It's So Easy to love- breezy summer fun. (In The Pursuit Of Leisure - Sugar Ray)

Member Name: CaffienatedYak

Product:	In The Pursuit Of Leisure - Sugar Ray
Date:	10/08/03 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Breezy, refreshing summer tracks, Heaven lives up to its name

Disadvantages: God-awful interlude, Almost god-awful cover, track 11 is also god-awful, Similar-sounding tracks.

From the get-go, I never cared much for Sugar Ray, judging by my early days of sitting in a dazed stupor before a T.V. screen and switching back-and-forth between VH1 and MTV and dismissing songs as ?crappy? if I didn?t care much for the video. This unfortunate fate befell Every Morning, in which the scary neck-brace-girl caused me to flip back to VH1 and see Chris Isaak having sex on the beach while some random girl flounced around, boobs akimbo.

Things eventually changed, though, as they always do - fueled by a combination of addictive singles (Someday, Answer The Phone, etc) and my wanting to have sex with McGrath and become his love slave, I eventually caved and purchased an album of theirs for the first time - In The Pursuit of Leisure. Based on the first single released - Mr.Bartender (It?s So Easy) - I was expecting an edgier, more rocky sound.

Instead, I got hit with a refreshing gust of breezy, summery tracks a la Someday, with a god-awful cover and a god-awful interlude chucked into the mix (And a god-awful rock track). The disc itself didn?t just carry a summery sound - it practically is summer itself, promptly booting out Sheryl Crow?s recent work (C?mon, C?mon) as the best album for the summer.

So kick back and relax in those lawn chairs, slap on that suntan oil, get yourself a piña colada or two, and crank up the volume on those portable radios - it?s time for the track-by-track!

1. Chasin? You Around - The perfect way to start off the album, with a comically-dramatic, grand array of strings leading into an upbeat, sun-drenched track carried by a highly-addictive bit of electric-guitar strumming, steady/thumping drums (makes me wonder if there are any other kind), and a bit of acoustic guitar and trumpet in the middle.

Coupled with a fun, energetic vocal performance from McGrath - as he declares that ?I?ve spent all my time, chasin? you around! It?s that way now, I found out for sure!? - you just know y
ou?re gonna immediately be sucked in and wish you were the person he was chasin? around since everyone wants to be stalked ? err, chased, by him. Or maybe that?s just me.

9/10

2. Is She Really Going Out With Him? - This cover of an old Joe Jackson song I?ve never heard of proves to be pretty decent: Light, happy electric guitar strumming and a little more blaring from it during the opening? before going into a catchy, laid-back bit of bass-plucking and a softly-stuttering drumbeat, with the occasional sharp, blaring guitar riff when McGrath tells us to ?look over there!? in both verses.

The music is catchy. More electric guitar carries through the chorus, and it?s addictive enough? but then again, I?d probably fornicate with an electric guitar if that were possible. Yet, for some reason, I just don?t like the song all that much. Is it because it?s a bit shallow lyrically? ?They say that looks don't count for much - if so, there goes your proof.? I don?t know. Then again, I?m like that sometimes. Hmm. Either way, I just don?t like something about this song.

Or maybe it?s that damn ?look over there!? thing that scared the hell out of me at first. I wept. Or not.

6/10

3. Heaven - We get yet another steady drumbeat (with tambourine included) on the sunniest, breeziest track to grace this album. Ukulele. Piano. Buzzing synths, twangy guitar, a bit of electric swirling about the whole mix. Strong bassline. Upbeat, yet relaxing. Thrown in some girl I?ve never heard of providing some extra vocals (nice extra vocals, at that) and a winner is this. Or something.

McGrath and Esthero (the girl mentioned just before) blend well enough on this track, Esthero?s voice holding a sort of soft, carefree tone. Too bad she?s underused. Shame on you, Mark, die?. Well, maybe not. ?Don?t you know I?m in hea-a-a-ven? My feet never touch the ground.? Well, after you repeat it fifty million times in the damn song, I thi
nk we?re going to soon be very well aware of this, thanks.

Either way, I still like the song. I mean, there?s a ukulele in it, for chrissake.

