Customer Reviews

Lemonade & Brownies

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Damn i never knew sugar ray was once a heavy metal band!! All ive heard from them is that poppy crap they play non stop on the radio all the time. This cd is way way different not to mention better than that stuff they've put out since 14:59. Mark and the band through in the metal songs and mix them with a little bit of rap like rhyme stealer, mean machine, dance party u.s.a., and 10 seconds down. Then there are some slower songs like hold your eyes and scuzzboots, but they still fit nicely into the album. I wish sugar ray could've made more cds like this one. Floored was a pretty good album but it didnt have the feel to it as this one did. If they kept playin music like this they could've fit right in to the heavy music bands are playin today. I bet Mark's just kicking himself for taking the boy band route(hehe). Bottom line is if you want some good metal with a little bit of rap you'd defenitly like this cd. Best songs are snug harbor, rhyme stealer, mean machine, dance party u.s.a., 10 seconds down, and scuzzboots. Not to say those are the only good songs (the whole album kicks a$$!) but those appeal to me the most. Also this was produced by the great DJ Lethal while he was with House Of Pain not Limp Bizkit, so you know its gonna be an awesome cd!!

I never really cared much for Sugar Ray. I remember getting 14:59 as a present a few years ago, and I wasn't too interested in most of the tracks. But then again, that's because most of the tracks were the annoying, cheesy teenybopper drama movie-esque acoustic pop filler. Although I must admit I enjoyed Someday, for the most part the only tracks on the CD I enjoyed were the songs that were more influenced by either funk-metal or heavy alternative rock (with all due respect to the open-minded musical variety on the album that I admired). Thus, I would usually skip to the songs Personal Space Invader, Aim for Me, Burning Dog and Glory. On rare occassion I'd listen to the track Someday, but I was very conservative about listening to the song, because at the time it would be played so many times on the radio. For the most part, I'd find myself popping in 14:59 on occassion to this day just to listen to those specific tracks, and it still sits on my shelf to this day.

Well, one night I was with a friend and I popped in 14:59 and skipped to Personal Space Invader. While we were listening intently, my friend said "That reminds me, I just found out something really awesome about this band." I asked what it was, and he told me "I know this may sound weird, but Sugar Ray actually used to be a heavy metal band." Then he told me about Lemonade and Brownies. So I finally bought it and popped it into my CD drive.

I was extremely blown away! Not a single track on the album was intolerable (well, the actual music tracks anyway). Nice, basic, crunching, straight from the soul grunge/metal aggression.

Just the other day I invited a different friend over, and we decided we'd want to listen to some music. So I showed him this album. He laughed upon first seeing it, saying "Sugar Ray? Ha! This cover looks just like what you might find on some American female pop singer's album." He only looked at me like I was a dolt when I told him the whole early Sugar Ray story.

So I popped the CD in and had him listen to it. BOY, did that make a believer out of him!

What puzzles me to this very day is why Sugar Ray don't ever produce albums like this anymore. I'd have to disagree with what someone here said, that this can't compare to their other albums and that they should have abandoned this awesome sound. I suppose I won't get into why I think their progression to other types of sound blew, but come on Sugar Ray, look at your fanbase now. None of these blowhard teenybopper valley dopes you have now would have DARED have anything to with the raw power of old school Sugar Ray.

I've actually known about their "black sheep" album, L&B for awhile now but was never really too motivated to check it out
until recently. The catalyst for me buying it was mainly hearing other people say, "they used to be a metal band" and being the diehard metalhead I am it intrigued me enough to actually interrupt my metal cd purshasing bonanza to buy this.

The results? Well I was pretty damn pleased! Especially with the song Mean Machine which is indeed the highlight of this funky off-beat album with it's amusing lyrics and catchy music. Mark McGrath sounds awesome on this album, he yells, speaks in funny voices it's awesome, he really mixes it up here. THEY EVEN CURSE! I know cursing hasn't been a big deal since middle school but when Sugar Ray does it then it is. I mean imagine if you found out N'Stink and the like starting cursing and going crazy, it would be a tad shocking don't you think? What's also cool about this album is that it seems to blend some funk, rap, hard rock, and a little bit of humor. Yes, it even has a skit... but don't worry it's not like the asinine skits that take up half of modern rap cds disc space (they're bad enough with the music alone) but a damn good one with music in the background to boot! I won't ruin it by telling ya what it is, buy the cd and find out yourself!

I have to be honest that I've always liked Sugar Ray, yes even their soft stuff. That's probably especially shocking to my fellow metalheads out there (keep in mind that's coming from a guy who listens to Slayer, Pantera, etc most of the time) but it's true. What can I say, it's a guilty pleasure of mine. Now I will do what others have done, show my friends the craziness that is old school Sugar Ray! By the way, yes I recommend this to basically everyone, I mean everyone at least likes some rock right? Anyone who doesn't like any rock is obviously inhuman and doesn't matter.

