Rock Spectacle
Encyclopedia
Rock Spectacle is a live 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 Theatre
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.
Singles
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
and their first live release. This was the album that finally broke the American market for BNL, with the live version of "Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson (song)
"Brian Wilson" is a song by the Canadian musical group Barenaked Ladies. It was released a single from the band's debut studio album, Gordon.The song was written by singer/guitarist Steven Page in his parents’ basement on his twentieth birthday, in 1990...
" and a release of "The Old Apartment
The Old Apartment
"The Old Apartment" is a song by the Canadian alternative rock group Barenaked Ladies. It was the band's first American hit, and appears on the albums Born on a Pirate Ship, Rock Spectacle and the compilation album, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits...
" from Born on a Pirate Ship
Born on a Pirate Ship
Born on a Pirate Ship is the third full-length album by Barenaked Ladies. Its well-known tracks are "Shoe Box", "The Old Apartment", "When I Fall" and "Break Your Heart." "The Old Apartment" would become BNL's first US hit in 1997 and began the process of winning many new American fans.This was...
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 Theatre
Riviera Theatre
The Riviera Theatre is a concert venue in the north side of Chicago, Illinois. The Riviera Theatre is capable of holding some 2,500 spectators. Built in 1917, it was designed by Rapp and Rapp for the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and their partner Sam...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and at The Olympia in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
during the Born on a Pirate Ship
Born on a Pirate Ship
Born on a Pirate Ship is the third full-length album by Barenaked Ladies. Its well-known tracks are "Shoe Box", "The Old Apartment", "When I Fall" and "Break Your Heart." "The Old Apartment" would become BNL's first US hit in 1997 and began the process of winning many new American fans.This was...
tour.
A live version of "Shoe Box
Shoe Box
"Shoe Box" is a song by Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, released as a single from their 1995 album, Born on a Pirate Ship. It is notable for being featured on the first soundtrack to the television series Friends, as well as the last track on the band's Born on a Pirate Ship album...
" 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
Enhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
, 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.
Track listing
- "Brian WilsonBrian Wilson (song)"Brian Wilson" is a song by the Canadian musical group Barenaked Ladies. It was released a single from the band's debut studio album, Gordon.The song was written by singer/guitarist Steven Page in his parents’ basement on his twentieth birthday, in 1990...
" (Page) – 4:46 - "Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank" (Page, Robertson) – 3:33
- "Break Your Heart" (Page) – 5:06
- "JaneJane (song)"Jane" is a Barenaked Ladies single from the album Maybe You Should Drive. The single included the album version of "Jane", a live version of "What a Good Boy", and the Buck Naked version of "Great Provider". The song later appeared on their 2001 compilation Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits. The...
" (Duffy, Page) – 3:58 - "When I Fall" (Page, Robertson) – 4:23
- "Hello City" (Page, Robertson) – 3:13
- "What a Good BoyWhat a Good Boy"What a Good Boy" is a song from the Barenaked Ladies' 1992 debut album, Gordon. A live version of the song appeared on the 1994 single for "Jane". Another live version was later released on the live album Rock Spectacle. This version later appears on the compilation Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits...
" (Page, Robertson) – 4:47 - "The Old ApartmentThe Old Apartment"The Old Apartment" is a song by the Canadian alternative rock group Barenaked Ladies. It was the band's first American hit, and appears on the albums Born on a Pirate Ship, Rock Spectacle and the compilation album, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits...
" (Page, Robertson) – 3:21 - "Life, in a Nutshell" (Page, Robertson) – 2:40
- "These Apples" (Robertson) – 3:59
- "Grade 9/If I Had $1000000If I Had $1000000"If I Had $1000000" is a song by the Canadian musical group Barenaked Ladies from their album Gordon. Composed by founding members Steven Page and Ed Robertson, the sing-along track has become one of the band's best-known songs, and is a live show staple, despite never having been a true single...
" (Page, Robertson) – 11:48 - "Uncle Elwyn" (Page) - 8:32
Personnel
- Jim Creeggan - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, singingSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Kevin Hearn - accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, singing - Steven Page - acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
, electric guitar, singing - Ed Robertson - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, singing
- Tyler Stewart - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, singing
Production
- Engineers: Marcel Gounin, Michael Phillip Wojewoda
- Assistant engineers: Bernoit Baruvin, Dan Glomski, Mycle Konopka, Timothy R. Powell
- Mixing assistants: Jeff Elliot, Tom Heron
- Mastering: Don C. Tyler
- Digital editing: Jeff Elliot
- Design: Neil Prime
- Photography: Neil Prime
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Heatseekers | 1 |
| 1997 | The Billboard 200 | 86 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Brian Wilson" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 68 |
| 1998 | "Brian Wilson" | Adult Top 40 | 37 |
| 1998 | "Brian Wilson" | Modern Rock | 23 |
| 2000 | "If I Had $1000000" | Adult Top 40 | 37 |