Monday, October 20, 2008

714. Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray (1992)

















Track Listing

1. Rockin' Stroll
2. Confetti
3. It's A Shame About Ray
4. Rudderless
5. My Drug Buddy
6. Turnpike Down
7. Bit Part
8. Alison's Starting To Happen
9. Hannah And Gabi
10. Kitchen
11. Ceiling Fan In My Spoon
12. Frank Mills
13. Mrs Robinson

Review

First time I listened to this album I thought it was just jangly light rock/pop. Now I think it is very good jangly light rock/pop. The album is one of those slow burners that isn't very impressive the first couple of times but then the songs get into your head, as do some of the lyrics.

I think one of the best things of the album is a sense of euphony, Even Dando is a great lyricist with a great notion of what words sound good with other words. There is actually a deliberate nod to the whole theory of euphony with the use of the word "cellar-door" in the album, the word mix that Tolkien famously considered the most beautiful one in the English language. Neil Young and The Mountain Goats also use it in their songs.

So the album really works, the songs are short enough that it never bores, and the album is actually a bit too short, and at the end Dando adds two covers: the surprisingly Wainwright-like Frank Mills and a good cover of Mrs. Robinson that feels a little out of place. So yeah I liked it.

Track Highlights

1. Rudderless
2. My Drug Buddy
3. Turnpike Down
4. Frank Mills

Final Grade


9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

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.

"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.

Drug Buddy:


No comments: