If you’re a regular visitor to Enter The Shell, you may already know about my love for Sugar Ray thanks to a previous blog. Despite what you may think, I didn’t choose to review a Sugar Ray cover merely for the fact that I’d be able to look at pictures of Mark McGrath. No, no. I am not that shallow … But he is nice to look at, isn’t he!?
At any rate, the Steve Miller Band is known for hits such as “Jungle of Love” and “Fly Like an Eagle” (which gained more popularity again when a certain delivery service started using it in their ad campaigns). “Abracadabra” was also a big hit for the band, hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 only to be knocked off by John “Cougar” Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane.”
The 1982 hit starts off right away with the drums, short and sweet synths and a simple guitar melody. Steve Miller began recording in the late 60’s and for the most part, his music has had a pretty Classic Rock feel to it. So naturally, when “Abracadabra” was released with its pop sound and catchy melodies, Miller lost a lot of fans because he was thought to have sold out.
The bridge of the song is pretty different from a song that would be classified as Classic Rock. There is a slow guitar solo that makes it seem as though the band is trying to merge the rock aspect with the pop, but there are echo effects and delays all over all the guitars and synths that it seems more pop than anything.
The song sounds like you should be dancing to it but the tempo is a bit slow for that, so I am kind of confused as to what Steve Miller was aiming for with this release. I know many people would say that he wasn’t aiming to please anyone and was just releasing what he felt was a good song. That’s all well and good but I just think that like I said of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” in Vol. 9 of Covers Revue, the energy level seems to be at a low for a song that has a pop feel to it.
In the late 90s, it seemed as though Sugar Ray had perfected the formula for creating catchy hits of their own, so when they covered “Abracadabra” for their album “14:59,” the song’s energy was injected with a giant syringe full of scratching and a harder rock sound infused with a more poppier sound.
Instead of the song beginning fairly instantaneously, Sugar Ray’s version starts off with what sounds like an airplane taking off which builds up into the drums, synths and guitar melody but Sugar Ray’s DJ Homicide also implements some of that DJ scratching that was so popular in rock music back then.
The tempo is the same as Steve Miller’s version, but I think the fact that there are more elements and layers to Sugar Ray’s version make it more upbeat and more rockin’! I think the song could’ve used a tempo boost but hey, they’re the millionaire hit-makers; not me!
Mark McGrath’s scratchy voice is a contrast from Steve Miller’s smoother voice, but it works well with the more energetic take on the song. Everything just sounds bigger and more poppy on Sugar Ray’s version, such as the synths, drums, bass and all the other little effects thrown in here and there. This is why I prefer the newer version over Steve Miller’s. Sure, his is the original but I think Sugar Ray accomplished more of the high energy feel I was expecting with this song!
“Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band
“Abracadabra” by Sugar Ray [I CAN’T GET OVER THIS FUCKING VIDEO! LOOOOVES IT! It’s so fitting.]