10/10

An exceptionally stupid interlude (Bring Me The Head Of?) follows, talking about laughter and stuff. People laugh. A lot. There?s an idiot mentioned in there. The audience wonders what the hell the point is, and moves on.

5. Mr. Bartender (It?s So Easy) - The first single from the album seems to follow the formula of other albums: It?s not going to be entirely like this. A heavy-hitting, buzzing electric guitar riff and thumping hip-hop beat carry a tune also laced with a little bit of rock-and--roll, and pop (aided by a bit of jazzy barroom piano in the middle, and trumpets blaring here and there).

With its dance-floor-filler sound and the ever-energetic McGrath (with a bit of rapping in the middle) urging listeners to ?do it like this, do it like that? (kinky), and ?put your drinks on the ground - just get on the floor and lose your mind!? amid calls of ?bartender!? and a bit of vocoder, it certainly does its job. Even if you?re drunk. (Well, at least then you?ll really be on the floor. Maybe that?s why he wants the drinks on the ground?)

10/10

6. Can?t Start - Summer day becomes summer night (at least, I think this song sounds more fitting for nights) with yet more electric guitar strumming over yet another stuttering hip-hop beat and a strong bass-line, and yet more acoustic strumming, carrying a slightly breezier, upbeat feel than previous track. The only thing that bugs me is that throughout most of the song, the same sound carries, almost unchanging? and it starts to get a bit grating after a while.

Oh well, I?ll deal with it. Coupled with yet another great vocal performance from Mark (especially a series of staccato ?dah-dah-dah?s around the middle), the music is still addictive enough to warrant a listen or two? as long as you don?t
hear it more than three times in a row, then you?ll ram your head through the monitor and scream at it to stop. Or maybe that?s just me again.

[Insert obligatory lyrical snippet here]: ?And God I can't stop lovin' you! (I can't start lovin' you baby) No one got me over you. (I can't start missin' ya baby)? Joy.

8/10

7. Photograph Of You - Another addictive, casual bit of electric guitar strumming, yet another thumping, stuttering drumbeat, some more acoustic and strings (yes, strings - including a nice bit of violin in the chorus), and a bit of light piano sprinkled here-and-there. You know the drill, and when you wrap all of this together, you get another ?cruise-around-at-night-with-the-windows-down? song.

We get Nostalgic!Mark here? and I just realized that on almost the whole damn album, he sings the same: Energetic/brooding, great vocal performance either way. No over/under-singing. Not much to write on the vocals, then. Bite me, Mark. In any event, Nostalgic!Markponders, thinking about an ex, ?Where are ya goin'? I never heard you say goodbye. I know it's showing? - you tried your hardest not to cry,? and ?I wonder what he'd said, how he got inside your head, as I watch you walk away way up, way up, way up.?

Well, now we know where she?s going, at least: ?Way up, way up, way up!? Maybe he?s talking about Shania Twain.

9/10

8. 56 Hope Road - A darker, more hip-hop-infused tone fills a track carried by electric-organ, a simple, strumming bit of acoustic guitar, a bassline that pounds like? never mind. And my darling synthophones make their glorious return. Hallelujah, indeed. Get in some piano here and there. Heavy-hitting drums. Stay in-between mid-tempo and vaguely upbeat to top things off. Bam, there we go.

But that?s not all 56 Hope Road (what the hell does that have to do with the song?) has up its odd, catchy sleeve. Oft-incomprehensible rapp
er Shaggy pitches in for some oft-incomprehensible contributions, and a bit of irritating yelping at the beginning. (He also adds in the obligatory name-dropping since we forgot, in the last few minutes, who was on this song... And album). ?There's a place without commotion, down by the sea? inside this ocean. Deep inside a dream, a universe of notion? trying to be free, sent into motion.?

Yeah, I have no idea what the hell he?s talking about, either. Either way, it?s strangely catchy. Maybe it?s because I kind of like Shaggy, despite not knowing what he?s trying to tell us half the time. That must be it.

8/10

9. Whatever We Are - Don?t let the somber violin-and-cello intro fool you: This song - if you don?t look surprised, I?ll smack you - is more of the lighthearted, upbeat fare we?ve come to expect. The tropical/island sound?s been prevalent throughout the album so far, but it?s not until this track that it?s signed, sealed, and delivered with the introduction of steel drums, the usual light acoustics, steady mid-tempo (regular) drums, and what sounds like a flute introduced into the background.

