If you know me well, you’ll know I’m a pretty big fan of Barenaked Ladies. As such I’m always interested in trivia, information and history of the band. This book fulfills all of those things very well.
Authored by fellow Canadian musician Paul Myers (brother of Mike Myers, AKA Austin Powers), Barenaked Ladies : Public Stunts, Private Stories documents the bands history, from early conception at band camp, through the band finding new members in the Creeggan brothers, followed by Tyler, and finally Kevin. Rather than just talking to the band, Myers has chosen to speak to some of the people who introduced Ed and Steve, and find out about the guys before they joined up. This provides a fascinating insight into the five current band-members and Andy. Obviously, the guys want to keep some sort of personal life, so it doesn’t dig too deep, but touches on things most ardent fans would already know.
The book provides a nice, coherent overall view of the bands history up until the Maroon era, and mentions the (then) upcoming album Everything To Everyone. The band’s general sense of humour, and friendship comes across in the book, and it is a warts-and-all account, including the bands decline into non-communication between members, and other problems encountered during the early years. Kevin’s year-long battle with Leukaemia is also talked about, but not dwelled upon like some other things I’ve seen.
Some things are sadly lacking though – there’s very little made of the number one single One Week – just a passing mention. Some albums are pretty much skipped over, such as Maybe You Should Drive, but not excluded completely, so it’s not a major omission.
Overall, its a good read. A die-hard fan would love it, a interested fan would probably find it a good read also. Like all biographies, it’s only really is worth reading if you have an interest in the subject of the book. Having said that, it’s still a good read.