If you've ever been to a Sugar Ray show (circa 1997-2001) you might have noticed that the crowd seems dumbfounded when songs from their debut album "Leomanade and Brownies" hit the amplifiers. Songs like "Mean Machine" and "Iron Mic" are so different from Sugar Ray's top 40 hits that it's amazing that they came from the same band. That's what makes this album so great. Produced by DJ Lethal (then of House of Pain, now of Limp Bizkit) and McG (then just a friend of Mark McGrath, now a big time director of Hollywood films such as Charlie's Angels) "Lemonade and Brownies" is raw and loud and will make you do a double take when you learn that it's Sugar Ray. DJ Lethal himself makes apperances on such amazing tracks as "Rhyme Stealer" and "10 Seconds Down", but the band also showed glympses that they could write material like "When It's Over" with material like "Hold Your Eyes" and "Dance Party USA". "L&B" essentially flopped when it was released, due to a lack of a marketing push and support, but don't let that fool you it's a great album! When "Fly" became Sugar Ray's break out hit a few years later, Mark McGrath originally threatened to quit the band because he wanted to stay true to the harder sounds of "L&B", but as an earlier reviewer put it...the rest of Sugar Ray convinced Mark that writing poppy material and touring before thousands is better than "keeping it real" and "flipping burgers for a living". Whatever the case, "Lemonade and Brownies" is for anyone looking for harder sounding Sugar Ray material that sounds like the song "RPM" from "Floored".

This is the album that got me into Sugar Ray. I bought this album way before "Fly" came out. I was into the heavy punk hard-core guitar. This album is awesome if you like heavier stuff and is one of my favorite. It isn't a big seller because of the wussed out songs that the mainstream liked of them and the expectation of that is the way they roll. Speaking of expectations. I saw them live when they first came out on the Floored tour. All these non-metal and non-mosh pitters were expecting the happy band that most of Floored shows. I thought it was funny when they opened the concert with "Mic Stealer" from this album and they all backed up and had looks of confusion on their faces. I think after their initial shock they realized that this is the good Sugar Ray and rocked out. Get this album! Most every song will make your head bob.

This CD is incredible! I love the hard core, heavy metal guitar riffs in "10 Seconds Down", "Mean Machine", "Rhyme Stealer", "The Greatest", and "Streaker". I also love "Scuzz Boots", a weird title for a love song and "Hold Your Eyes".

Their 2nd one, 'Floored', is great too. They improved on the lyrics ("Anyone" is inspirational, even through Mark's screaming) and on their tune. I love all the songs on this CD, but not "Fly" cuz I heard this song WAY too much back at 1997. Their cover on "Stand and Deliver" is hilarious.

'14:59' finally shows their transition from heavy metal to alternative (and/or pop). Lyrics are catchy and friendly for all ages, however, they ditched the heavy metal guitar riffs they started with (with an exception for "Falls Apart", "Glory", "Personal Space Invader", "Burning Dog" and "New Direction"). Who knows what we're gonna expect with their 4th album? Then again, what do we expect from Sugar Ray?

Sugar Ray could have been the next Faith No More or Red Hot Chili Peppers, but they chose to take the pop path. This album demonstrates the fact that Sugar Ray actually was a funk metal band and deserve commercial success. Not the commercial success like "Fly," "Someday," or "Every Morning," mind you. I'm talking the Korn kind. They were so amazing back before 14:59. This CD has some awesome points, some funny points, and some insanely stupid parts. The best songs are "10 Seconds", "The Greatest," and "Mean Machine." I really hate "Dance Party U.S.A.," though. It was kind of refreshing to find out that Sugar Ray had some talent in the first place. Other bands I'd recommend are 311, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, and 24-7 Spyz. Maybe sometime in the distant future, Sugar Ray will become what they left behind: Heavy. I'm praying, are you?

Becoming a Sugar Ray fan with when "14:59" came out, I decided to get "Floored" and "Lemonade and Brownies". Boy, was this not what I was expecting. This was out and out, bad @$$ rock.

It listened to it a few times, and it just isn't my cup of tea for everyday listening. However, when I've had a bad day or am doing some heavy duty cleaning, I pop this album in.

With the exception of "10 seconds down", I haven't really heard any of the other songs but just looking at that girl makes me wanna run out and buy this thing! YUMMY!

I have always loved this band, "Fly was the song that got me into them, but when i bought this with "floored" I was so happy that everything else was pretty much hard rock. When 14:59 came out, I was happy with it, but i still missed the hard rock/metal outfit. I miss this band, because they havent put out a strong album since S/T 5 years ago. Bottom Line, Buy it. And why is everyone so surprised about this, I knew it from the beginning, thats why i loved this band! so buy it and check out what used to be...