As if to acknowledge that Barenaked Ladies' third album, 1996's Born on a Pirate Ship, was a blunder that wouldn't do much to advance the Canadian group's U.S. image, Reprise Records quickly followed it up with the live set Rock Spectacle. This was a wise move, as years of nearly nonstop touring had helped the group transform from a jokey folk-rock group into a talented pop group with both musical chops and stage presence to burn. Though the album doesn't include much of what makes Barenaked Ladies such a unique live act, singer-guitarists Steven Page and Ed Robertson are masters of improvisational humor, and a good chunk of any Barenaked Ladies show is given to often hilarious extemporaneous bits -- it certainly makes the point that the group is an underrated source of pure pop delights. This album's superior live take of 1992's "Brian Wilson" became Barenaked Ladies' first U.S. radio hit, setting the stage for the across-the-board success of 1998's excellent Stunt. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Barenaked Ladies (Main Performer), Jeff Elliot (Digital Editing), Jeff Elliot (Mixing Assistant), Dan Glomski (Assistant Engineer), Marcel Gounin (Engineer), Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Engineer), Timothy R. Powell (Assistant Engineer), Tyler Stewart (Drums), Tyler Stewart (Vocals), Jim Creeggan (Guitar (Bass)), Jim Creeggan (Vocals), Jim Creeggan (Double Bass), Steven Page (Guitar (Acoustic)), Steven Page (Guitar (Electric)), Steven Page (Vocals), Mycle Konopka (Assistant Engineer), Ed Robertson (Guitar (Acoustic)), Ed Robertson (Guitar (Electric)), Ed Robertson (Vocals), Tom Heron (Mixing Assistant), Don C. Tyler (Mastering), Kevin Hearn (Accordion), Kevin Hearn (Guitar (Electric)), Kevin Hearn (Keyboards), Kevin Hearn (Vocals), Neil Prime (Design), Neil Prime (Photography), Bernoit Baruvin, Bernoit Baruvin (Assistant Engineer)
Rock Spectacle (1996) is the fourth full-length album by Barenaked
Ladies and their first live release. This was the album that finally broke the American market for BNL, with the live
version of "Brian Wilson" and a release of "The
Old Apartment" from Born on a Pirate Ship featuring this live
version becoming hits, and Rock Spectacle selling over a million copies there alone. The record was recorded at two
concerts at the Riviera in Chicago and at The Olympia in Montreal during the Born on a Pirate Ship
tour.
A live version of "Shoe Box" was on promotional and advance copies of this record, but was
left off at the last second. This particular recording of "Shoe Box" appears on the "One Week" CD single. At the very end of the
"$1000000" track, there are two bonus tracks. One is a banter about an elderly woman Ed ran into in Chicago. Part of this story
is referenced in the "$1000000" song, which must have originally occurred after this banter at the Chicago concert. The
second is an improvised song/rap about Ed Robertson's (the band's vocalist/guitarist) Uncle Elwyn. There is some question as to
whether this "Uncle Elwyn" is a real person.
This disc is an enhanced CD, which means it will display special multimedia features when
played on a computer. It includes a program called "BNLTV", a faux collection of various-themed
TV programming.
The title of the album is intended to be French for "rock show", and would properly be pronounced "Rock Spec-tak-le",
though the band, when explaining this typically exclude the ending "le", and it is usually explained phoenetically as simply
"Rock Spec-tak".
