Yeah, It's That Easy [ENHANCED]

G. Love & Special Sauce

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 1997)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002BPC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,990 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Stepping Stones

2. I-76

3. Lay Down the Law

4. Slipped Away (The Ballard of Lauretha Vaird)

5. You Shall See

6. Take You There

7. Willow Tree

8. Yeah, It's That Easy

9. Recipe

10. 200 Years

11. Making Amends

12. Pull the Wool

13. When We Meet Again

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Love & Special Sauce released their debut album in 1994, the same year Beck made his major-label debut with a similar blend of folk-blues roots and slacker-rap. Though he has never quite matched Beck's aesthetic or commercial success, Love continues to tinker with the formula in interesting ways and has come up with his best album yet in 1997's Yeah, It's That Easy. Like Beck, Love is at his best when he allows pop pleasures to shine through the montage of archival roots and hip-hop experiments. This album, for example, kicks off with "Stepping Stone," which, for all its blues motifs and street-wise beats, is at its best when it reaches its irresistible, sing-along chorus.

Yeah, It's That Easy is an unusual hip-hop album in that it includes a powerful pro-police, anti-gangster number, but it also takes time to make fun of Larry Bird. The latter insult comes on "I-76," a funny, funky number about Love's boyhood hoops team, the Philadelphia 76ers. Less persuasive are the mumbling, monotonous rap numbers such as the title track, but when Love pulls together hip-hop beats, blues guitar licks, and pop hooks, as he does on "Lay Down the Law," an elegy for a street-life victim, he finally lives up to all the great claims made for him at his debut. --Geoffrey Himes

Product Description

Includes 1 Bonus Track: 'Cookin With G Love'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They've got the recipe, May 24, 2003

By	A. Bubul (PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Philly born and bred, G. Love (Garret Dutton) and Special Sauce pour out all their emotion and talent into an enticing amalgam of hip-hop, blues, folk, and funk. The band's talent shines forth the brightest on this cd, their third effort. Here's a brief overview of the tracks:

1. Stepping Stones - 5 stars - The hook "you keep using me just like a stepping stone" will be stuck in your head for weeks.

2. I-76 - 4 1/2 stars - This one is a funky tune about hoops, particularly G's team, the 76ers.

3. Lay Down the Law - 5 stars - The surprisingly simple and beautiful prelude to the bulk of this track is exquisite.

4. Slipped Away - 2 1/2 stars - A dark tune about someone deceased in G's family, possibly his mother. Too dreary for me, doesn't fit well with the rest of the tracks on here.

5. You Shall See - 3 stars - Nothing really special on this one, just an average track.

6. Take You There - 5 stars - Awesome, laid-back summer tune with a sweet cowbell.

7. Willow Tree - 5 stars - Another great song for lounging in the sun, good stuff.

8. Yeah, It's That Easy - 4 stars - Nice piano backed up by G's sweet rhymes.

9. Recipe - 5 stars - Very funky and soulful, great track

10. 200 Years - 3 stars - A little bit dull, not bad though.

11. Making Amends - 3 1/2 stars - Fun and upbeat number.

12. Pull the Wool - 10 stars - Absolutely amazing. This song is one of the most beautiful tracks I've ever heard. 9 minutes and 26 seconds of sheer bliss.

13. When We Meet Again - 4 stars - G's standard acoustic, folky last number.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 words:Slackn' Groove, November 20, 2001

By	eightpointagenda "Sean" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

I picked this up after a friend told me I should get it since I thought that Philadolphonic was a bit disapointing(with the exception of Numbers, which is a great song). Figuring I wasn't getting anything "special" I plopped down the money and bought the CD. Low and behold, it is now one of the most charished CDs I own.

The first thing I love about this CD is the vibe! The whole CD reflects a very relaxed and laid back band. While the music isn't quite as tight as some bands because of this, the sloppy blues, groove, hip-hop all works so well together. Another thing that helps that is melody and harmony. The band's ability to play of each other shows up in every song. The background vocals excentuate Garret's deep, low voice. The end result are songs with more soul than most pop-soul acts these days. The drums keep the pace moving. The harmonica adds a nice touch to the band's laid back blues sound. The up-right bass is also just right.

Everthing about this album just feels so right. I never though any band could create a CD that actually discribes my attitude in life, G. Love and Special Sauce have managed to do it. The slackn' grooves are just what need when I need something to sit back and relax to(sorry but it's hard to do that to the new Sevendust album). If I have one complaint about this CD is that it drags in some places. Pull the Wool could have been 3 minutes shorter and still have the same effect. Otherwise this is the perfect CD to grab cooler full of some good beverages and kick the feet up and feel the music. Great stuff.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome CD!!, January 23, 1999

By A Customer

I just bought this cd a few days ago, and I think I've listened to it at least ten times! The best song is I-76, but all the songs are worth listening to. G. Love definitely deserves more recognition than he gets, because he is way better than most of the singers on the radio at the present!