Born on a Pirate Ship

Born on a Pirate Ship (1996) was 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 begin the process of winning many new American fans.

Related Topics:
Barenaked Ladies - The Old Apartment

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Tracks recorded for this album but left off the finished record are: "Trust Me" (earlier recorded for Maybe You Should Drive but left off the album) and "Back" (apparently the band recorded this in the nude; this song is on the "Brian Wilson 2000" single).

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The eye-catching front cover features a boy in a newspaper hat making a scary face. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a childhood picture of BNL bassist Jim Creeggan, but simply an actor hired for the photos.

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The band was a fourpiece during the recording of this album. Kevin Hearn was asked to join the band for the tour and first appears on the live album Rock Spectacle.

Related Topics:
Kevin Hearn - Rock Spectacle

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Although a hit in Canada, the album only managed #111 in the US. Happily, once the band had achieved success in America, Born On A Pirate Ship would be awarded gold status there in 2000.

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The title of this album is a bit of an in-joke; if you say "born on a pirate ship" while making the same face as the boy on the cover it will vaguely sound like you are saying "born on a pile of shit."

Related Topics:
In-joke - Shit

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