In the Pursuit of Leisure

Performer: Sugar Ray (Rock)
Artist: Shaggy; Esthero
Engineer: David Kahne; Steve Duda; Rob Brill; Steve Gallagher
Producer: David Kahne; Steve Fox; Stan Frazier
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Sugar Ray: Mark McGrath (vocals); DJ Homicide (DJ); Stan Frazier, Murray Karges, Rodney Sheppard. Sugar Ray: Mark McGrath (vocals, guitar); Stan Frazier (guitar, drums, background vocals); Rodney Sheppard (guitar, background vocals); Murphy Karges (bass); Craig "DJ Homicide" Bullock (turntables, background vocals). Additional personnel: Esthero, ProHoeZak, Shaggy (vocals). Recorded at Henson Studios, Hollywood, California. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel: Mark McGrath (vocals, guitar); Esthero, Shaggy (vocals); Stan Frazier (guitar, drums, background vocals); Rodney Sheppard (guitar, background vocals); DJ Homicide (programming, turntables, background vocals); David Kahne (programming). Audio Mixers: David Kahne; Michael Brauer. Recording information: Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Photographer: Stephen Stickler. Why tamper with success? On IN THE PURSUIT OF LEISURE, Sugar Ray sticks pretty close to the style that's proven so successful for them on their previous albums; a peppy mix of ska, pop, hip-hop production techniques, and an early-'80s new wave sensibility. The latter is borne out most obviously in a lively cover version of Joe Jackson's 1979 breakthrough "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" Sugar Ray's particular mix of influences makes them spiritual kin to No Doubt, and in fact, "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" sounds like a strange cross between Sweet's "Love is Like Oxygen" and the No Doubt hit "Hella Good." While the overall feel of this album will certainly be familiar to fans, Sugar Ray has turned out a fresh batch of tunes that finds them in no real danger of repeating themselves. "Can't Start," with it's amiable folk-guitar-meets-hip-hop-beat feel, is probably the closest thing here to the band's own hit "Every Morning." As long as there are summertime beach parties, barbecues, and the like, there will be a place for the sunny, good-time sound of Sugar Ray.

Spin (07/03, p.110) - "...Mark McGrath might be his generation's Todd Rundgren..." - Grade: B Q (10/03, p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[A] measured and thoughtful set of intelligent pop tunes..."s

What do you get when you have a singer with movie-star good looks (Mark McGrath) fronting a hard-edged pop band? In Sugar Ray's case, that formula spelled massive commercial success during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After starting off as a power chord-driven hard-rock band, Sugar Ray softened their sound, and scored big with such ska-tinged pop ditties as "Fly" and "Every Morning."

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