Five Hundred Pounds Explained

Five Hundred Pounds
Type:	studio
Artist:	Big Sugar
Cover:	Five_Hundred_Pounds_album_cover.jpg
Released:	October 27, 1993
Recorded:	1993
Length:	47:32
Label:	Hypnotic
Producer:	Gordie Johnson Peter Prilesnik
Prev Title:	Big Sugar
Prev Year:	1991
Next Title:	Dear M.F.
Next Year:	1995

Five Hundred Pounds is an album by Canadian rock band Big Sugar, released in 1993 on Hypnotic Records. In 1995, the album was released in the United States as 500 Pounds, with an alternate album cover and an alternate track listing.

Commercial performance

Based on Big Sugar's burgeoning reputation as a live band, the album sold 10,000 copies solely by word of mouth before it garnered any significant radio airplay. The album was certified Gold in Canada in 1999.^[1]

Influence

Jack White is a fan of Five Hundred Pounds, having bought the album at a Big Sugar concert in Detroit in 1993. He has stated that the album is "the best blues-based record to ever come out of Canada."^[2] White performed "Ride Like Hell" live during his concert in Toronto in 2022.

Track listing

1. "Ride Like Hell" – 4:48
2. "Standing Around Crying" – 3:56
3. "I'm a Ram" – 3:31
4. "Sugar in My Coffee" – 5:12
5. "All Over Now" – 3:41
6. "AAA Aardvark Hotel" – 2:13
7. "How Many Times" – 4:05
8. "Deliver Me" – 4:16
9. "Still Waitin'" – 5:31
10. "Wild Ox Moan" – 5:41
11. "Ride On" – 6:49

Personnel

Big Sugar

• Gordie Johnson: Guitars, vocals
• Al Cross: Drums

Additional Personnel

• Dave Wall: drums (Standing Around Crying)
• Kelly Hoppe: harmonica, saxophone
• Michael Johnson: trumpet
• Gene Hardy: saxophone
• James Monroe, Chris Brown: trombone
• Patrick Ballantyne: vocals, acoustic guitar
• A. Whitman: "for loan of Merc" (according to liner notes)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gold/Platinum. January 25, 2024.
2. Web site: Jack White calls Big Sugar’s 500 Pounds "the best blues-based record to ever come out of Canada". January 25, 2024.