Nearly all of their best songs are here, from "If I Had $1000000" (the first song of theirs that I ever heard), to the hammering "The Old Apartment", to the daydreamy "Pinch Me". In the interest of keeping this review reasonably brief, I'll refrain from commenting on each of the tracks; suffice it to say I love them all! Unfortunately, one of my personal favorites, the heartwrenching ballad "Break Your Heart", is absent from this disc. Anyone who enjoys a good ballad must hear that song (which is, by the way, on their "Born on a Pirate Ship" album, which I highly recommend as well).

While this collection doesn't match up perfectly with my idea of their greatest hits (but then, does any artist's "best of" list ever jibe completely with yours?), it is an essential part of my Barenaked Ladies library. Not only does it contain two new songs -- the jaunty "It's Only Me" and the melancholy but engaging "Thanks That Was Fun" -- but also a pair of hard-to-find tracks: a cover of the Bruce Cockburn tune "Lovers In A Dangerous Time", and "Get In Line", another favorite of mine which is lifted from the "King of the Hill" soundtrack.

Although I could recommend any of Barenaked Ladies' albums, if you buy only one, make this it. You might be surprised at how many great songs are on this disc! Definitely worth the money!


BNL comes full circle...   November 22, 2001
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

...from fringe-dwellers mocking 'Greatest Hits' collections on their first album ('Disc One, it's where we've begun/It's all our greatest hits/And if you are a fan then you know that you've already got 'em' from 'Box Set') to Big Stars putting out a collection of their own. As the title indicates, they're well aware of the irony; what this traditional-style CD really celebrates is success for a band that has never sold out.
The lush (19-song!) selection is excellent, covering the obvious highlights ('Brian Wilson', 'If I Had $1 000 000', and, yep, 'One Week' - be prepared to be driven crazy all over again) as well as less successful or harder-to-find treats ('Call and Answer', 'Shoe Box', 'Lovers in a Dangerous Time'). The only track I'd disagree with is a live version of 'What a Good Boy', an essentially intimate ballad that isn't at it's best with several thousand people singing along.
The two new tracks are a toss-up; 'It's Only Me' is frenetic New Wave stuff, funny but maybe a bit too busy, and 'Thanks That Was Fun' is the gentle, nicely rueful story of a break-up that (in patented BNL fashion) isn't proving nearly as satisfying as the narrator had hoped.
The liner notes include two admiring (but thankfully not gushy) 'how-they-dunnit' essays and track-by-track annotations from Steven Page. In other words, everything you wanted to know and some stuff you maybe could have lived without but will enjoy anyway.
All told, a hugely satisfying Barenaked Ladies experience. (Although they'll hopefully drop the 'Box Set' references while they're ahead. Otherwise...'Disc Three/Well this is really me/In a grade school play' and 'Disc Six/A dance remix/to catch the latest trend...')


Vunderbar!!!!   December 21, 2001
 15 out of 20 found this review helpful

Barenaked Ladies are swell. Buy all of their stuff. They are also very nice to hang around with in airports and on buses for about 10 years or so. Most of them like meatloaf...one doesn't....but I sure do.........Fin


bring on Disc Two!   November 15, 2001
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

As Steven Page says in the liner notes about "Get In Line," calling some of these songs "greatest hits" may be stretching the definition of the term. Perhaps a better title would be "The Best of (And Then Some)."
And among the band's best these are. Besides the expected hits ("Brian Wilson," "One Week," "Pinch Me"), this collection includes the hard-to-find cover of Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time," and "Get In Line," which was only available on the "King of the Hill" soundtrack. Plus you get the superior live version of my personal all-time BNL favorite, "What a Good Boy."
Of the new songs, "It's Only Me (The Wizard of Magicland)" reminded me a little of The Knack (one of Page's favorite albums was that band's debut album) and has a exciting New Wave kickiness to it, while Ed Robertson's "Thanks, That Was Fun" is a little more mournful. Neither of them (sad to say) is likely to conquer U.S. airwaves, but they're welcome additions anyway.
For the casual BNL fan, this collection is a great way to get deeper into the band's catalog. For the BNL fan who already has all their albums (like me), it's a way of hearing these favorites in a new context, plus two new great tracks. What are you waiting for?


BNL 2001!   March 27, 2002
 10 out of 12 found this review helpful

I own every Barenaked Ladies album.

So, why would I buy a greatest hits album when I could just pop my discs into a CD changer and make my own?

I was drawn in by the two new songs (one of which, "It's Only Me (The Wizard of Magicland)" I liked and the other, "Thanks That Was Fun" I didn't) and by the arrangement of the songs.

What is the arrangement of the songs?

Not chronological, surely? They seemed to be popped on the ablum in an order that defies logic. Why do "Maroon"- era songs come before "Gordon" hits like "Enid"? Why are the new songs thrust haphazardly into the middle of the album, seemingly lost among older material?

The Ladies have never been obscure or obtuse. They generally say exactly what they mean in their "pretty little ditties about suicide". The arrangement of the songs, while not in any particular order, serve to create a new, cohesive album from old material.

From the darkly obsessive, "The Old Apartment" to the happy, poppy "Falling for the First Time," to the soulful "Brian Wilson," the album loops back and forth between old and new, ballad and racous live experience.

First, the versions used on this album are not necessarily the versions used on previous ones. "Brian Wilson" is live, taken from "Rock Spectacle" instead of its original "Gordon" home.

This is a must-own even for Ladies fans who already have their whole collection. Nevermind the lyric from which the title of this album comes from:

"Disc One, it's where we've begun, it's all our greatest hits. And if you're a fan then you know that you've already got 'em."