SUGARLOAF

This is SUGARLOAF's second album released in 1971. The big change is the addition of vocalist and guitarist Bob Yeazel and this was a significant move as he composed almost everything on this album. The debut certainly had it's share of cover songs so i'm sure he was brought in to create some original material. There's a completely different vibe to this record compared to the debut where we got a lot of jamming. Shorter tracks here with almost a countryish / West coast thing happening.

"Spaceship Earth" is one of the better tracks and it doesn't kick into a groove until before 2 1/2 minutes. I like this a lot. A real CAMEL vibe on this opening instrumental at times. "Rusty Cloud" is an uptempo vocal track. There's a definite enviromental flavour to the lyrics throughout this album. Cool tune. "I Don't Need You Baby" is where they slow it down and it has a bluesy feel to it. Vocals before 1 1/2 minutes. Harmonies too with piano and drums standing out. "Rollin' Hills" has harmonica and country vibe to it as he sings about those rollin' hills, sunshine and his friends the trees.

"Mother Nature's Wine" opens with keyboards that remind me of "Green-Eyed Lady". Again the earth is the subject matter. Good song. "Country Dawg" opens with guitar but soon the vocals and organ join in. Not a fan of this one. "Woman" isn't much better to be honest. "Music Box" is a short 2 1/2 minute track with the music box playing and reserved vocals. Three very average tunes in a row. "Tongue In Cheek" ends the album and this is much better. In fact this was a hit for them back then although I don't recognize it. The bonus track I do remember called "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You". In fact I think I had this on a K-Tel record when I was like 14 years old (haha). A rant against record companies really but very dynamic and this is from their 1975 album of the same name.

It's interesting reading leader Jerry Corbetta's thoughts about their experience. He talks about how "Green-Eyed Lady" from their debut became an unexpected hit settling in at number 3 in the Billboard charts. They were an overnight success and they were thrust into touring opening for JETHRO TULL and many looked at them as bubblegum because of their lone hit. He says it was like the cart ahead of the horse scenerio. By the way they named themselves after the Sugarloaf mountain range in Colorado. I will always treasure "Green-Eyed Lady".

SUGARLOAF are from Colorado in the USA and are pretty much known as a one-hit-wonder because of the opening track "Green-Eyed Lady". This is their debut from 1970 and it's very much hit and miss for me and mostly the latter. I give it 3 stars though because of that opening song which has been a favourite of mine as long as I can remember. And really there's nothing on this album that sounds even close to "Green-Eyed Lady", it's like we get a different band for the rest of the album.

"Green-Eyed Lady" is an absolutely incredible track where i'm blown away by the drumming and bass work. Ditto for the organ play of band leader Jerry Corbetta who is also the singer. Such a proggy track and it has special meaning since i've been hanging out with a beautiful green-eyed lady for many years. Nice organ solo before 3 1/2 minutes then the guitar comes to the fore tastefully. It's awesome to have the almost 7 minute album version of this track because I never want it to end. "The Train Kept-A-Rollin" is a short instrumental cover of THE YARDBIRDS track. Yeah it's okay. "Medley : Bach Doors Man / Chest Fever" opens with an organ solo of that Bach tune reminding me of ELP before blending into another instrumental cover of THE BAND's "Chest Fever". Again this is all okay but does little for me.

"West Of Tomorrow" is a return of the vocals for the first time since the opening song. The organ is again prominant including a solo. It's a little dated but not bad. "Gold And The Blues" is pure blues with the organ, drums and guitar standing out. It's an instrumental and pretty good if your into the blues. I especially like the guitar. "Things Gonna Change Some" is my second favourite track. It's a vocal tune that has some tempo changes. A feel good song for me. I like the instrumental section in the middle where the guitar comes to the fore.

A good album I suppose but yeah one-hit-wonders is a deserved title for this band unfortunately.

We all know this Denver-based band for the 1970 hit "Green-Eyed Lady", which you can find the full version on their 1970 debut. Shortly after their debut the group brought in Bobby Yeazel, which helped the band focus entirely on originals this time (the debut had some originals, but a bunch of covers too). Also the songs are shorter. I actually find this album better than their debut, because they went for tighter compositions and not so much stuff that meanders. This album is really all over the place musically, but surprisingly well focused for a band pulling something like that off. The title track is a great prog number, while "Hot Water" is a heavy number, with some great organ playing. "Rusty Cloud" has a bit of a Southern Rock feel. "Rollin' Hills" is no doubt the work of an American band, with that folk/country/blues feel. "Mother Nature's Wine" was an attempt at another "Green Eyed Lady", complete with that same Hammond organ playing and clavinet, but as you know, it was never a hit. "Woman" features some great vocal harmonies. "Music Box" is basically a song about a person in love with the music box dancer, and the music imitates a music box, with the celeste, and the way the music slows down at the end like the music box slowing down after it was wound up. "Tongue in Cheek" is a rather heavy number. To me I found the album rather enjoyable, but for many progheads, I have to warn you: not everything here is prog, and the music is often very American, the vocals sound very American, because they were American (unlike, say Cathedral with Stained Glass Stories who went out of their way to sound like a British band, same for Starcastle or Fireballet). But I was surprised to enjoy the album as much as I do given the diverse styles explored here. Certainly the album didn't spawn a hit like "Green-Eyed Lady", but that didn't matter to me as this was quite good.