Silverball (album)

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Silverball
Studio album by
Barenaked Ladies
Released2 June 2015
RecordedDecember 2014–February 2015[1]
GenreAlternative rock
Length45:10
LabelVanguard Records
ProducerGavin Brown
Barenaked Ladies chronology
The Long Weekend EP
(2014) 		Silverball
(2015) 		BNL Rocks Red Rocks
(2016)
Singles from Silverball
  1. "Say What You Want"
    Released: 28 April 2015
  2. "Silverball"
    Released: 4 May 2015
  3. "Duct Tape Heart"
    Released: 10 July 2015

Silverball is the 11th full-length original-material studio album by Barenaked Ladies. The album was released on 2 June 2015.[2] The album is the band's third studio album since the departure of founding member Steven Page in February 2009. The album was recorded in late 2014 and early 2015 with producer Gavin Brown.

The cover art depicts a pinball sitting on a pinball table surface, reflecting the darkened figure of a man playing. Lead singer and guitarist Ed Robertson, an acknowledged longtime video game fanatic turned his interest towards pinball in the 2010s, amassing a collection of machines. The inspiration of the name Silverball came from the giant glitterball which hung above the floor of the O2 ABC venue in Glasgow, Scotland. Which the band relayed as one of their favourite venues. The venue itself has sadly since burned down and is no longer in use. It is believed the glitterball was destroyed in the fire

Best Buy offered a retailer-exclusive limited-time edition of the album in the U.S. including "Counting Down" and "Fall Back On", two songs which were initially cut from the album.[3] Both songs are exclusive to Spotify in Canada, who also offer a track-by-track commentary by the band for the album.

The album was released on vinyl on 31 July 2015.[4] BNL Rocks Red Rocks, a live album recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre during the tour for Silverball, was released 20 May 2016.[5][6]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
PopMatters[8]
The Toronto Star[9]

In Canada, the album debuted with 4,000 copies sold in its first week of release.[10]

In the U.S., the album debuted at No. 46 on the Billboard 200,[11] and No. 5 on Top Rock Albums chart,[12] selling 11,000 copies in its first week. The album has sold 28,000 copies in the United States as of April 2016.[13]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Ed Robertson, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocal(s)Length
1."Get Back Up"
Ed Robertson3:02
2."Here Before" Ed Robertson3:55
3."Matter of Time" Ed Robertson3:36
4."Duct Tape Heart"
  • Ed Robertson
  • Kevin Griffin
Ed Robertson3:03
5."Say What You Want" Ed Robertson3:35
6."Passcode"Kevin HearnKevin Hearn2:35
7."Hold My Hand" Ed Robertson3:59
8."Narrow Streets"Jim CreegganJim Creeggan2:55
9."Toe to Toe" Ed Robertson3:16
10."Piece of Cake" Ed Robertson3:24
11."Globetrot" Ed Robertson3:28
12."Silverball" Ed Robertson4:36
13."Tired of Fighting with You"Kevin HearnKevin Hearn3:46
Total length:45:10
Best Buy bonus tracks
No.TitleLead vocal(s)Length
14."Counting Down"Ed Robertson3:27
15."Fall Back On"Ed Robertson3:24

Singles[edit]

The lead single, "Say What You Want", was made available for streaming on 27 April 2015.[14][15] On 4 May 2015, a video for "Silverball" was released as a thank you from Robertson to the community of the pinball website Pinside.com for their technical assistance with his pinball machines.[16][17] It was released for digital download the following day.[18] A lyric video for "Duct Tape Heart" was released 10 July 2015.[19] The official music video for "Duct Tape Heart", containing live footage of the band's performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on the Last Summer On Earth 2015 tour, was released on 19 October 2015 to coincide with the start of the Canadian leg of the Silverball tour.[20]

Personnel[edit]

  • Jim Creeggan – Electric bass, background vocals, lead vocal on "Narrow Streets"
  • Kevin Hearn – Piano, synthesizers, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, background vocals, lead vocal on "Passcode" and "Tired of Fighting With You"
  • Ed Robertson – Lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, background vocals
  • Tyler Stewart – Drums, percussion, mouth guitar, background vocals

Additional:

  • Tim Bovaconti – Pedal steel on "Fall Back On"
  • Mike Evin – Keyboards on "Counting Down"
  • Lyle Herbert-Robertson – Electric guitar solo on "Piece of Cake"
  • Hugh Marsh – Electric violin on "Duct Tape Heart", "Matter of Time", "Piece of Cake" and "Tired of Fighting With You"
  • Perry White – Saxophone on "Passcode"

Charts[edit]

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 3
US Billboard 200[22] 46
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[23] 13
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[24] 5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[25] 5

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Barenaked Ladies Fans". BNLFans.
  2. ^ "Barenaked Ladies".
  3. ^ "Silverball [Bonus Tracks] [CD]". Best Buy.
  4. ^ "Silverball". 31 July 2015 – via Amazon.
  5. ^ ""BNL Rocks Red Rocks" set for release". Get Barenaked!.
  6. ^ "Barenaked Ladies on Twitter".
  7. ^ Collar, Matt. "Silverball – Barenaked Ladies – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  8. ^ Zimmerman, Lee (6 July 2015). "Barenaked Ladies: Silverball". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  9. ^ Rayner, Ben (1 June 2015). "Barenaked Ladies' Silverball full of likeable pop tunes: review". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  10. ^ Cross, Alan (10 June 2015). "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 10 June 2015". Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  11. ^ "The Billboard 200". Billboard. 20 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. 20 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016.
  14. ^ "Barenaked Ladies' 'Say What You Want' is the '90s alt-ballad you've been craving – exclusive".
  15. ^ "Silverball by Barenaked Ladies on Apple Music".
  16. ^ "Barenaked Ladies 'Silverball' – exclusive Pinside sneak preview! – Pinside Community".
  17. ^ Barenaked Ladies (official) (4 May 2015). "Silverball – Barenaked Ladies" – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "Silverball by Barenaked Ladies on Apple Music".
  19. ^ "See It First: Barenaked Ladies Debut Lyric Video for 'Duct Tape Heart'".
  20. ^ Barenaked Ladies (official) (19 October 2015). "Barenaked Ladies – Duct Tape Heart" – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "Barenaked Ladies Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Barenaked Ladies Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  23. ^ "Barenaked Ladies Chart History (Digital Albums)".[dead link] Billboard.
  24. ^ "Barenaked Ladies Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Barenaked Ladies Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
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