The Sugar Shoppe

The Sugar Shoppe were billed as the "Canadian Mamas and Papas", and you can certainly understand why, they were Canadian for a start. They had a brief period of success in their own country and released this album originally for Capitol "down south" in 1968. Their period of success was brief but one of the members Victor Garber later made a good name for himself as an actor in films like Titanic and Argo.

The Sugar Shoppe are 60s groovy and appear at first glance to be a bit bubblegum, but behind some whimsical song titles like "The candy children song" and "poor Papa" and cute arrangements, including a vibraphone at times, the music is solid mainstream late-60s pop. Its fun and light pop, the other side of the late 60s to all that psychedelic noise. We all need a break yeah?

"The attitude" is atmospheric and adventurous with groovy sounds and a multi-faceted song structure. The cover of Donovan's "Skip-a-long Sam" is sweet and irrelevant. "Let the truth come out" some how managed to be laid-back and urgent at the same time, with a funky bluesey undercurrent. The aforementioned "Candy children song" has a bright and sweet melody with a trippy feel. This is one of the missing links of the 60s pop scene, oh yeah.