This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Barenaked Ladies have always been crowd-pleasers. But just because they decided to title their seventh studio album Everything To Everyone, don’t think they’ve gone overboard in their eager-beaverness to entertain.
This 14-song outing finds the beloved Canadian quirk-pop kings basically staying true to themselves, while delivering what fans have come to know, love and expect from them. You get the strummy, choppy pop-rockers like Second Best. The ironic geek-pop ditties like Celebrity. The sensitive-guy ballads like Take It Outside. The white-boy folk-hop cuts like Another Postcard and Testing 1,2,3. The zippy, kooky novelty tracks about shopping, aluminum and chimpanzees. Naturally, they all come equipped with the standard BNL equipment package: The gorgeous, Brian Wilsonesque arrangements and production. The pop culture references to everyone from Phil Esposito to the Kennedys. The pretty melodies and lush harmonies. The rhyming-dictionary couplets like, “She got a new apartment, it’s out on the escarpment.”
But even if much of Everything To Everyone is familiar, there are some subtle differences too. Keyboards and synths seem to play a greater role on many songs, swirling and howling and giving cuts like Katie a Weezerish overtone. Other cuts swing in the other direction: For You is a gentle bit of Celtic-tinged Americana, while Upside Down gets down to an accordion-driven tango groove. And overall, most of these cuts seem a shade darker and a few beats less bouncy than before, as if the boys are settling ever-so-slightly into a more comfortable, less frantic frame of mind. So even if Everything To Everyone doesn’t fully embrace its title, chances are it offers everything a dedicated Barenaked Ladies fan is looking for.
