Sugar Shuffle
"Sugar Shuffle" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue.[1] It first appeared as the lead-in track on de Paul's album Love Bomb as an ethereal, chilled and dreamy song about nightlife and dating.[2][3] AllMusic rated "Sugar Shuffle" as one of de Paul's song highlights.[4] Musician and music critic Bob Stanley wrote in The Guardian, "Sugar Shuffle is an especially gorgeous, woozy mid-70s confection, fit to sit at the table with Liverpool Express's You Are My Love".[5]
Although never released as a single in de Paul's UK home market, it was released in edited form as a single in the US,[6][7] where it was play-listed by radio stations such as KBBC-Phenix[8] and in Japan, where it was backed by the song "Dreams".[9] In the US, de Paul version received positive reviews in Record World[10] and Cashbox.[11] Most recently it was played on Flaneur Radio: MacArthur Park[12] and France's Radio Nova, played by Bill Brewster.[13]
An updated cover version of the song was released on the 1984 album Cryptograph by the Japanese artist Asami Kobayashi (小林麻美).[14][15] This version had lyrics by Kobayshi and Yumi Matsutoya.[16] It received the "Best Album" award at the 26th Annual Japan Record Awards (Nihon Record Taisho)[17] and reached the top 10 in the Japanese album chart in 1984.[18][19] It was also included on Kobayashi's "Best Collection" album, released in 1986.[20]
The song was released on CD in the US as a track on the Renaissance Records release of Love Bomb in 2010.[21] A remastered version of the de Paul version of the song was finally released on CD on her 2013 compilation CD Into My Music.[22] The song is also a track on the 2020 album, Bob Stanley presents 76 in the Shade,[23] with Martin Ruddock highlighting it as one of the standout tracks, writing in his review of the album "The poolside cool of Lynsey De Paul’s sedate Sugar Shuffle".[24] The album entered the Dutch compilations chart at No. 23[25] and reached No. 78 on the UK Official Compilations Chart in September 2020.[26]
References
[edit]- ^ "Lynsey De Paul - Sugar Shuffle". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Lynsey De Paul - Love Bomb". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Vinyl Album: Lynsey De Paul - Love Bomb (1975)". 45wortlds.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Lynsey de Paul - Songs - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Stanley, Bob (2 October 2014). "Lynsey de Paul 'stood out like a cut-glass decanter among milk bottles'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Lynsey De Paul - Sugar Shuffle / Love Bomb". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "45 Discography for Mercury Records 73000 series". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Billboard, 20 December 1975
- ^ "Lynsey De Paul - Sugar Shuffle". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Record World, p. 18, 15 November 1975
- ^ Cashbox, 15 November 1975
- ^ "Flaneur Radio - MacArthur Park 21.06.17". Nts.live. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Bill Brewster - nova". Nova.fr. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Asami Kobayashi = 小林麻美* – Cryptograph = 愛の暗号". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Asami Kobayashi's 'Sugar Shuffle' - Discover the Original Song". WhoSampled. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Sugar Shuffle 動画【小林麻美】 - 歌詞検索UtaTen（うたてん）". Utaten.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "活動〜日本レコード大賞〜【公益社団法人 日本作曲家協会】". JACOMPA. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Cashbox, October 20, 1984, p. 35
- ^ Billboard, October 20, 1984, p. 62
- ^ "Asami Kobayashi - Best Collection = 小林麻美ベスト・コレクション". Discogs.com. 4 August 1986. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Lynsey De Paul - Love Bomb". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Lynsey de Paul - Into My Music Anthology 1975-1979". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Discogs Login". Auth.discogs.com. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ Ruddock, Martin (26 August 2020). "'Bob Stanley presents 76 In The Shade' reviewed » We Are Cult". Wearecult.rocks. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Bob Stanley presents 76 In The Shade". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.