Don't Call Us - We'll Call You

For most intents and purposes, Sugarloaf was finished after their 1973 album I Got a Song failed to generate any attention, but the band continued to push ahead, channeling their frustrations into the bubblegum sarcasm of “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You.” The song became a fluke hit in 1975, prompting a re-release of I Got a Song under a new title borrowed from the hit, which also was prominently featured on the new release. Of course, the fizzy pop of “Don’t Call Us” sounded very little like the rest of the earlier record, which itself wasn’t all that reminiscent of their percolating 1970 hit “Green Eyed Lady,” either. It was a curious mix of pompous neo-prog -- best heard on the charging instrumental “Myra, Myra” -- light hippie funk, and coolly trippy soft rock, all sounds redolent of the early ‘70s, but certainly not the epitome of it. Which isn’t to say that lead singer/songwriter Jerry Corbetta couldn’t write -- in addition to the hits, he knocked off Billy Joel/Elton John’s Western fantasia quite well on “Colorado Jones” -- but this album tends to drift in and out of focus, making it a period piece but not much more. [Fuel 2000’s 2010 reissue added a host of worthwhile bonus tracks, including a live version of “Green Eyed Lady.”] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine