Sugarloaf - SUGARLOAF***

Green Eyed Lady/The Train Kept A Rollin'/Bach Doors Man-Chest Fever/West Of Tomorrow/Gold & The Blues/ Things Gonna Change Some

The eponymous debut album from the Denver rock band Sugarloaf, which includes an extended version of the US No. 3 hit Green Eyed Lady. They would go on to enjoy only limited commercial success before splitting. (US:24)

“This self-titled debut is well measured, focused and proficient if, in common with many debuts of the day, it is also overtly pan-genre, wobbling from progressive to blues to close-part harmonised folk-rock.”

“The group had one hit. It is hard to understand how they came out with Green Eyed Lady when the rest of the music is so incredibly generic and uninspired. However, the technical musicianship is definitely competent.”

“This is the band that gave us Green Eyed Lady, which is included on this album where you get the song in its entirety (it's a shame too many stations play the edited version). But then I found the rest of the album very messy. Some good songs are mixed in with a bunch of not-so-good stuff.”

“Sugarloaf were a band that should have done a little more homework before they rushed into the studio to record this album. If they either trimmed off the excess fat, or perhaps make the extended cuts go somewhere, then I would rate this album higher. I got the feeling this was rushed, and it's a miracle that Liberty Records allowed it to be released. Basically, buy this album if you want to hear Green Eyed Lady in its entirety.”

“Sugarloaf were one of those one-hit wonders that few outside of the underground set even knew had an LP. Despite the fact that the edited version of Green Eyed Lady became a decent sized hit, the album has always been a comparatively tough item to find, due to Liberty's limited promotion. From the sound of the hit one might assume this band were a heavy prog/psych outfit. But most of the rest of the material can be more accurately described as semi-hard prog rock, with psych influences and semi-commercial orientation, plus an emphasis on the Hammond organ.”

“Great music for those of us that enjoy real musical talent, featuring driving tasteful bass, ever present keyboards and guitars that are very good with tight precision.”