Section
2: The Releases - Albums, Videos, etc.
2.1 - What are these Demo tapes I keep hearing about?
Buck Naked: In 1988, after they decided to continue
playing together, Ed and Steve decided they needed a tape
to give to clubs to try to get the clubs to let them play
there, as well as for other miscellaneous purposes. They
recorded the tape 'Buck Naked'. The tape is just Ed and
Steve singing, and playing various instruments. Several
versions of the tape with slightly different track lists,
and recording versions are around. They made approximately
150-600 (depending on who you believe) of these tapes, and
should they ever show up on ebay, they tend to go for several
hundred (if not over the thousand) dollars. MP3s are around
for one of the versions of the tape, and Great Provider
from the tape appears on a Jane Single. The only song of
the 12 songs on the original version that was ever recorded
again by BNL was for another demo tape called Barenaked
Recess which was never produced. Fan favourites from the
tape include Lilac Girl, Really Don't Know and a cover of
the Roadrunner theme. Some tracks on the tape were covers
while others were originals. Songs added to later versions
of this tape include: Be My Yoko Ono, King Of Bedside Manor,
Great Provider and If I Had $1,000,000.
Barenaked Lunch: In 1990, after meeting the Creeggans
(but before Tyler had joined), Ed got out his Yamaha 4-track
recorder and they recorded this tape and gave it a pink
cover (hence it is referenced as the 'Pink Tape'). Ed and
Steve co-produced the recording and Ed mixed it. About 2000
of the tapes were made, but unfortunately all of them were
mastered incorrectly and they played too fast (with an upward
pitch shift), so they weren't distributed very far. I've
never seen this one on ebay, but I'm sure it would go for
a lot of money. MP3s of this one are harder to find, but
Night Photographs from this tape appeared on the first Ladies
Room CD (corrected for the playing speed).
Barenaked Recess: This is presumably the rarest existing
official BNL recording ever made. Apparently the tape was
recorded shortly before Tyler joined the band (no word on
whether Andy had left yet). It was again recorded on Ed's
4-track in Steve's parents' basement. For whatever reason
(an explaination I've never seen) the tape wasn't produced
and rumour says that less than 6 exist anywhere. This would
seem to be a planned replacement for the mis-produced Pink
Tape, but perhaps after hearing the quality or finding Tyler
and wanting the sound to be more accurate, they scrapped
it. It contained pre-Gordon versions of Brian Wilson, Hello
City, The Flag, Crazy, Blame It On Me, as well as the only
other recording of Lilac Girl that was ever made. It also
contained covers 'When Doves Cry', and 'Material Girl' and
what is, as far as I know, an original song called Skinhead.
It's a very weird song that they performed on the Au Naturale
tour. Somehow, someway this song has found it's way online.
I've never seen any other files from this tape anywhere.
Barenaked Ladies: In 1991, the band was a complete
five-member group. They made this tape to sell off the stage
at their shows. It had a yellow cover and is referred to
as the 'Yellow Tape'. The band was touring, and they paid
for some studio time to record this tape. They recorded
four songs, and found they had about a minute left on the
tape. They decided they might as well put on a short version
of Fight The Power - a cover they did live at the time -
on the tape. As they went on tour, Steve would call and
ask local record shops if they'd like a few copies of the
tape to promote the band's show there. Eventually it became
less of a demo, and more of a commercial success. The tape
was the first independent recording to go gold (50,000 copies)
in Canada (and the first to crack the top100 - and even
the top20). It was outselling Michael Jackson at one point.
There are a few versions of this tape, in terms of production
(printing, labels) but they all have the same content. These
show up on ebay regularly (rarely sealed though) and sell
for around $20-$40. MP3s of this one are around, and Million
Dollars from this tape is on the Shoebox EP.
Variety Recordings: In 1991, the CBC (a Canadian
government owned station) funded a recording on CD that
contained seven songs later to appear on Gordon. This one
is rare on ebay, but does very occasionally come up. MP3s
from this one are floating around somewhere.
"Buck Naked was made in an edition of approx. 150 in
my basement. Barenaked Lunch, about 1000 copies were made.
Maybe we will release highlights but they are not recordings
we are particularly proud of, except for historical reasons.
" - Steve on whether the tapes would ever be sold
commercially, yahoo chat, 1999
2.2 - What are these Promos
I keep hearing about?
A promo is recording used for promotional purposes. BNL
has a few different kinds of promos.
Every single BNL has (like most artists) has a promo copy,
which is what the radio stations get to play. Usually these
have 1-track - typically the album version. But occasionally
they contain a radio remix/edit which is remixed, edited
or shortened for radio play. Ultimately this is the track
they want radio stations to play as the single. Sometimes
the single will have a radio edit and regular version for
the station to choose between.
There are also promo copies of all of their albums. Sometimes
these are just the regular copy punched or stamped as promo
only. Sometimes these are packaged differently. For BNL
these don't tend to be worth much. Occasionally there are
content differences between pre-release promos and the final
album. Nothing astounding has been released this way though.
Then there are things like 10x5, or Retail Spectacle. These
are compilations made to promote the band's music from all
their albums.
mysd.org
has a good list of promo materials in its discography.
2.3 - Why are there two covers
for Gordon?
The original cover for Gordon featured the band 'playing'
amongst the letters in the word 'Gordon', with a small 'Gordon
Ball' (see 6.1) in the corner. At some point (I'm not sure
when, but I've heard it was when they changed to new management)
they changed the cover to a large image of the Gordon ball.
They also corrected an error on the CD itself, in which
the original CD (which mimicked the look of the gordon ball)
the printers mistook the white stripe of the ball to mean
transparent, so the white stripe on the original press is
silver (the color of the disc).
Why the change? The original cover was seen by many (including
the band in retrospect) as a horrible album cover. They
(the band and/or the new management) felt that radio stations
would give the album a better chance of being played (and
bought in stores) if the cover was less goofy. As well,
by this point, Andy had left the band, so it may have been
a partial measure to alleviate some confusion.
2.4 - What is Barenaked In
America? Where can I get it?
Barenaked In America is a documentary on the band made in
1998 by Jason Priestly (who directed the Old Apartment video).
It was available on video and Blockbuster Video got them
for rental, but shortly thereafter, the company that owned
the rights was bought, and then they went bankrupt. Therefore,
the only place to get the video is in a blockbuster's used
video bin. Europeans (and a few other markets) got a DVD
copy because the rights there are owned by someone else.
But these are region encoded and won't play in (legal) players
in North America.
2.5 - Who is the girl in the
Alterntive Girlfriend video?
The 'girl' is a drag queen named Billy Beyond. Though some
fans joked that it was Kevin in drag.
2.6 Who are the people on the
album covers of their albums?
The people on the covers of MYSD and BOAPS are actors hired
for the photos, although the kid on BOAPS bears an uncanny
resemblance to Jim. The two guys on MYSD both appeared in
Star Trek. they jokingly claim that it's just Jim and Andrew
in really heavy make-up.
The 'Stuntman' on the cover of Stunt is a compilation of
body parts from the band
The hands and mouth are Steve's, the legs and ear are Ed's,
the the left eye and nose are Jim's, the head is tyler's
and the right eye and body are Kevin's.
The people on the cover of Gordon (original cover) and E2E
are the band! (Ed & Jim on top of Andy, Steve and Tyler
for Gordon, Steve, Ed, Tyler, Kevin, Jim for E2E [left to
right for both]).
