Barenaked Ladies' third album, Born on a Pirate Ship, recorded during a period of personnel instability and misgivings over the band's artistic direction, is by far the Toronto group's weakest effort.
The few attempts at humor in the manner of 1992's Gordon tend to sound forced, and the inclusion of reworked versions of early material like "Shoe Box," which had originally appeared on the band's 1990 demo, suggests that primary songwriters Steven Page and Ed Robertson were short of material.
That said, there are a few winners amid the dross, with the wistful "The Old Apartment" and the tender Robertson ballad "When I Fall" further developing the group's ability to wring tenderness and angst out of unexpected situations.
Jim Creeggan's "Spider in My Room," on the other hand, is just silly.
Barenaked Ladies would finally break through to an American audience with their next release, the live sampler Rock Spectacle, which features better-sounding versions of some of this album's stronger tracks.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stomach Vs. HeartSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 02:29 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 2 | Straw Hat and Old Dirty HankSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | I KnowSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | This Is Where It EndsSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | When I FallSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | I Live With It Every DayStephen Duffy, Steven Page | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | The Old ApartmentSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Call Me CalmlySteven Page | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 02:52 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | Break Your HeartSteven Page | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 10 | Spider in My RoomJim Creeggan | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | Same ThingEd Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 12 | Just a ToySteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 13 | In the DrinkJim Creeggan | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 14 | Shoe BoxSteven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 51 mins | 118 MB | |||||
| 51 mins | 323 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barenaked Ladies | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 2 | Robin Billinton | Piano Preparation |
| 3 | Chris Brown | Guest Artist, Organ |
| 4 | Jim Creeggan | Bass (Electric), Composer, Double Bass, Fiddle, Guitar (Electric), Percussion, Piano, Vocals |
| 5 | Stephen Duffy | Composer |
| 6 | Jeff Elliott | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | Mark Fewer | Violin |
| 8 | Gene Hardy | Guest Artist, Musical Saw, Sax (Tenor) |
| 9 | Tom Heron | Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Hugh Marsh | Fiddle |
| 11 | Dale Morningstar | Assistant Engineer |
| 12 | MPW | Sound Effects |
| 13 | Steven Page | Composer, Guitar (Electric), Piano Preparation, Sound Effects, Vocals |
| 14 | Tony Rapoport | Viola |
| 15 | Ed Robertson | Bass, Composer, Cowbell, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Sound Effects, Vocals |
| 16 | Tyler Stewart | Drums, Percussion, Piano, Shaker, Tambourine, Vibraphone, Xylophone |
| 17 | Stoney Park Pow-Wow Singers | Guest Artist |
| 18 | Tim Walsh | Trombone |
| 19 | Michael Phillip Wojewoda | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |