Sugar (Leon Redbone album)

Sugar is an album by the musician Leon Redbone, released in 1990.[2][3] Redbone supported the album with a North American tour.[4] A video was shot for "So, Relax".[5]

Sugar
Studio album by
Released1990
LabelPrivate Music[1]
ProducerBeryl Handler, Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone chronology
Christmas Island
(1988)
Sugar
(1990)
Live!
(1991)

Production

Redbone used ribbon microphones during the recording sessions.[6] Ken Peplowski played saxophone and clarinet.[7] Cindy Cashdollar contributed on dobro; Dan Barrett on trombone.[8][9] "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.[10][11][12] Redbone's guitar playing was influenced by Blind Blake.[13] "Pretty Baby" is a version of the Tony Jackson song.[14]

Redbone wrote three of the album's songs.[15] He included "The Whistling Colonel" after a movie studio instead chose to use one of his older songs on a soundtrack.[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Calgary HeraldC[17]
Chicago Tribune[18]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[19]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide[1]

The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "another quaint and charming set shaped by the minstrel tunes, blues and jazz of the early 1900s."[6] The Calgary Herald recommended the album "for those who like their aural history lessons arch."[17] 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."[7]

The Gazette concluded that "if a Bugs Bunny cartoon could sing, Leon Redbone's voice would bubble out of its technicolor throat."[20] The Washington Post noted the absence of "the kind of nimble fingerstyle guitar arrangements Redbone previously devised to revive songs."[10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Ghost of the St. Louis Blues" 
2."Roll Along Kentucky Moon" 
3."Right or Wrong" 
4."Laughin' Blues" 
5."Breeze" 
6."The Whistling Colonel" 
7."Sugar" 
8."Pretty Baby" 
9."When I Take My Sugar to Tea" 
10."What You Want Me to Do" 
11."Messin' Around" 
12."So, Relax" 
13."14th Street Blues" 

References

  1. MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 656.
  2. Myers, Caren (Apr 7, 1990). "Albums—Leon Redbone: Sugar". Melody Maker. 66 (14): 38.
  3. Cook, Richard (Feb 23, 1990). "Track Record". Punch. 298 (7778): 38.
  4. "This Week in the Arts". The Columbus Dispatch. April 15, 1990. p. 3F.
  5. Lookatch, Tedd (April 25, 1990). "Only in Madison Has Redbone's Road Turned Rocky". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 1C.
  6. Heim, Chris (16 Mar 1990). "Leon Redbone's albums have always...". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. S.
  7. Levesque, Roger (22 Apr 1990). "Sugar Leon Redbone". Edmonton Journal. p. G5.
  8. "Sugar Review by Lindsay Planer". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  9. Protzman, Bob (June 21, 1990). "Reviews". Times Union. Albany. Knight Ridder.
  10. Joyce, Mike (18 May 1990). "Nostalgic Redbone Puts Spin on 'Sugar'". The Washington Post. p. N25.
  11. Jarvey, Paul (29 July 1990). "Leon Redbone just loves to entertain". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 8.
  12. Penner, John (19 June 1990). "Leon Redbone Arrives Here with a New Gripe Personality". Los Angeles Times. p. F2.
  13. Anderson, Dale (April 17, 1990). "Redbone's Living Past". The Buffalo News. p. C1.
  14. Eichenberger, Bill (April 19, 1990). "Redbone Digs Up Some Peachy American Tunes". Weekender. The Columbus Dispatch. p. 6.
  15. Emerson, Bo (May 25, 1990). "Redbone Keeps Singing in Time Zone of His Own". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D4.
  16. Campbell, Mary (1 Dec 1990). "Old bluesman Redbone offers Christmas album". Vancouver Sun. p. H11.
  17. Tremblay, Mark (5 Apr 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. H3.
  18. Heim, Chris (26 July 1990). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  19. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 813.
  20. Lepage, Mark (5 May 1990). "Leon Redbone Sugar". The Gazette. p. H2.
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