Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Sugar Ray CD ever...just in time for the summer!, June 25, 2001
Ever since I bought this CD the day it came out I've been listening to it non-stop! I was so glad to hear bassist Murphy Karges say that this CD was the best representation of the band, because it's my favorite. The band carries on their reggae tunes but have also included sounds of ska and punk. Track listings:1. Answer The Phone- simple song with killer guitar riffs; great for blasting the volume and jamming. 2. When It's Over- favorite single of many; great song for fans of their other hits like "Someday," "Every Morning," and "Fly." 3. Under The Sun- remembering the good times, it's the band's tribute to 80's groups like Run DMC, Culture Club, The Clash, and Men Without Hats; great riff from Murph's bro. 4. Satellites- classic rock song with incredible beats from Stan on the drums and Rod on the electric guitar; make sure to catch the clip after the song. 5. Waiting- great guitar riffs (again!) especially at beginning and end; nice love song about waiting to get the girl. 6. Ours- slower song about a manege-a-trios; comic story line. 7. Sorry Now- awesome guitar riffs; upbeat song that you'll want to listen to full blast. 8. Stay On- amusing duet of Mark McGrath and 311's Nick Hexum; sounds of ska influences. 9. Words To Me- fun summer song with a great beat that encourages you to "Get Up!" and have a good time; cool sounds from DJ Homicide. 10. Just A Little- nice song with great guitar riffs; far from what you'd expect from the band because of it's country(!) sound. 11. Disasterpiece- awesome 80's sounding rock song with great guitar riffs; complete with shouts of "oohahoo!" and a harmonica, not surprising since the band wrote the song after they were on tour with the Goo Goo Dolls. This is a great CD that will never bore you because all of the songs are completely different. And it's also probably the only CD that I've bought that I love to listen to all the way through. If you're like me, you'll never want to stop listening to it. It is definitely worth the money! YOU GUYS ROCK!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Listen, June 15, 2001
To call these guys "frat boy rockers" and their latest album "dumb fun" would be too harsh. Both are more than that. Their music is more like a guilty pleasure to most of us. We don't want to admit it, but if you put us under the interogation lamp long enough, we'll admit to singing along to them in the car when their latest hit comes on the radio.Sugar Ray's fourth, self-titled studio release is fun. In a society where all of our television, music, and movies are tending to become more and more meaningless, it's nice to see some guys putting out an album that it sounds like them enjoyed making. Too much of our "popular" music is either far too angry or far too dark right now, so that's why this album is so appealing. "Sugar Ray" is fun, catchy, and speaks of many things that we can all relate to. "Answer The Phone" sounds heavily influenced by Third Eye Blind, second track is radio-friendly "When It's Over," "Under The Sun" has some very cool guitar work, "Just A Little" was stuck in my head all day yesterday, and album closer "Disasterpiece" almost gets into the area of a Rolling Stones song. Heck, I'll admit that I listen to this album and enjoy it. And you didn't even have to put me under the interogation lamp to get it.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fourth outing finds "Fly" boys growing up, June 12, 2001
Radio listeners got their first spoonful of Sugar Ray with the irresistible, reggae-tinged single "Fly" in 1997...unfortunately, most of the two million people who bought the album "Floored" were probably disappointed to discover the commercial pop tones of the song were the exception, while tepid metal/pop was the rule. The band came back stronger in 1999, however, with the energetic and impressive "14:59," offering up unstoppable singles in "Every Morning" and "Someday" alongside a particularly strong lineup of album cuts. Another two-year break between records and one has to wonder, "what does Sugar Ray have left?"A whole hell of a lot, apparently. Sugar Ray continues to fine-tune their skills at writing sunny, catchy pop seemingly created solely for summertime and lead singer Mark McGrath's straightforwardly sexy vocals. This is obvious enough with the first single, "When it's Over," another acoustic-guitar-over-funky-drum-loop outing that will no doubt satisfy fans of the band's previous hits; "all the things that I used to know/are gone out the window" is such a singable hook you may well croon it without intending to. Another hit will no doubt be found in the nostalgiac, hip-hop flavored "Under the Sun," where Mark reminisces about "all the good times that we had on the beach," "making out in the sand," and makes any 80's teenager take a fond look back when he name-drops Run DMC and Culture Club. But even their harder-hitting material is bursting at the seams with catchy riffs, as even the cranked guitars on "Satellites," "Waiting," and "Sorry Now" can't hide the commercial appeal of some carefully-constructed pop tunes. But what really stands out on this self-titled release is the mature songwriting efforts that one might not have expected from the group a few years back. "Just a Little" offers a Beatle-flavored dose of country/pop, "Disasterpiece" utilizes a Rolling Stones influence and yet another killer chorus (not to mention a significantly strong vocal from Mark), and "Stay On" builds on the reggae-pop roots of "Fly" but is just as much about hook and song structure as it is about groove. The album's crowning moment, however (and arguably, the band's overall finest moment to date) comes on the ballad "Ours"; Sugar Ray is completely in their element amidst richly-chorded acoustic guitar, smooth vocal harmonies, and quirky lyrics about a relationship with a two-timing female that was "like a Springer episode." Warning: the "she was your woman but she was my girl" is another hook that sneaks up on your subconscious. Filled with enough commercial appeal to guarantee them plenty of airtime on MTV and enough strong musicianship and writing to lure fans over the age of consent, "Sugar Ray" proves that their hits to date were not flukes but a taste of what is yet to come. Guitar-driven pop doesn't get much more slickly produced, appealingly sung, or repeatedly enjoyable.
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by Sugar Ray 
