Genre: pop
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You
Company: Claridge
Catalog: CL-1000
Year: 1975
Country/State: Denver, Colorado
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 1
Catalog ID: --
Price: $15.00
As a teenager I was a pushover for a great pop hook and one I can vividly remember came in the form of Sugarloaf's 'Don't Call Us, We'll Call You'. It was just a perfect, three minute slice of mindless pop fun with Jerry Corbetta's funny, mile-a-minute lyric more than enough to make The Barenaked Ladies proud.
I have no idea what the marketing folks were thinking, but with the band enjoying an unexpected hit with the sing 'Don't Call Us, We'll Call You', the Hollywood-based Claridge label saw fit to take the band's 1973 collection "I Got a Song" and repackage it as 1975's "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You". Other than a new cover, the only musical difference between the two releases was the song 'Easy Evil' was replaced by the hit title track. Guess they figured the five remaining Sugarloaf fans wouldn't realize they were listening to the same songs ???
- I've always liked Corbett's voice, but I have to admit that on 'I've Got a Song' he sounded like he was trying to channel Elton John - even his keyboard parts reminded me of the latter. A pretty, commercial, but forgettable ballad, it was easy to see why the track had previously been released as a single. rating: ** stars
- Showcasing Corbetta's keyboards and some pounding Bob MacVittie drums, the first half of 'Myra Myra' was a surprisingly engaging instrumental (okay, technically I guess it wasn't an instrumental since the band sang the title over and over). And then you got to the second half where Corbetta suddenly decided he wanted to me Rick Wakeman, or ELP's Keith Emerson ... no idea what he was thinking. rating: ** stars
- My choice for second best performance, 'Lay Me Down' started out as a tasty, mid-tempo rocker. Yeah, the performance was a bit sappy and over-the-top, but the song had a great melody, a fantastic lead guitar, and the way Corbetta sang the word 'nooothin'' made for a great hook. And then the band decided they wanted to be a progressive monster ... at least that seems to be the reason the track ended with an elaborate pseudo-classical arrangement. rating: **** stars
- Built on a nice Corbetta keyboard pattern, 'Wild Child' was a surprisingly funky rocker. rating: *** stars
- Their crowning achievement, 'Don't Call Us, We'll Call You' was the perfect slice of power pop and kiss-off to the music industry (the opening touchtone sequences were for a phone at CBS Records which had turned down an option to sign the band) - great melody, insidiously catchy hook, plenty of in-jokes ("the band performers in the nude") including a nice nod to Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' (check out the synthesizer riff) and another one to The Fab Four's 'I Feel Fine' (what happened to RIngo ...). rating: ***** stars
- 'Looking for Some Fun' underscored Corbetta's surprisingly funky and slightly ominous voice. Basically a great throwaway dance tune with some tasty bass work from Bob Raymond (his standout performance on the album), while Bob Webber turned in a killer fuzz guitar solo. Anyone know what effect he was using on his guitar ? rating: **** stars
- 'Round and Round' was a pretty mid-tempo number that would not have sounded bad on top-40 radio. Nice chorus and refrain. rating: *** stars
- The best part of 'We Could Fly So High' was Raymond's bass pattern. rating: ** stars
- 'Colorado Song' found the band trotting out their country-rock roots (remember they started out playing Colorado clubs). Imagine a cross between Poco and Firefall with far better fuzz guitar support - in fact Webber's lead solo garnered the song an extra star. rating: *** stars
- 'I Got a Song (reprise)' was basically just a heavily orchestrated continuation of the opening ballad. Personally I didn't think the orchestration added much to the track, nor did Corbetta's closing church organ solo. rating: ** stars
As mentioned above, the title track provided the band with their final hit:
- 1975's ' Don't Call Us, We'll Call You' b/w 'Texas Two Lane' (Claridge catalog number CL-402)
As much as I liked some of the songs (the bizarre dip into progressive territory 'Myra Myra' has consistently grown on me), and the title track, it simply wasn't enough to warrant buying a reissue-package like this. Wouldn't most normal folks simply have purchased the single? I'll call this one a guilty please, but again, most folks would probably be better off buying the title track single.
"Don't
call Us, We'll Call You" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) I've Got a Song (Jerry Corbetta - Bob Corso) - 5:10
2.) Myra Myra (instrumental) (Jerry Corbetta) - 5:12
3.) Lay Me Down (Jerry Corbetta - Bob Corso) - 6:45
4.) Wild Child (Jerry Corbetta - Frank Slay) - 4:02
(side
2)
1.) Don't Call Us, We'll Call You
(Jerry Corbetta - John Carter) - 3:20
2.) Looking for Some Fun (Jerry Corbetta - Ray Payne) - 4:11
3.) Round and Round (David ) - 3:35
4.) We Could Fly So High (Jerry Corbetta - - Bob Corso - Bob Webber - Robert Pickett) - 3:32
5.) Colorado Song (Jerry Corbetta - J.C Phillips) - 3;30
6.) I Got a Song (reprise) (Jerry Corbetta - Bob Corso- 2:43
One last non-LP single and that was it for Sugarloaf.
- 1975's 'Stars In My Eyes' b/w 'Myra Myra' Claridge catalog number C-405)