's the CD-ROM bit that's the most fun. Rather than strain for full interactivity, it's set up like a better-than-average web site, with a full band history and discography that allows you to hear excerpts from every song on the band's three albums. There are also clips from the band's videos, some home movies and a few live bits.
It's here that the value of the disc is revealed. Lead singer Steven Page's throaty tenor is always a pleasure to hear, but on stage the man not only turns into a raging singing machine (I point to the excerpt from "Stomach Vs. Heart" as evidence) but presents himself as a master showman. The spontaneous "Barbecue Donuts" song is worth the price of admission alone.