Dave amp Sugar - Anthology by Dave Sugar (23 tracks) +Album Reviews

What a find!

John A. Kuczma | Marietta, GA USA | 05/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is impossible to describe how happy I am with this anthology. Dave & Sugar were a tremendously successful, albeit rather short-lived, country trio built about lead singer Dave Rowlands and a seemingly endless number of attractive, talented female members known collectively as "Sugar". Fortunately, no matter which pair of feminine counterparts joined Dave on a particular cut, the results were equally magical.The trio was extremely versatile, and the music in this collection proves it. The biggest hits run the gammett from toe-tappin' dance cuts like "Golden Tears" and "Queen of the Silver Dollar" to heart-tugging ballads like "Tear Time" and "I Thought You'd Never Ask."A few of the cuts are seeming clones: compare the sound and lyrics of "The Door is Always Open" to the aforementioned "Golden Tears." However, even those songs stand well on their own. The only really weak offering is a terrible takeoff on the Twitty/Lynn collaboration "Louisiana Woman/Mississippi Man" called "New York Wine/Tennessee Shine." That one should have been left in the bottle. Other than that, this collection is outstanding. I would gladly have given twice the asking price and not have been disappointed.The mastering is superb and the songs sound as fresh and exuberant as they did the day they were released.Take a Ride on the Riverboat of memories back to the happy days of country harmonies with Dave & Sugar. You may not want to come back."

"Abba-Esque Country: Alive and Well in D&S Anthology"

Casia | Chicagoland | 01/14/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I thank my dear brother Bob for finding this CD at amazon.com. Although Dave Rowland is neither a master lyricist nor an accomplished crooner, the harmonies of Dave and his various Sugars blend nicely. The first track, "Queen of the Silver Dollar", is remniscent of The Wabash Cannonball, with a gutsier roadhouse theme. "Cryin' Golden Tears" may be one of the best-loved, but I am partial to "Stay With Me", due to the Abba-like beat--sort of a country "Take a Chance on Me" or "Mama Mia." This may be a musical reflection of the similarities between the group's romantic pitfalls plaguing both Abba and D&S. The album dwindles on "Take a Ride on the Riverboat" and rips Loretta/Conway's "Lousianna Woman/Mississippi Man" with "New York Wine, Tennessee Shine", a poor, beatless attempt at an overused theme. Overall, if you like the tight jeans-wearin', feather-haired-sportin' country/pop genre, this is one not to be missed."

The Sweet Harmony of Dave and Sugar

Lonnie Stallcup | NY | 01/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For many years I have followed the career of Dave and Sugar. As a child, I used to get so excited when a new Dave and Sugar album was released. However, when Dave Rowland attempted a solo career (disaster!), I was very sad that the sweet harmony would exist only on the previously released albums. When "Anthology" was released, I felt like a child again - all excited to get Dave and Sugar's latest. As the name of the album indicates, the album is merely a walk through the group's history.The group was born purely by chance after the trio had sang backup for Charley Pride. As they began singing "Queen of the Silver Dollar" impromptu, the beautiful harmony seemed to dazzle Pride and an associate. Soon after, Dave rowland, Jackie Frantz and Vickie Baker were belting out number one harmonies such as "The Door is Always Open". Later on Frantz left the group and was replaced by, perhaps the groups best singer ever, Sue Powell. Powell went on to to produce beautiful songs with the group like:"Knee Deep in Loving You" and "Golden Tears." Some critics nail the trio for singing "New York Wine" because they feel that it was a sad atempt at producing a Twitty/Lynn song. In fact, I don't think that was the case. Rather, the song was simply a fatal attempt to reproduce a hit similar to "Golden Tears". A similar action occurred when the Oak Ridge tried to release "Bobby Sue" after "Elvira". Nevertheless, "New York" still demonstrates the groups strong vocal talent. Baker left the group to be replaced by Melissa Prewitt, and later Powell left to be replaced by Jamie Kaye.While Prewitt's contributions are present on Anthology, Kaye's is not. Indeed, Anthology should have featured "Fool by your side" as sung by Rowland,Prewitt and Kaye.
All in all, Anthology is a great tour through the group's history. Some may find the album cheesy, but I feel that Dave and Sugar were a major force in country music and demonstrate their talent adequately in Anthology."

Best of the Best!

Peter Durward Harris | 08/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is Magnificent!! All of Dave & Sugar's hits are included. Listen to it once and you'll be hooked."

Great country trio but too many personnel changes

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They began as Charley Pride's backing group, but so good were they that they got their own recording contract. They continued to tour with Charley, including internationally. This gave them an international following that some more successful singers did not have, simply because they never toured outside America.

Their first album, from 1976, featured Dave with Vicki Hackemann (or Baker) and Jackie Frantz. Four tracks are included here, the most important being Queen of the silver dollar (a song that Emmylou Harris had already included on her Pieces of the sky album) and The door is always open (a song that had been a track on Dreaming my dreams, by Waylon Jennings). Although both these songs were covers, neither had been released as singles. Dave and Sugar's versions were and they topped the country chart with The door is always open. After this album, Jackie left.

In selecting Sue Powell to replace Jackie, they turned down a then-unknown singer called Sylvia Kirby Allen (now called Sylvia Hutton), who later achieved solo success as Sylvia with Drifter, Nobody and other country hits in the eighties. The line-up of Dave, Vicki and Sue lasted for two albums. I happen to think these are the best two original albums.

That's the way love should be is actually my favorite Dave and Sugar album, but only three tracks are included here - the title track, Don't throw it all away and I'm knee deep in loving you. Tear time, the next album, is represented by five tracks including a superb cover of Bonnie Tyler's It's a heartache. This is obviously a popular song within the country music fraternity as other country singers including Juice Newton and Lorrie Morgan have covered it. I love Bonnie, Juice and Lorrie, but this is my favorite version of the song. Another song from the Tear time album, Baby take your coat off, was a hit around that time for the Oak Ridge boys - but they used the title Come on in.

At this point, Vicki left, replaced by Melissa Dean (or Prewitt), and the long, slow decline began. Five tracks from the next album, Stay with me / Golden tears, are featured here including the two title tracks and Take a ride on a riverboat. Now it was Sue's turn to depart, to be replaced by Jamie Kaye.

The last album represented on this collection (by no less than six tracks) is New York wine and Tennessee shine. It was an enjoyable album but not as strong as its four predecessors. If I had been selecting tracks, I would have chosen just three from here and six from That's the way love should be - or maybe two and seven. But that's a minor criticism - I think it's a miracle that any Dave and Sugar music made it to CD.

More line-up changes followed, but so did label changes. There are lovely pictures of all the different ladies in the booklet, including those that did not contribute to the music on this collection.

Somebody once described Dave and Sugar as a country version of Abba. I regard that as a compliment, since Abba are my favorite pop group, but although I can see why, the comparison could be misleading. In any case, there has never been another country act like Dave and Sugar, so if you enjoy seventies country music, buy this if you can find it."

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