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14:59

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14:59
Studio album by
Sugar Ray
ReleasedJanuary 12, 1999
Recorded1998
Studio
Genre
Length40:30
LabelAtlantic
ProducerDavid Kahne, except for "Abracadabra" which was produced by Ralph Sall
Sugar Ray chronology
Floored
(1997) 		14:59
(1999) 		Sugar Ray
(2001)
Singles from 14:59
  1. "Every Morning"
    Released: January 25, 1999[1]
  2. "Falls Apart"
    Released: May 12, 1999[2]
  3. "Someday"
    Released: September 7, 1999

14:59 is the third studio album by American rock band Sugar Ray, released on January 12, 1999. The album shows the band moving into a more mainstream pop rock sound, due to the success of their single "Fly" off their prior album Floored, and its title self-deprecatingly references the "15 minutes of fame" critics claimed the band was riding on. It entered the top 20 on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 17[3] and being certified triple-platinum by the RIAA.

Background

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During the writing sessions for their second album Floored, Sugar Ray wrote a much poppier track, the reggae song "Fly". The track's massive surprise success inspired the band to further pursue the sound on their following album, 14:59.[4] McGrath admitted "Fly" was "the blueprint now for experimentation".[5]

Music and lyrics

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The album's sound has elements of alternative rock[6] and pop rock.[7] "Aim for Me" is a punk rock track in the vein of Green Day and "Falls Apart" and "Personal Space Invader" take influence from the Police's Synchronicity and Men Without Hats,[8] while "Burning Dog" has a skate punk sound similar to the Offspring and "Live & Direct" features vocals from KRS-One.[9] In addition, "Every Morning" (that has been called an acoustic pop number[8]), "Someday" and "Ode to the Lonely Hearted" are reminiscent of previous hit single "Fly".[9] The album also features two comedic songs titled "New Direction" as bookends, the former being in the vein of death metal and the latter a circus music instrumental.[8] In a July 1997 interview with MTV, McGrath had joked about how the band might write a circus/polka song for their third album, in reference to how they had previously experimented with soft reggae music on Floored and soft R&B music on Lemonade and Brownies.[10]

In an interview from when the album was released, guitarist Rodney Sheppard said that they were listening to The Beatles during the writing and recording. He added that "we aren't trying to sound like The Beatles. But when you're listening to that kind of music, it tends to come out in your writing."[11] Despite having a different sound than previous albums, Sheppard noted that the band still had the same lighthearted approach to music as before, saying: "we're not begging to be taken seriously. We'd feel stupid. We've been doing interviews for years saying we don't take ourselves seriously. It would be lame for us to say, 'Now we are'. We're still pranksters, just the lyrical content is more serious."[11]

Promotion and release

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The song "Glory" was used in the film American Pie, and featured on the soundtrack album.[12]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[9]
The Guardian[13]
The Independent[14]
Los Angeles Times[15]
NME[16]
Q[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[19]
Spin5/10[20]

The album was generally well received by critics. Paul Pearson of AllMusic wrote, "Their third album showed an alarming overhaul in their approach...from their metal shellac toward a calmer, melodious pastiche of songs. and concluded that 14:59 has such catchiness and charm that it's a guilty pleasure of high order, and a bigger step than one might have expected from Sugar Ray."[8] NME's referred to the album as a "hellishly difficult record to hate...Not that this is especially inspired stuff, but, if you wanted a soundtrack for the kind of sun-kissed pool-party the sleeve depicts, 14:59 is maybe as good as you could get today."[16] Rolling Stone praised the album for its diversity and for not sticking too closely to the sound of "Fly" stating that the band instead "...go[es] off the deep end with gorgeous psychedelic guitar hooks and drum loops, and Mark McGrath's wise-guy futon talk... everything they play is shaped by the cut-and-paste aesthetic of the sampler."[18] Robert Christgau picked out the album's song, "Every Morning", as a choice cut.[21]

David Browne of Entertainment Weekly was less positive and stated: "It's genuinely hard to hate Sugar Ray; [...] Still, listening to '14:59' is a somewhat sad, depressing experience. [...] The album is the sound of a band resigned to the possibility that they may be one-hit wunderkinds and that the 2 million fans who bought their last album may have moved on to Barenaked Ladies."[9]

Track listing

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All music is composed by Sugar Ray except where noted

No.TitleMusicLength
1."New Direction" 0:48
2."Every Morning" 3:39
3."Falls Apart"Sugar Ray, David Kahne4:15
4."Personal Space Invader"Sugar Ray, David Kahne3:38
5."Live & Direct" (featuring KRS-One)Sugar Ray, David Kahne4:34
6."Someday"Sugar Ray, David Kahne4:02
7."Aim for Me" 2:20
8."Ode to the Lonely Hearted"Nick Sopkovich, Sugar Ray, David Kahne3:12
9."Burning Dog" 3:01
10."Even Though" 2:35
11."Abracadabra" (Steve Miller Band cover)Steve Miller3:42
12."Glory" 3:26
13."New Direction" 1:18
Total length:40:37

Sugar Ray sold a different version of the 14:59 album to audiences that attended their live tour. This album included 5 tracks[22] not found on the retail version. These tracks are:

  • The hit "Fly" from their previous Floored album
  • The original demo recording of "Aim for Me"
  • A live acoustic version of "Every Morning"
  • The radio edit of "Falls Apart"
  • "Rivers", a song written in the style of and in tribute to Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[30] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "エブリー・モーニング | シュガー・レイ" [Every Morning | Sugar Ray] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. ^ "フォールズ・アパート | シュガー・レイ" [Falls Apart | Sugar Ray] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  3. ^ "14:59 chart performance". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  4. ^ "Interview with Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray". NY Rock. April 1999. Archived from the original on January 16, 2000. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  5. ^ Q&A: Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Rolling Stone
  6. ^ Huey, Steve (2002). "Sugar Ray - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "14:59". NME. May 15, 1999. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d e Pearson, Paul. "14:59 – Sugar Ray". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d Browne, David (January 25, 1999). "14:59". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  10. ^ "Sugar Ray Scores Hit With 'Fly'". MTV. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Louise Golden, Anna (2000). Sugar Ray. St. Martin's Publishing Group. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  12. ^ "American Pie (1999) - IMDb". IMDb.
  13. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (May 28, 1999). "Sugar Ray: 14:59 (Atlantic)". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Perry, Tim (June 5, 1999). "Album Reviews". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Nichols, Natalie (January 11, 1999). "Time Isn't Quite Up Yet for Sugar Ray in New Album '14:59'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Chick, Stevie (June 15, 1999). "14:59". NME. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  17. ^ "Sugar Ray: 14:59". Q. No. 153. June 1999. p. 114.
  18. ^ a b Howling Wolf (January 12, 1999). "Sugar Ray: 14:59". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  19. ^ Harris, Keith (2004). "Sugar Ray". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 791. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  20. ^ LePage, Mark (February 1999). "Sugar Ray: 14:59". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 2. pp. 110, 112. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  21. ^ Christgau, Robert (October 26, 1999). "Consumer Guide: Easy Money". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  22. ^ 14:59 [Tour Edition] at AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  23. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sugar Ray – 14:59". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sugar Ray – 14:59" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sugar Ray – 14:59" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Sugar Ray – 14:59". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  28. ^ "Sugar Ray Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  30. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  31. ^ "American album certifications – Sugar Ray – 14:59". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
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