Sugar (Leon Redbone album)
| Sugar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Studio | Manhattan Recording Company, Soundtrack Studios New York | |||
| Genre | Jazz, blues[1] | |||
| Length | 34:59 | |||
| Label | Private Music[2] | |||
| Producer | Beryl Handler, Leon Redbone | |||
| Leon Redbone chronology | ||||
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Sugar is an album by the musician Leon Redbone, released in 1990.[3][4] Redbone supported the album with a North American tour.[5] A video was shot for "So, Relax".[6]
Production
Redbone used ribbon microphones during the recording sessions.[7] Ken Peplowski played saxophone and clarinet.[8] Cindy Cashdollar contributed on dobro; Dan Barrett on trombone.[9][10] "Right or Wrong" and "Ghost of the St. Louis Blues" are versions of songs made famous by Emmett Miller; Redbone considered Miller to be a chief influence on the album, and thought about writing a book on the musician.[11][12][13] Redbone's guitar playing was influenced by Blind Blake.[14] "Pretty Baby" is a version of the Tony Jackson song.[15]
Redbone wrote three of the album's songs.[16] He included "The Whistling Colonel" after a movie studio instead chose to use one of his older songs on a soundtrack.[17]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Calgary Herald | C[18] |
| Chicago Tribune | [19] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [20] |
| MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide | [2] |
The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "another quaint and charming set shaped by the minstrel tunes, blues and jazz of the early 1900s."[7] The Calgary Herald recommended the album "for those who like their aural history lessons arch."[18] The Edmonton Journal stated that "shades of Django Reinhardt, New Orleans, gutbucket blues, dixie, Broadway and bluegrass sounds are somehow stitched together with loving care."[8]
The Gazette concluded that "if a Bugs Bunny cartoon could sing, Leon Redbone's voice would bubble out of its technicolor throat."[21] The Washington Post noted the absence of "the kind of nimble fingerstyle guitar arrangements Redbone previously devised to revive songs."[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ghost of the St. Louis Blues" | Billy Curtis, John Robinson | 2:55 |
| 2. | "Roll Along Kentucky Moon" | Bill Halley | 3:08 |
| 3. | "Right or Wrong" | Haven Gillespie, Arthur Sizemore | 2:28 |
| 4. | "Laughin' Blues" | Terry Waldo | 2:26 |
| 5. | "Breeze" | Joe Goodwin, James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald | 3:32 |
| 6. | "The Whistling Colonel" | Leon Redbone | 2:46 |
| 7. | "Sugar" | Edna Alexander, Sidney Mitchell, Maceo Pinkard | 2:09 |
| 8. | "Pretty Baby" | Tony Jackson, Gus Kahn, Egbert Van Alstyne | 3:05 |
| 9. | "When I Take My Sugar to Tea" | Pierre Norman Connor, Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal | 2:19 |
| 10. | "What You Want Me to Do" | Dave Nelson, Joseph (King) Oliver | 2:50 |
| 11. | "Messin' Around" | Traditional | 2:27 |
| 12. | "So, Relax" | Beryl Handler, Redbone | 2:28 |
| 13. | "14th Street Blues" | Handler, Redbone | 2:55 |
References
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/master/338497-Leon-Redbone-Sugar
- ^ a b MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 656.
- ^ Myers, Caren (Apr 7, 1990). "Albums—Leon Redbone: Sugar". Melody Maker. Vol. 66, no. 14. p. 38.
- ^ Cook, Richard (Feb 23, 1990). "Track Record". Punch. Vol. 298, no. 7778. p. 38.
- ^ "This Week in the Arts". The Columbus Dispatch. April 15, 1990. p. 3F.
- ^ Lookatch, Tedd (April 25, 1990). "Only in Madison Has Redbone's Road Turned Rocky". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 1C.
- ^ a b Heim, Chris (16 Mar 1990). "Leon Redbone's albums have always...". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. S.
- ^ a b Levesque, Roger (22 Apr 1990). "Sugar Leon Redbone". Edmonton Journal. p. G5.
- ^ a b "Sugar Review by Lindsay Planer". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Protzman, Bob (June 21, 1990). "Reviews". Times Union. Albany. Knight Ridder.
- ^ a b Joyce, Mike (18 May 1990). "Nostalgic Redbone Puts Spin on 'Sugar'". The Washington Post. p. N25.
- ^ Jarvey, Paul (29 July 1990). "Leon Redbone just loves to entertain". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 8.
- ^ Penner, John (19 June 1990). "Leon Redbone Arrives Here with a New Gripe Personality". Los Angeles Times. p. F2.
- ^ Anderson, Dale (April 17, 1990). "Redbone's Living Past". The Buffalo News. p. C1.
- ^ Eichenberger, Bill (April 19, 1990). "Redbone Digs Up Some Peachy American Tunes". Weekender. The Columbus Dispatch. p. 6.
- ^ Emerson, Bo (May 25, 1990). "Redbone Keeps Singing in Time Zone of His Own". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D4.
- ^ Campbell, Mary (1 Dec 1990). "Old bluesman Redbone offers Christmas album". Vancouver Sun. p. H11.
- ^ a b Tremblay, Mark (5 Apr 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. H3.
- ^ Heim, Chris (26 July 1990). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 813.
- ^ Lepage, Mark (5 May 1990). "Leon Redbone Sugar". The Gazette. p. H2.