Lemonade and Brownies
Studio album by
Sugar Ray
ReleasedApril 4, 1995
Recorded1994–1995
StudioImage Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length43:07
LabelAtlantic
ProducerJoseph McGinty Nichol
Sugar Ray chronology
Lemonade and Brownies
(1995)		 Floored
(1997)
Singles from Lemonade and Brownies
  1. "Mean Machine"
    Released: March 30, 1995
  2. "10 Seconds Down"
    Released: October 7, 1995
  3. "Iron Mic"
    Released: February 29, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Los Angeles Times[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Lemonade and Brownies is the debut studio album by the American rock band Sugar Ray, released on April 4, 1995, by Atlantic Records. It was produced by the band's director friend Joseph McGinty "McG" Nichol and executive produced by DJ Lethal. Actress Nicole Eggert is featured on the cover. Even though the album did not chart and was a commercial and critical failure for Atlantic Records, the band stayed on the label, going on to huge success.

The music video for "Mean Machine" was featured in a Beavis and Butt-Head episode "Bang the Drum Slowly Dumbass".

Musical style

AllMusic describe the album as being "sub-Chili Peppers shuck-and-jive."[7] The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (2001) states that Sugar Ray was initially influenced by "a variety of sounds: Red Hot Chili Peppers-style punk-funk, reggae grooves, metal, hip hop, and a little bit of retro new wave."[8] In her 2000 Sugar Ray biography book, author Anna Louise Golden states that people at the time considered the band's sound to be "putting the funk into music that was perilously close to metal."[9]

Reception

The album received generally mixed to negative reviews upon its release. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album is "a competent set of alternative funk/metal", but noted that "nothing on Lemonade & Brownies is particularly distinctive."[2] In 1995, the Los Angeles Times labelled it "juvenile", and added that "with the album’s cheesecake artwork and infantile, toilet-humor title, it’s clear Sugar Ray is factoring its appeal down to lowest denominators with this debut CD."[5] They further wrote, "what’s most galling about Lemonade and Brownies is how cannily it is put together to seduce young headbangers and hip-hoppers. The album’s chugging metal riffs and shout-along refrains, its rapped sloganeering, its poppy hooks, and its ear-teasing production touches (DJ Lethal of House of Pain gets production credit, along with Sugar Ray’s O.C. homeboy, McG) give it the dumb-fun appeal that’s the essence of frat rock."[5]

Track listing

All songs written by McGrath, Sheppard, Karges, Frazier & McG[10]

  1. "Snug Harbor" – 0:50
  2. "Rhyme Stealer" – 2:51
  3. "Iron Mic" – 4:40
  4. "Hold Your Eyes" – 3:29
  5. "The Greatest" – 3:58
  6. "Big Black Woman" – 1:43
  7. "Mean Machine" – 2:41
  8. "Dance Party USA" – 3:18
  9. "10 Seconds Down" – 3:39
  10. "Danzig Needs a Hug" – 3:07
  11. "Drive By" – 1:58 (comedy skit)
  12. "Caboose" – 3:13
  13. "Scuzzboots" – 3:29
  14. "Streaker" – 4:12
  15. "One Brave Cowboy" – 1:37 (Hidden bonus track plays after 2 minutes of silence)
Japan bonus tracks
  1. "White Minority" (Black Flag cover) – 1:03
  2. "Wasted" – 0:49
  3. "Wango Tango" (Ted Nugent cover) – 3:56
  4. "Dr. J" (Live) – 3:11

Personnel

Sugar Ray

  • Mark McGrath - lead vocals (credited as "Liar")
  • Rodney Sheppard - guitars, backing vocals (credited as "Traitor")
  • Murphy Karges - bass, backing vocals (credited as "Sellout")
  • Stan Frazier - drums, backing vocals (credited as "Cheat")

Additional musicians

  • DJ Lethal - turntables, samples
  • DJ Homicide - additional scratches
  • Janine Harris - additional vocals on "Danzig Needs a Hug"

Production

  • McG - producer
  • DJ Lethal - executive producer
  • Jason Roberts - mixing
  • Ben Wallach - engineer
  • Tom Baker - mastering
  • Barry "Lord" Conley, Steve Gallagher, Mon Agranat, Eric Fischer & John Ewing Jr. - additional engineers
  • Chip Quigley & Lee Heiman - management
  • Dante Ariola & Jay Papke - art direction and design
  • Stephen Stickler & Dante Ariola - cover photography
  • Melanie Nissen - additional photography

References

  1. ↑ "Original Album Series - Sugar Ray - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Lemonade and Brownies – Sugar Ray". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Top 10 Sell-Out Songs: You Can Actually Hear Artistic Integrity Disintergrate". Phoenix New Times. (26 October 2010)
  4. ↑ "Woman Hires SUGAR RAY's Mark McGrath to Break up with Her Boyfriend via Cameo". November 25, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Boehm, Mike (June 2, 1995). "Album Review: Sugar Ray--Witless Juvenilia With a Beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ Harris, Keith (2004). "Sugar Ray". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 791. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ↑ "Sugar Ray - Music for Cougars Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  8. ↑ Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Touchstone. 2001. p. 956. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ Louise Golden, Anna (2000). Sugar Ray. St. Martin's Publishing Group. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  10. ↑ Warner Chappell Music. "Sugar Ray Music". Warner Chappell Music. Retrieved August 24, 2020.


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