Maroon (Barenaked Ladies album)

Maroon
Studio album by
Barenaked Ladies
ReleasedSeptember 12, 2000
RecordedApril–June 2000
GenreAlternative rock
Length52:09
LabelReprise
ProducerDon Was
Barenaked Ladies chronology
Stunt
(1998) 		Maroon
(2000) 		Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991–2001)
(2001)
Singles from Maroon
  1. "Pinch Me"
    Released: August 7, 2000
  2. "Too Little Too Late"
    Released: March 20, 2001
  3. "Falling for the First Time"
    Released: May 21, 2001
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment.ie [4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
The Guardian[6]
Q[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin3/10[10]

Maroon is the fifth full-length studio album by Barenaked Ladies. The album was the follow-up to 1998's Stunt, the band's most successful album in the United States. Maroon debuted at No. 1 in Canada[11] (their second to reach No. 1 after their 1992 debut Gordon) and No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200. In its first week, the album sold 17,800 copies in Canada and just under 128,000 in the US.[12] It has sold at least 1 million copies in the US alone. The album spawned three hit singles: "Pinch Me", "Too Little Too Late" and "Falling for the First Time".

Unlike past albums, the songs came almost entirely from the pairing of Page/Robertson. One track, "Baby Seat", was written by Page with longtime songwriting partner, Stephen Duffy. This was the last Page/Duffy track that Barenaked Ladies would release, starting a policy of keeping the writing within the band on their next album. "Hidden Sun", written while Hearn was in the hospital, appears as a hidden track on most copies of the album.[citation needed] As with each of their early albums, the band recorded one song, "Humour of the Situation", completely naked.[citation needed]

The band recorded 17 tracks for the album;[13] Tracks recorded for this album but omitted from the finished record include: "Powder Blue" (appears on the US "Pinch Me" single), "Inline Bowline" (appears as an extra track on some international versions, and is on the Australian "Pinch Me" single), "Born Human" (appears on the Australian "Pinch Me" single, re-recorded for Hearn's album Night Light) and "Half a Heart" (re-recorded for the Barenaked Ladies Are Me sessions before the Maroon sessions version was later released on Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before!). "That's All, That's All" was also written for the album, and was later recorded for Page's The Vanity Project.

The album was the first Barenaked Ladies album released on DVD-Audio in a 5.1 surround sound mix. In 2020, a 20th Anniversary Edition was released digitally, and was announced for a vinyl release in early 2021.[14] The 20th Anniversary Edition includes contains the three contemporary B-sides recorded for the album (not including "Half a Heart") as well as a demo version of "Falling for the First Time", and a previously unreleased "alternate" version of "Green Christmas". Also, "Hidden Sun" is separated into its own track.

  1. ^ "Maroon by Barenaked Ladies". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  2. ^ Wilson, MacKenzie. "Barenaked Ladies: Maroon". Allmusic. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. ^ Lynch, Andrew. "Barenaked Ladies - Maroon". Entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  5. ^ Sinclair, Tom (September 15, 2000). "Music Review: 'Maroon'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (September 15, 2000). "Pop CD releases: Barenaked Ladies: Maroon (Reprise)". The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  7. ^ "Barenaked Ladies: Maroon". Q. 2000.
  8. ^ Moon, Tom (August 22, 2000). "Barenaked Ladies: Maroon : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Barenaked Ladies". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 44-45. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ Harris, Keith (October 2000). "Barenaked Ladies: Maroon (Warner Bros.)". Spin. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  11. ^ "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 71, No. 21, September 25, 2000". Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  12. ^ "BNL's 'Maroon' disc debuts at #2". Jam!. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Moll, George (executive producer) (2000). Behind the Music (TV-series). New York, NY: VH1.
  14. ^ Maroon 20th Anniversary Vinyl - Barenaked Ladies