Barenaked Ladies don’t miss having Steven Page in the band
Apparently the Barenaked Ladies are avoiding the cataclysm that so often befalls bands when they lose an important member (bassists don’t count): they aren’t sucking. The reviews are in for the Ladies’ first post–Steven Page album, All in Good Time, which drops this week, and they’re pretty good.
“Because Page and [Ed] Robertson dominated the singing and writing, BNL sometimes felt less like a band than a duo with backing musicians. But the biggest difference with the new lineup is that Barenaked Ladies sound more like a band than ever before,” writes the
Globe and Mail.
For their part, the Ladies aren’t exactly lamenting the loss of their former co–lead singer and songwriter, as remaining front man Robertson explains to Entertainment Weekly: “I don’t miss him in the context of the band: performing, making music, writing, recording. It’s not as a band member that I miss him. It’s, you know, I’ve been around the guy since the fourth grade. I still feel tied to him and responsible for him.”
Whether BNL’s new album will prove as successful as previous offerings remains to be seen. But we’re sure the Spice Girls, Take That and Backstreet Boys are all paying close attention. After all, they’ve been here before.
• Turning the Page, a revitalized BNL comes together [Globe and Mail] • Review: Barenaked Ladies, All In Good Time [Vancouver Sun] • All in Good Time: Barenaked Ladies [Toronto Star] • Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson talks about their first album without Steven Page [Entertainment Weekly]
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