** Barenaked Ladies

ROCK SPECTACLE

(Reprise)

An acoustic-electric band with hooky melodies and a deft sense of humor, Barenaked Ladies are trying to outgrow the wonderful immaturity of songs like "Be My Yoko Ono" and "(Steven Page Is) Having a Baby." Hence Rock Spectacle (pronounced spec-TACK-all, French-like), a live album that forgoes the third-grade birthday-party element of their concerts, choosing instead predominately bland versions of their greatest hits.

Steven Page flexes his distinctive, Eddie-Vedder-meets-Kermit-the-Frog tenor on most tracks. In "What a Good Boy," he glides into higher registers, adding a beautifully tragic element; "Break Your Heart" acquires an integrity lost in the sterile studio version. But most of these tracks follow the originals too closely. "The Old Apartment" sounds like the CD version with added applause at the end. Worse, the hilarious impromptu songs and between-song chatter that characterize their concerts are condensed into a three-minute hidden track. There you'll find Spectacle's greatest moment: an improvised song by guitarist Ed Robertson about his Uncle Elwyn. Too bad it lasts only 30 seconds.

-- Dan Tobin