Review of It's A Shame About Ray by Nick Bendel
From Suite 101
It’s A Shame About Ray (1992)
is the sixth album in the Lemonheads’ collection. A number of hiccups
aside, lead singer (and chief songwriter) Evan Dando shows a talent for writing
casual and yet disarmingly enjoyable songs.
The third song on the album, the title track, is typical. Light guitar and
a charming melody it is the kind of song ideal for radio play (which is not
to denigrate it in any way). This is when Dando and the rest of the band (drummer
David Ryan and bassist Juliana Hatfield) are at their best.
The other songs which fit this description are of a similar high standard.
These include "Rudderless," "The Turnpike Down" and "Hannah
& Gabi." Almost as good, and again showing the ear for a tune possessed
by the Lemonheads, are some rockier contributions. The opener, "Rockin
Stroll," gets It’s A Shame About Ray off to a flying start, while
it closes on a similar note with a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic
"Mrs Robinson."
And yet, despite all these positive comments, there are some obvious weaker
moments on this record. The convoluted "Frank Mills," for example,
is awful and considering it was penned by an outsider (James Rado) it is very
strange that it found its way on to the album. Other songs, like "Buddy,"
"Bit Part," "Alison’s Starting to Happen" and "Ceiling
Fan in My Spoon," although quite good, fall short.
Because of this It’s A Shame About Ray is frustratingly inconsistent.
It’s probably telling that the best songs on this album are the simple
pop songs, while the band appear to falter when straying away from this formula.