14:59

In 1997, Sugar Ray released their second album, Floored. Late in the recording sessions, the band recorded a much poppier track, the reggae song "Fly". The track became a surprise hit. The track's massive success inspired the band to further pursue the sound on their following album, 14:59.[4] McGrath admitted "Fly" was "the blueprint now for experimentation".[5]

The album's sound has elements of alternative rock[6] and pop rock.[7] "Aim for Me" is a punk rock track in the vein of Green Day and "Falls Apart" and "Personal Space Invader" take influence from The Police's Synchronicity and Men Without Hats,[8] while "Burning Dog" has a skate punk sound similar to The Offspring and "Live & Direct" features vocals from KRS-One.[9] In addition, "Every Morning" (that has been called an acoustic pop number[8]), "Someday" and "Ode to the Lonely Hearted" are reminiscent of previous hit single "Fly".[9] The album also features two comedic songs titled "New Direction", the former being death metal and the latter a circus music instrumental.[8]

Despite displaying a more accessible sound than previous albums, guitarist Rodney Sheppard noted that the band still had the same lighthearted approach to music as before, saying: "we're not begging to be taken seriously. We'd feel stupid. We've been doing interviews for years saying we don't take ourselves seriously. It would be lame for us to say, 'Now we are'. We're still pranksters, just the lyrical content is more serious."[10]

The song "Glory" was used in the film American Pie, and featured on the soundtrack album.[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[9]
The Guardian	[12]
The Independent	[13]
Los Angeles Times	[14]
NME	[15]
Q	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[18]
Spin	5/10[19]

The album was generally well received by critics. Paul Pearson of AllMusic wrote, "Their third album showed an alarming overhaul in their approach...from their metal shellac toward a calmer, melodious pastiche of songs. and concluded that 14:59 has such catchiness and charm that it's a guilty pleasure of high order, and a bigger step than one might have expected from Sugar Ray."[8] NME's referred to the album as a "hellishly difficult record to hate...Not that this is especially inspired stuff, but, if you wanted a soundtrack for the kind of sun-kissed pool-party the sleeve depicts, 14:59 is maybe as good as you could get today."[15] Rolling Stone praised the album for its diversity and for not sticking too closely to the sound of "Fly" stating that the band instead "...go[es] off the deep end with gorgeous psychedelic guitar hooks and drum loops, and Mark McGrath's wise-guy futon talk... everything they play is shaped by the cut-and-paste aesthetic of the sampler."[17] Robert Christgau picked out the album's song, "Every Morning", as a choice cut.[20]

David Browne of Entertainment Weekly was less positive and stated: "It's genuinely hard to hate Sugar Ray; [...] Still, listening to '14:59' is a somewhat sad, depressing experience. [...] The album is the sound of a band resigned to the possibility that they may be one-hit wunderkinds and that the 2 million fans who bought their last album may have moved on to Barenaked Ladies."[9]

Sugar Ray sold a different version of the 14:59 album to audiences that attended their live tour. This album included 5 tracks[21] not found on the retail version. These tracks are:

• The hit "Fly" from their previous Floored album
• The original demo recording of "Aim for Me"
• A live acoustic version of "Every Morning"
• The radio edit of "Falls Apart"
• "Rivers", a song written in the style of and in tribute to Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo

• Mark McGrath – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Rodney Sheppard – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Murphy Karges – bass, guitar, backing vocals
• Stan Frazier – drums, percussion, guitar, programming, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on Someday
• Craig "DJ Homicide" Bullock – turntables, samples, programming, keyboards, backing vocals
• Timothy S. Wright - Guitars,Backline