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It's a Shame about Ray

 
Album Review: It's a Shame About Ray

  • Artist: The Lemonheads
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: June 02, 1992
  • Total Time: 29:46
  • Type: Interview
  • Genre: Rock

Review

If Lovey captured Evan Dando as he found his signature blend of punk-pop, jangle pop, and folk-rock, It's a Shame About Ray is where he perfected that style. Breezing by in under half an hour, the album is a simple collection of sunny melodies and hooks, delivered with typical nonchalance by Dando. None of the songs are about anything major, nor do they have astonishingly original melodies, but that's part of their charm -- they're immediately accessible and thoroughly catchy. Dando's laid-back observations of middle-class outcasts are minor gems. The heartbroken title track or "Confetti," the crushes of "Bit Part in Your Life," the love letter to substances "My Drug Buddy," or the wonderful "Alison's Starting to Happen," where a girl finds herself as she discovers punk rock, capture the laconic rhythms of suburbia, and his warm, friendly voice, which is offset by Juliana Hatfield's girlish harmonies, gives the songs an emotional resonance. [It's a Shame About Ray was later re-released with a competent punk-pop remake of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" added as a bonus track. As Dando approached stardom, the album was repressed again with the title of "My Drug Buddy" truncated to "Buddy." It was later restored to its original title.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Rockin Stroll Evan Dando The Lemonheads (1:47)
Confetti (Lyrics) Evan Dando The Lemonheads (2:44)
It's a Shame About Ray (Lyrics) Tom Morgan, Evan Dando The Lemonheads (3:06)
Rudderless (Lyrics) Evan Dando The Lemonheads (3:19)
My Drug Buddy (Lyrics) Evan Dando The Lemonheads (2:51)
The Turnpike Down Evan Dando The Lemonheads (2:33)
Bit Part (Lyrics) Tom Morgan, Evan Dando The Lemonheads (1:51)
Alison's Starting to Happen (Lyrics) Evan Dando The Lemonheads (1:59)
Hannah & Gabi (Lyrics) Evan Dando The Lemonheads (2:40)
Kitchen (Lyrics) Nic Dalton The Lemonheads (2:55)
Ceiling Fan in My Spoon (Lyrics) Evan Dando The Lemonheads (1:48)
Frank Mills (Lyrics) James Rado, Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni The Lemonheads (1:44)
Mrs. Robinson Paul Simon The Lemonheads (3:43)

Credits

Bruce Robb (Producer), Dee Robb (Engineer), Jodi Rovin (Art Direction), Jesse Peretz (Photography), Bill Smith (Assistant Engineer), Martha "Zep Mom" Schultz (Production Coordination), Evan Dando (Guitar), Scott Ralston (Assistant Engineer), Evan Dando (Vocals), The Robb Brothers (Producer), Joe Robb (Producer), Evan Dando (Producer), Bruce Robb (Engineer), Scott C. Schulman (Photography), David Ryan (Drums), Dee Robb (Producer), Juliana Hatfield (Bass), Julian Standen (Producer), Joe Robb (Engineer), Jeff Baxter (Guitar), Juliana Hatfield (Vocals (Background))
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Wikipedia: It's a Shame about Ray
Top
It's a Shame About Ray
Studio album by The Lemonheads
Released June 2, 1992
Recorded 1991-1992 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California
Genre Alternative, Pop rock
Length 29:46
Label Atlantic Records
Producer The Robb Brothers
Professional reviews
The Lemonheads chronology
Lovey
(1990)
It's a Shame About Ray
(1992)
Come on Feel the Lemonheads
(1993)

It's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 (see 1992 in music). Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs.

After its initial release, the album was re-issued with a cover of "Mrs. Robinson", originally by Simon & Garfunkel, which was released as a single. The song had been recorded after the other tracks, with a different bass player. Pressure from the record label also caused the title of the song "My Drug Buddy" to be reduced to the less-provocative "Buddy" when the album was reissued.

The album and its title track was inspired partially from a club owner who called everyone Ray. Band leader Evan Dando later saw the actual line "It's a Shame About Ray" in a Sydney newspaper article about something that happened to a child named Ray. "It's a Shame About Ray" was a big international hit for the band, as well as a #5 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in America.

"Alison's Starting to Happen" refers to Alison Galloway, the drummer for Smudge.

The album also includes a cover of the song "Frank Mills" from the musical Hair.

The band performed the album in its entirety at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on September 14 and 15, 2005, as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series. The cover of "Mrs. Robinson," a song that Dando grew tired of after its popularity, was missing from the setlist.

"Confetti" and the title track were also released as singles in the UK.

The album was re-issued as a collector's edition by Rhino in 2008. This edition includes several bonus demo versions of album tracks, along with the b-side Shaky Ground plus a DVD containing the previous VHS release Two Weeks In Australia.

Track listing

All songs by Evan Dando unless otherwise stated.

  1. "Rockin Stroll"
  2. "Confetti"
  3. "It's a Shame About Ray" (Words by Dando/Tom Morgan, music by Dando)
  4. "Rudderless"
  5. "My Drug Buddy"
  6. "The Turnpike Down"
  7. "Bit Part" (Words by Dando/Morgan, music by Dando)
  8. "Alison's Starting to Happen"
  9. "Hannah & Gabi"
  10. "Kitchen" (Nic Dalton)
  11. "Ceiling Fan in My Spoon"
  12. "Frank Mills" (James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Galt MacDermot)
  13. "Mrs. Robinson" (Paul Simon)

The song "Mrs. Robinson" did not appear on original versions of the album.

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1992 Heatseekers 3
1993 The Billboard 200 68

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1992 "It's a Shame About Ray" Modern Rock Tracks 5
1992 "Mrs. Robinson" Modern Rock Tracks 8

 
 
Learn More
It's a Shame About Ray [Single #2] (1992 Album by The Lemonheads)
Lemonheads: Two Weeks in Australia (1993 Music Film)
Come on Feel the Lemonheads (1993 Album by The Lemonheads)

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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