Lemonade and Brownies

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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[3]
Los Angeles Times[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

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.

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

Musical style[edit]

AllMusic describe the album as being "sub-Chili Peppers shuck-and-jive."[8] 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."[9] In 1999, Corey Moss of the Iowa State Daily compared their early sound on this album to Faith No More.[10] 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."[11]

In a 2015 interview, singer Mark McGrath reflected that it was a "pre nu-metal type rap/rock thing." He added, "yes, people look back on it as a 'metal record'. But if you listen to that record, there are [also] R&B songs, soul, I'm singing falsetto on a song. If you hear the record you're hearing a band in its cocoon stage, going 'who are we?' [...] We were kind of a jokey metal/rock/punk/funk/thrash."[12]

Commercial performance[edit]

Even though the album experienced some minor success in Europe, it did not chart in the United States and was considered a commercial and critical failure for Atlantic Records. The band still stayed on the label, and would go on to experience huge success in the summer of 1997, after the release of their reggae/pop-influenced single "Fly". As a result of their newfound success, sales for Lemonade and Brownies eventually rose to 100,000.[12]

Reception[edit]

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."[3] 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."[6] 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."[6] Kirk Miller of The Michigan Daily wrote in September 1995 that "Sugar Ray is the same feeling as having the munchies at 3 a.m. and running out to Denny's." He adds that the album is "a big ooey-gooey-chocolatey binge of phat punk-funk metal. Oh and the singer looks like Brad Pitt. Yum?".[13]

In August 1995, CMJ New Music Monthly wrote that the album "jumps hyperactively between rap, hardcore, arena rock and funk with a lot more skill and strength than you might expect (although, like so many white boys, they sound like they're trying a bit too hard to be funk-ay)". The publication further stated that, "The Beastie Boys (there's even a "Cookie Puss"-style prank phone call), Bad Brains and Van Halen loom large here. Although its Beasties/Peppers personality sometimes overpowers the music, Sugar Ray manages to pull it off throughout most of this LP."[14] In April 1995, David Beran of the Gavin Report similarly wrote, "dangling their feet in the streams of hard rock and funk, Sugar Ray manage to do what the Beasties and Chilis have done."[15]

Legacy[edit]

In 1999, David Jenison of In Music We Trust reflected that with Lemonade and Brownies, "Sugar Ray only had three things going for them: 1) a good looking singer, 2) punk rock influences, and 3) being from Orange County, home to bands like No Doubt and the Offspring. But Sugar Ray also had a big problem — they didn't have any real songs."[16] "In 2021, Louder Sound had a positive view of the album compared to their later pop-influenced material, writing that "[Lemonade and Brownies] and its 1997 follow-up Floored are actually worth investing a little bit of your time to", adding that "we get why they 'sold out', but damn, we could have done with more of this before they went for the big pay day."[17] In 2020, Italian music publication Impatto Sonoro stated that, "despite its undoubted inconsistency, Lemonade and Brownies somehow manages to blend rudeness and chic in a balanced way. It's the perfect emblem of guilty pleasure applied to 90s alternative metal." They add that "Hold Your Eyes", "Scuzz Boots" and "Danzig Needs a Hug" are tracks that "would have worked wonders in a hypothetical American Pie directed by Quentin Tarantino."[1]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by McGrath, Sheppard, Karges, Frazier & McG[18]

  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
  2. "White Minority" (Black Flag cover) – 1:03
  3. "Wasted" – 0:49
  4. "Wango Tango" (Ted Nugent cover) – 3:56
  5. "Dr. J" (Live) – 3:11

Personnel[edit]

Sugar Ray[edit]

  • 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[edit]

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

Production[edit]

  • 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[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Appleford, Steve (July 21, 2009). "Mark McGrath on the Ugly Truth About Sugar Ray (And Why Their New Album Still Rocks)".
  2. ^ "Original Album Series - Sugar Ray - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Lemonade and Brownies – Sugar Ray". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  4. ^ "Top 10 Sell-Out Songs: You Can Actually Hear Artistic Integrity Disintergrate". Phoenix New Times. (26 October 2010)
  5. ^ "Woman Hires SUGAR RAY's Mark McGrath to Break up with Her Boyfriend via Cameo". November 25, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Boehm, Mike (June 2, 1995). "Album Review: Sugar Ray--Witless Juvenilia With a Beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Sugar Ray - Music for Cougars Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  9. ^ Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Touchstone. 2001. p. 956. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  10. ^ Moss, Corey. "Sugar Ray and cohorts bring pop rock to Fair".
  11. ^ Louise Golden, Anna (2000). Sugar Ray. St. Martin's Publishing Group. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Garro, Adrian (June 5, 2015). "Embracing Nostalgia with Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray (Interview)".
  13. ^ "The Michigan Daily". The Michigan Daily – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Inc, CMJ Network (August 30, 1995). "CMJ New Music Monthly". CMJ Network, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/95/Gavin-1995-04-28.pdf
  16. ^ "In Music We Trust - Sugar Ray: Fifteen Minutes Never Took So Long". www.inmusicwetrust.com.
  17. ^ Hillpublished, Stephen (August 9, 2021). "The 10 best songs by the 10 worst rap metal bands". louder.
  18. ^ Warner Chappell Music. "Sugar Ray Music". Warner Chappell Music. Retrieved August 24, 2020.


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