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In the Pursuit of Leisure
Studio album by Sugar Ray
Released	June 3, 2003
Recorded	2002–2003
Studio	Henson Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre	Pop rock
Length	41:06
Label	Atlantic
Producer	David Kahne
Sugar Ray chronology
Sugar Ray (2001) In the Pursuit of Leisure (2003) The Best of Sugar Ray (2005)
Singles from In the Pursuit of Leisure
"Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" Released: April 28, 2003 "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" Released: 2003

In the Pursuit of Leisure is the fifth studio album by American rock band Sugar Ray, released in 2003. Singer-songwriter Esthero and reggae singer Shaggy both make guest appearances.

It features the single "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)", a song which includes samples from both Sweet's hit "Love Is Like Oxygen" and Midnight Star's hit "No Parking (On the Dance Floor)." That track was a success and reached the #20 spot on Billboard's Adult Top 40. A cover of Joe Jackson's new wave song "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" was released as the second single. It had similar success and reached the #29 spot on Billboard's Adult Top 40.

Background

Music

The album marked the return of David Kahne as sole producer, with Kahne having previously produced Sugar Ray's multi-platinum releases Floored (1997) and 14:59 (1999). He only served as a co-producer on Sugar Ray's self-titled 2001 album, which was primarily handled by Don Gilmore. The single "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" was originally released by Joe Jackson in 1978, when all the members were still only between the ages of 8 and 11. The idea to cover the song came in 2000, from John Rubeli, who worked at Atlantic Records. He came across "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and thought that Jackson sounded similar to McGrath in it, which led to him suggesting that Sugar Ray do a cover. It took him some time to get this idea out to the band, which is why it didn't appear on their self-titled album. McGrath said in 2003 that his band were still fans of Joe Jackson and other new wave musicians, despite not being the ones who thought of covering him. He said, "all those great songs from the '80s, be it from Duran Duran or Adam Ant or Joe Jackson, they were part of the soundtrack to our lives growing up." Sugar Ray had previously covered the 1981 new wave song "Stand and Deliver" by Adam and the Ants, with it appearing on their second album Floored.

Artwork

The back of the album features a photograph of a chimpanzee, which is wearing a baseball cap with the phrase "word!" on it. This chimpanzee is also in a group shot with the band in the album's booklet. The back of the album shows the song titles as if they were a digital menu with a programming guide for what was on television for the date of Saturday, October 24th.

Touring

To support the album in the summer of 2003, Sugar Ray embarked on a month long American tour with Michelle Branch, The Goo-Goo Dolls and Uncle Kracker. Sugar Ray had previously done American tours with The Goo-Goo Dolls and Uncle Kracker in 1999 and 2001. In 2003, they also shared bills with Franky Perez, Matchbox Twenty, Maroon 5, Tony C. and the Truth and Trapt, among others.

Commercial response

In the Pursuit of Leisure sold 135,000 copies, far less than the band's prior self-titled release, which had gone platinum. However, the sales were still higher than the band's 1995 debut Lemonade and Brownies, which had sold only 48,000 copies upon release.

The album's commercial failure led to a six-year gap in releasing their next album, Music for Cougars. In 2004, McGrath got a role as host of entertainment news program Extra, and the band started only playing a few shows a year up until their comeback with Music for Cougars. McGrath reflected in 2009 that the pop radio scene was starting to shift at that time, saying "the Ushers and Lil Jons were moving in and I'm like, 'you know what, man? You've had a great run this first wave; let's see what else is going on'."

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B−
Rolling Stone

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it "another winning record by a band who has proven to be far more resilient than anybody could have guessed when 'Fly' flew to the top of the charts in 1997." Entertainment Weekly gave it a B− rating, saying that "nothing on this album is good for you, but you may find its saccharine charms difficult to resist."

Rolling Stone's Pat Blashill had a more negative review, saying that "Sugar Ray are a synthesis of everything that's dumb about pop music; like Prell shampoo, they make you feel bouncy, resilient and full of pep." Blashill also labelled the single "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" as "a metal-pop song with a gratuitously silly rap chorus." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine also had a negative review in 2003, saying that "Sugar Ray’s 1999 album 14:59 was such a blatant, no-apologies capitalist cash-in it was difficult not to admire it. But after their carbon copy self-titled follow-up, and now In the Pursuit of Leisure, their fifth album, Sugar Ray just seem downright lazy." He added that, "Sugar Ray has built an entire career out of creating summer anthems and now it seems they’re just treading pool water. The album, perhaps more appropriately titled In the Pursuit of Absolutely Nothing, is breezy and inviting but utterly unchallenging—for both the band and its audience."

Track listing

Credits

Sugar Ray

• Sugar Ray – songwriting (1, 3–11)
  • Mark McGrath – lead vocals
  • Rodney Sheppard – guitar, backing vocals
  • Murphy Karges – bass, backing vocals
  • DJ Homicide – turntables, samples, programming; keyboards, backing vocals
  • Stan Frazier – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel

References

1. Greer, Jim (2003-06-06). "In the Pursuit of Leisure". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
2. ^ In the Pursuit of Leisure at AllMusic
3. https://www.popmatters.com/sugarray-st-2496066670.html
4. Crandall, Bill (June 20, 2001). "Sugar Ray (Not Chicken Lips)". Rolling Stone.
5. ^ "The Victoria Advocate". The Victoria Advocate – via Google Books.
6. Artwork and booklet for In the Pursuit of Leisure (Atlantic/Lava, 2003)
7. "Allentown Fair pop bill: Hot, rising and seasoned". 28 August 2003. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024.
8. "Sugar Ray's 2003 Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives". www.concertarchives.org.
9. ^ Appleford, Steve (July 21, 2009). "Mark McGrath on the Ugly Truth About Sugar Ray (And Why Their New Album Still Rocks)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011.
10. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (September 20, 1997). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
11. "PopEntertainment.com: Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray interview about 'Music for Cougars.'". www.popentertainment.com.
12. "In the Pursuit of Leisure Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
13. ^ Greer, Jim (2003-06-06). "In the Pursuit of Leisure". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
14. ^ Blashill, Pat (2003-05-20). "Sugar Ray: In The Pursuit of Leisure : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
15. <https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/sugar-ray-in-the-pursuit-of-leisure/

External links

• In the Pursuit of Leisure at Metacritic

• Sugar Ray albums
• 2003 albums
• Atlantic Records albums
• Albums produced by David Kahne