Sugar Babe -sweet but not sugary!
author: Jan Hauenstein
I am biased. Fred and I write songs together, I sing on one track of this album and I have covered the song 'Sugar Babe'.
And a couple of Fred/Jan songs are on my latest album, 'Late Bloomer', mastered by Fred. Also here on CDBaby.
Still, biased or not - this is a most excellent album! GREAT playing, fine, fine singing, superb arrangements, fantastic sound.
Variety, Fred is fluent in many styles.
And, even more important for me, the songs and the melodies - top notch. It does not get much better.
If you love great songs, you have to get this CD. Not one song that is not really good, and some are outstanding - You Lift Me Up High, Origami Heart, the title track and The First Time We Make Love In Paris. Do yourself a favor and listen.
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Great songs from a singer-songwriter who deserves a big audience
author: Frank Herr
Super catchy tunes, some great acoustic musicianship, and heartfelt lyrics sweetly sung! If you're wondering what Sugar Babe is all about, that's my "Day 2" assessment in a nutshell. Fred Grittner's got a great voice - a gentle delivery reminiscent (to me, anyway) of a younger Jesse Winchester - and the crystal clear production qualities of the CD help the accompanying instrumentation - including guitars, mandolins, banjos, pianos and harmonicas - to complement his singing perfectly.
I bought Sugar Babe because I knew a bit about Fred's recording and production expertise, but I discovered upon listening to his own music for the first time that he's also an excellent singer and songwriter. Try to NOT sing along to "Now You're Mine", "You're a Woman", "Origami Heart", "You Lift Me Up" - well, pretty much all of them, really - after you've heard them a few times. This CD is strong collection of very melodic, catchy songs, played and sung very, very well. Great lyrics too: "I hope that I will always have a place / Behind the eyes that grace your lovely face". Very cool to have a whole CD of love songs too.
Bravo Fred! Encore!!
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