The Barenaked Ladies new DVD, Barelaked Nadies, charts the band's evolution from novelty act to pop virtuosos through 17 videos they've made in the past ten years—many that never received significant airplay on U.S. television.

The videos are a mixed bag, but there are gems from beginning to end - from the elegant simplicity of their low-budget "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" to the hyper-produced, color-saturated, McG-directed breakthrough "One Week."

The band displays a goofy charm in the early videos, which gradually gives way to confident showmanship as their unsophisticated image catches up to their polished music.

The DVD also includes seven live tracks recorded at a recent pay-per-view event. While the performance is genuinely great, Warner Bros. really missed the mark by only including the songs and not the between-song banter and riffs that have made BNL concerts legendary. The footage is great, but we're still left waiting for a complete live concert DVD.

Footnote: I took a friend on mine who listens exclusively to death metal to a Barenaked Ladies concert. After impassively chain-smoking his way through the event, he declared that BNL was the greatest live band he had ever seen, outside of perhaps, GWAR. I took it as a compliment.

The DVD

Video:
Barelaked Nadies is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. The production values on the videos vary wildly. So we have stripped-down performance pieces crudely shot on what appears to be 8mm black and white stock to digitally enhanced 35mm full color. Some of the early videos show their low-production-value roots, but for the most part blacks are black, reds are red and there's not a digital glitch to be found. There isn't any anamorphic enhancement, but you can't squeeze blood from a turnip—the videos were made for television.

Sound:
This is, after all, a rock DVD. The sound needs to be good and it is. The videos and live performances are offered in both stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1. The songs themselves were originally mixed for stereo and the DVD does a good job of reproducing the full range of the audio masters. The bass is deep and rich without overwhelming the songs and the highs are sharp without sounding tinny. The 5.1 mix in the videos does a decent job of not ruining anything, moving some of the vocals to center channel, and adding some ambience to the rear surround speakers. But the bottom line is that this was originally mixed in stereo and probably sounds best in that format.

Extras:
No Easter Eggs that I could find (and dammit, I looked.) But there is a fantastic commentary track from the band that provides some laugh-out-loud humor as well as brutally frank assessment of the band's pre-stylist look—complete with homemade clothing—and the videos themselves. (Several are labeled "fiascos.")

The net result of the commentary is that the band manages to make some of the less-compelling material infinitely more watchable as they lampoon themselves, savage bad haircuts and goofy smiles and explain how a few of the videos went horribly awry.

There is also some DVD-ROM content, including a remixing studio that allows you to make a complete ass of yourself laying down your own vocal track to "One Week." The verbal gymnastics Ed Robertson performs in that song are not meant to be duplicated. Haven't you heard this song enough anyway? That stupid Mitsubishi ad is on every five minutes. Listen to "Brian Wilson" or "The Old Apartment" again instead.

Final Thoughts:
This DVD is must-have for Barenaked Ladies fans. And if you have even a marginal interest, it's worth a long, hard look. The videos are not showstoppers, but the band is. This isn't the Beastie Boys on Criterion, but it is a great look at an underrated band.

And Warner Bros.? We're ready for that live concert DVD now. Thank you.