I found my old dog self learning a new trick. As a guy who has more plastic in terms of vinyl albums than rainbow colored CDs, I deliberately walked into a music store searching for a certain pop CD. The CD that was the object of this quest was Sugar Ray’s Maxi Single “Someday”. Sugar Ray has made me do two things I haven’t done in over fifteen years: 1) listen to top-forty music and 2) buy top-forty music.

The last time I actually tuned into a pop radio station was when Robert Palmer was making a hit with “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On.” We’re talking the mid-1980s. However, this doesn’t mean I have a deaf ear for the tunes that are playing in the stores where my wife shops. I mean what is a guy to do in the women’s shoe department anyway? Occasionally, there’s a song that rises above the passive hearing stage to the active listening stage. Rarely do I perk up to two songs by the same group that are getting air play at the same time. But Sugar Ray managed to do this with the releases “Someday” and “Every Morning”.

Things have changed from the days when you picked up a 45 RPM for 99 cents. One of the changes is this “single” doesn’t contain one but three songs. (I’m ignoring the “flip side” for those of you who understand.) Back in the old days, 45s didn’t have invitations to visit the artist’s web pages nor did they contain hyperlinks to server-based videos. It’s a brand new day I guess. This single cost me five dollars but I figure, what the heck, how often do I do this. The album versions of the mentioned songs are included on this CD as well as an “acoustic” version of “Someday”. The album is titled 㥺:59” (Lava/Atlantic album #83151).

What makes “Someday” so appealing are its simple arrangement, catchy melody, and the innocence of its lyrics. “Someday” is a sentimental love ballad whose opening line may qualify it as the anthem to the slacker gen-x culture.
Someday, when my life has passed me by, I’ll lay around and wonder why...
The words are a simple wish of better times and acknowledgement of a committed lover -- timeless expressions indeed. The guitar licks play around Major 7 chords. For those not technically inclined, these are the same musical nuances that made you love “The Association” in the sixties and “Bread” in the seventies. At the risk of over-analysis, song writers know that adolescents love this kind of stuff. It worked then and works now. As with all “good” music, particular songs become favorites when they strike an inner string and resonate at a personal level. “Someday” manages to bore into memories of youth and innocence and reminds listeners of personal triumphs and tragedies.

The next cut is a compelling and irreverent tune about a guy who hasn’t quite figured out his girl and certainly doesn’t care if he does. “Every Morning” is summed up by its opening line:
Every morning there’s a halo hanging from the corner of my girlfriend’s four post bed. I know it’s not mine but I’ll see if I can use it for the weekend or a one-night stand.

The words speak of what to do with his enigmatic girlfriend who both confounds him by tearing his heart out but “always rights the wrong”. As a bit of history, Sugar Ray songwriter and lead singer Mark McGrath was highly influenced by a particular song when creating "Every Morning." Part of the tune is clearly lifted from the Latin group Malo. Word is that this was done deliberately and legally and the listener will clearly hear the vocal hook from Malo's Suavecito that suggests “...never, I never met a girl like you in my life”. The attraction of this song, however, is not so much its lyrics but in its
bouncy melody. Even its under-produced arrangement has an appeal. Sounding like a first take in a garage recording, the song is both catchy and humorous.

Despite the negative comments from younger and more hip relatives who think members of Sugar Ray look like “losers”, I recommend this Maxi Single to anyone who may not have a top-forty station programmed on the car radio and still doesn’t judge music by watching MTV.

Recommended: Yes