Yes, Virginia, there are strings and electric guitar. And more violin, too. Stop bothering me and go away.

Sounds a bit more like Mark?s doing some shouting, and slips into a falsetto (!!!) briefly, singing ?Whoa, pretty baby? whoa, pretty baby? whoa, pretty baby, you?re the one!? Layered vocals? We have those, too, resulting in a neat little effect on the chorus? which is basically the title repeated a lot. Thrilling.

I?d say something about the line ?it gets so hard sometimes with you,? but I?d rather not scar you all for life yet.

10/10

10. She?s Different - Spacey, beep-beep sounds start us off. I?m going to scream if I have to say the usual one more time. Thumping, steady, upbeat drums. Bass that, while it couldn?t crack the walls and ceiling, could cause enough sleep deprivation at n
ight if you?re one of those sadistic snots who drives around at 2 AM with the windows down and bass cranked all the way up.

But I digress. A little sprinkling of piano. The usual suspects (very, very minimal electric guitar, prominent acoustics) appear here as well. There?s some kind of pattern to this, I bet.

?Sing for me, sing for me, show me the way. Sing for me, sing for me, 'cause you're going away - and if you're going away, I just don't know what to say. Your time was wasted. All you had to do was stay?? Coupled with this (the ?stay? getting a nice little bit of vocal layering. Hooray for vocal layers) and a few staccato sections (?Tear drops. They fall. Out of. The sky.?) all eventually being played over each other, it ends up being an interesting song in both aspects.

Now again I wonder? what in the hell is Mark supposed to be singing about? Maybe I need a cheat sheet or something.

8/10

11. In Through The Doggie Door - Somebody hates me. What else could explain this, ahem, disasterpiece of a track? A roaring, irritating bit of electric blares throughout the whole song. Backing it up is? more electric guitar! Oh boy! Oh yeah, and there?s drums in there too. Whoop-dee-frickin-doo. Things are still kept upbeat. Raise your hand if you?re surprised. I didn?t think so. Oh, wait, the sound changes? briefly. Wait, it?s just more acoustic guitar? chucked in there just to break up the monotony. I?d rather have had the monotony.

And by the way, Mark, if you scream one more time in this song, I?m going to kill you despite my sexual urges. Yes, folks, he screams. He screams through the chorus: ?Well, I feel so complicated? and our love is kinda jaded! Well, I'm coming through the doggie door again!? (Ew? wait, never mind) and at the end of the song? which is basically a ?WAORCFSRJNGROVTGR~!!!? thing. Even the (sometimes-overused) lyrical concept of coming home drunk after cheating on your lo
ver doesn?t make this song interesting.

Just end it all now.

4/10

12. Blues From A Gun - What?s this? A little bit of a darker, more serious (yet still up tempo) song from the album? Let?s see?plucky bass carrying through. Stuttering drums. Acoustics and electric both being strummed. Strings in the background. But as said before, it has something of a darker feel to it. Hmm? well, it?s a nice change of pace.

As with a few of the songs on the album, I don?t know much about what McGrath?s trying to sing. Then again, I?m too lazy to delve into the lyrics: ?Blues from a gun - I'm not the only one. I've been fooled, you got me on the run. I've tried hard, everything?s been done - I've been fooled by blues from a gun!? I hate when I get fooled by blues from a gun. In any case, the album finally ends, and on a solid (if not confusing) note. Yay.

9/10

The problem with songs that are basically the same instruments used again and again in different ways, with similar sounds, is that it?s hard to do them justice when writing about them. Such is the case with In The Pursuit of Leisure, filled to the brim with light summer fun. Sure the songs all sound pretty similar, but why let that bother you when they?re catchy as hell?

Something you?d most likely listen to while laying on a towel on the beach, sipping lemonade and getting your ass burned to a crisp by Mr. Sun. Something for just sitting outside on a pleasant summer?s day, watching the world go by. Pop and rock meld almost-flawlessly with island influences, offering something that?ll help you beat the heat. You want something to keep you relaxed and refreshed? Then pursue this Pursuit.

Summary: