Stunt (album)

Stunt
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 7, 1998 (1998-07-07)
Studio
  • Arlyn (Austin, Texas)
  • Phase One (Scarborough, Ontario)
Genre
Length51:17
LabelReprise
Producer
Barenaked Ladies chronology
Rock Spectacle
(1996)
Stunt
(1998)
Maroon
(2000)
Singles from Stunt
  1. "One Week"
    Released: September 15, 1998[3]
  2. "It's All Been Done"
    Released: December 16, 1998[4]
  3. "Call and Answer"
    Released: July 13, 1999
  4. "Alcohol"
    Released: 1999
  5. "Told You So"
    Released: 1999 (cassette)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
NME1/10[8]
Paste7.4/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Sputnikmusic[1]

Stunt is the fourth full-length studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. Their most successful album, it entered the US charts at No. 3 and sold over 4 million units by the end of its chart run. Its first single, "One Week" became the band's breakthrough single in the US market by hitting No. 1 (selling over 5 million copies). The song also reached No. 5 in the UK, and helped revitalize their career in the band's home country of Canada, where their fame had diminished since the days of their debut album Gordon. In addition, follow-up singles "It's All Been Done", "Alcohol" and "Call and Answer" were each successful to some degree.

Stunt is the first studio album to feature keyboardist/guitarist Kevin Hearn, who originally joined the band for the Born on a Pirate Ship tour in 1995. Shortly after the release of the album, Hearn was diagnosed with leukemia. He spent the Stunt tour receiving chemotherapy and was replaced by Chris Brown and Greg Kurstin in the interim.

Special edition and reissues

There was also a special edition of the album which contained the standard 13 tracks plus a second disc including two versions of "Brian Wilson" (the album version and the "2000" version), and live versions of "The Old Apartment", "Jane", "When I Fall", "If I Had $1000000" and "Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank".[12]

The album was released on vinyl June 2, 2015.[13]

In 2018, Rhino Records announced a 20th Anniversary Edition to be released digitally on July 6, 2018, as well as physical copies on September 28, 2018. However, the date was pushed back to October 19, 2018. The physical forms come in a vinyl and a CD/DVD set. The DVD is the documentary for Barenaked In America, which was never previously released in North America. The album also contains the bonus tracks "She's On Time" and "Long Way Back Home". The CD version also adds "Get In Line", which appeared on the soundtrack to King of the Hill.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steven Page and Ed Robertson, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."One Week"RobertsonSteven Page, Ed Robertson2:49
2."It's All Been Done"PagePage3:26
3."Light Up My Room" Robertson3:36
4."I'll Be That Girl"Page3:34
5."Leave" Robertson3:24
6."Alcohol"
  • Page
  • Duffy
Page3:43
7."Call and Answer"
  • Page
  • Duffy
Page5:49
8."In the Car"PagePage3:53
9."Never Is Enough" Robertson3:23
10."Who Needs Sleep?" Robertson3:44
11."Told You So" Robertson4:21
12."Some Fantastic" Page, Robertson4:16
13."When You Dream" Page5:19
Total length:51:17
Limited edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
14."She's On Time"Page3:22
15."Long Way Back Home"Robertson4:39
Total length:59:18
20th Anniversary edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Get In Line (King of the hill soundtrack)"3:40
Total length:1:02:58

Personnel

Adapted from the Stunt booklet.[15]

Barenaked Ladies

  • Jim Creeggan – electric bass (2, 6, 11), violin (5), electric double bass (1, 13), cello (7, 11), background vocals (2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13), double bass (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12), arco bass (11), handclaps (8), acoustic double bass (13)
  • Kevin Hearnorgan (8), synthesizer (6, 7, 11), banjo (4), piano (6, 7, 12), accordion (4), electric guitar (1, 5, 8, 11), keyboards (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13), electric piano (3), background vocals (2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12), clavinet (10), melodica (8), sampling (13), wah wah guitar (5), handclaps (8)
  • Steven Pageacoustic guitar (2, 3, 4, 13), electric guitar (2, 6, 10), background vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11), flute (10), piano (11), lead vocals (2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 13), phat drumz guy (9), co-lead vocals (12), handclaps (8)
  • Ed Robertson – acoustic guitar (all but 4), electric guitar (all but 13), percussion (12), background vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 13), lead vocals (3, 5, 9, 10, 11), co-lead vocals (12), dans la maison (1), invisible rap (6), "Employee of the Month-July 1985" (9), handclaps (8)
  • Tyler Stewart – percussion (2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13), bongos (6, 8), drums (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11), background vocals (2, 9, 10), dans la maison (1), snare drums (12), handclaps (8)

Additional personnel

  • Colin Alexander – scratching (9)
  • Pierre "French Pete" Tremblay – background vocals (10)
  • Natasha Hébert – Parlez Français (2)
  • Sue Drew – Expert Violin Tuning (5)
  • "Party" recorded live at Jimmy C's birthday (6)
  • "Hala Hala Hala" sampled by Don Garbutt (10)

Production

Charts

Year Chart Position
1998 Billboard 200[16] 3
1998 Canadian Albums 9[citation needed]
1998 New Zealand Albums[17] 20
1999 Australian Albums[17] 42

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] 4× Platinum 400,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[20] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b "Review: Barenaked Ladies - Stunt - Sputnikmusic".
  2. ^ Wilhelm, Rich (September 11, 2020). "20 Years Ago Barenaked Ladies Found Maturity with 'Maroon', PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  3. ^ Sandiford-Waller, Theda (September 19, 1998). "Hot 100 Spotlight". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 38. p. 105. After it arrives at retail Tuesday (15), expect Barenaked Ladies' 'One Week'...
  4. ^ "イッツ・オール・ビー・ダン | ベアネイキッド・レディース" [It's All Been Done | Barenaked Ladies] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  5. ^ Stunt at AllMusic
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. ^ "Top Pop Albums". Los Angeles Times. December 3, 1998.
  8. ^ "Barenaked Ladies: Stunt (Reprise)". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved December 11, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Salmon, Ben (July 10, 2018). "Barenaked Ladies: Stunt: 20th Anniversary Edition Review". Paste. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "Barenaked Ladies: Stunt : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. April 12, 2008. Archived from the original on April 12, 2008.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Stunt – Special Edition". Amazon. November 22, 1999.
  13. ^ "Stunt". Amazon. June 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "Rhino Records: Barenaked Ladies Stunt 20th Anniversary Edition Available On July 6".
  15. ^ Stunt (booklet). Barenaked Ladies. Reprise. 1998. W2 46963.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Barenaked Ladies - Billboard 200 History". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "charts.nz - Barenaked Ladies - Stunt". charts.nz.
  18. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Barenaked Ladies – Stunt". Music Canada.
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Barenaked Ladies – Stunt". British Phonographic Industry.
  20. ^ "American album certifications – Barenaked Ladies – Stunt". Recording Industry Association of America.