| Maroon | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Barenaked Ladies |
| Cover: | Barenaked_Ladies_-_Maroon.jpg |
| Released: | September 12, 2000 |
| Recorded: | April–June 2000 |
| Genre: | Alternative rock |
| Label: | Reprise |
| Producer: | Don Was |
| Prev Title: | Stunt |
| Prev Year: | 1998 |
| Next Year: | 2001 |
Maroon is the fifth full-length studio album by Barenaked Ladies. The album was the follow-up to 1998's Stunt, the band's most successful album in the United States. Maroon debuted at No. 1 in Canada[1] (their second to reach No. 1 after their 1992's debut Gordon) and No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200. In its first week, the album sold 17,800 copies in Canada and just under 128,000 in the U.S.[2] It has sold at least 1 million copies in the U.S. alone. The album spawned three hit singles : "Pinch Me", "Too Little Too Late" and "Falling for the First Time".
Unlike past albums, the songs came almost entirely from the pairing of Page/Robertson. One track, "Baby Seat", was written by Page with longtime songwriting partner, Stephen Duffy. This was the last Page/Duffy track that Barenaked Ladies would release, starting a policy of keeping the writing within the band on their next album. "Hidden Sun", written while Hearn was in the hospital, appears as a hidden track on most copies of the album. As with each of their early albums, the band recorded one song, "Humour of the Situation", completely naked.
The band recorded 17 tracks for the album;[3] Tracks recorded for this album but omitted from the finished record include: "Powder Blue" (appears on the US "Pinch Me" single), "Inline Bowline" (appears as an extra track on some international versions, and is on the Australian "Pinch Me" single), "Born Human" (appears on the Australian "Pinch Me" single, re-recorded for Hearn's album Night Light) and "Half a Heart" (re-recorded for the Barenaked Ladies Are Me sessions before the Maroon sessions version was later released on Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before!). "That's All, That's All" was also written for the album, and was later recorded for Page's The Vanity Project.
The album was the first Barenaked Ladies album released on DVD-Audio in a 5.1 surround sound mix. In 2020, a 20th Anniversary Edition was released digitally, and was announced for a vinyl release in early 2021.[4] The 20th Anniversary Edition includes contains the three contemporary B-sides recorded for the album (not including "Half a Heart") as well as a demo version of "Falling for the First Time", and a previously unreleased "alternate" version of "Green Christmas". Also, "Hidden Sun" is separated into its own track.
| Chart (2000) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[5] | 67 | |
| US Billboard 200[6] | 180 | |
| Chart (2001) | Position | |
| US Billboard 200[7] | 194 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Pinch Me" | Adult Top 40 | 2 |
| 2000 | "Pinch Me" | Modern Rock Tracks | 30 |
| 2000 | "Pinch Me" | Billboard Hot 100 | 15[8] |
| 2000 | "Pinch Me" | Top 40 Mainstream | 17 |
| 2000 | "Pinch Me" | Top 40 Tracks | 11 |
| 2001 | "Falling for the First Time" | Adult Top 40 | 11 |
| 2001 | "Pinch Me" | Top 40 Adult Recurrents | 1 |
| 2001 | "Too Little Too Late" | Adult Top 40 | 13 |
| 2001 | "Too Little Too Late" | Billboard Hot 100 | 86 |
| 2001 | "Too Little Too Late" | Top 40 Mainstream | 40 |