The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 939

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Number 939 - Sugar Ray

Number 939

Sugar Ray

"Fly"

(1997)
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Genre:Pop

Way back last decade in '97 (tongue in cheek) a non hairy half nude white hipster named Sugar Ray charmed his way into the charts.
Since then he's made a dollar or two and now owns a shirt.

Sugar Ray's second album, Floored, is a noticeable improvement from Lemonade and Brownies. The group's fusion of metal, funk, reggae, and rap is seamless and confident, partially because Sugar Ray now emphasize the groove, not the guitars. The group still has difficulty writing a consistent batch of songs, but its hooks are stronger than ever, as evidenced by the single "Fly," which features a cameo from Super Cat. Nothing on the album is quite as memorable as "Fly," but the other songs have similarly infectious beats and hooks, which is especially impressive considering that Lemonade and Brownies was devoid of both. ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine]

For more Sugar Ray see MM Vol 1 Number 85

What does Rolling Stone think of Sugar Ray?
That's more than 2.8 million records sold among the three of 'em -- not bad for bands treated by the press as the runts of the '97 breakthrough litter. Matchbox 20 won't like the comparison, but the gray strains of their barroom pop suggest an acrid, alt-rock Hootie and the Blowfish: tightly scripted songs with meaty-guitar choruses and a lead singer/songwriter, Rob Thomas, with country-soul aspirations. But there's too much complaint in Thomas' plaintiveness, and over an entire album his angst makes for, as the song goes, a long day.

Sugar Ray are rock 'n' rap polymaths, assured pros who get it on with radio-friendly effectiveness in every modern-rock genre: Beasties-style grind ("High Anxiety"), metal for your mutha ("RPM"), California-brand dance-hall reggae ("Fly," with toaster Super Cat). "Floored" even comes with the kind of wacky '80s-New Wave cover ("Stand and Deliver," by Adam and the Ants) that makes Morning Zoo DJs turn pink with delight. The cumulative effect of this overreach, though, is that "Floored" feels like an A&R strategy come to life, with all formats and bases covered. ~ [Source:Rolling Stone - 1997]

For Matchbox 20 visit MM Vol 1 #010 & MM Vol 2 #130

For Hootie & Blowfish see Number 559 & MM Vol 1 #135

For Adam & The Ants see Number 763

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Nope, They hated it) and the Album ranked at Number (Nope, didn't know it was out yet)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 53.9 out of 108

Sugar Ray-Fly
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