It’s a Shame About Ray

I will base my review on the track list of the original release of this album. Normally, I make a statement like this for an album review on this journey without any hesitation. The problem here is that I am excluding what could be considered the gateway track for this particular band.

I heard about the Lemonheads because of their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", which was added to subsequent re-releases of their breakthrough record, It's a Shame About Ray. I can imagine that for many people, this is the one song they will recognize from the group, much to the chagrin of frontman Evan Dando and original songwriter Paul Simon. It's a shame, pun intended, because the album this cover is retroactively associated with is pretty solid.

This is an intriguing blend of jangle pop and grunge, where the guitar tones are bright and crunchy at the same time, as Evan and company blaze through a rich slice of bouncing tunes about finding bliss that ebb from character stories to strifes for bliss amidst the drug-riddled reckless abandon. There's a lot of Evan's personality that shined through in his performance and abstract lyrics, as bassist Juliana Hatfield and drummer David Ryan provided a strong foundation for these songs to be built upon. Opener "Rockin' Stroll", the title track, "Rudderless", and "Alison's Starting to Happen" were personal highlights that showcased the cheery angst this record employed throughout.

If anything, my only complaint is that this record is rather short. Clocking in at under a half-hour, there were multiple instances where songs could have been expanded. I can see why people would favor inclusion of the "Mrs. Robinson" cover in later releases, yet I feel that "Frank Mills" still works as a closer. Perhaps more time in the studio would have helped in fleshing out some of these tracks.

Still, I consider It's a Shame About Ray to be quite a pleasant outing for The Lemonheads. It's good to know that they are worth more than the one cover song.

Good album.

Catchy and direct songs (and short overall album). Pretty good power pop or jangle pop. Not a big fan of the "Mrs. Robinson" cover (it is obviously a good song, but I don't think it fits here).

Some tracks I enjoyed: "Confetti", "It's a Shame About Ray", "Rudderless" (together with "Confetti", probably my favourite), or "My Drug Buddy" (I found the second half of the album was less inspired).

Overall, it's in the 3,5 star range for me. It's a shame that, at least for me, the album is quite irregular and the best tracks happen to be tracks 2 to 5 in a row. For this reason, overall, i think it falls short of the 4 stars.

Pretty good! Loving the riffs here. It's a shame about Ray, though.

Gutes Punk Album, sehr 90s

If you're going to be a strummy, strummy band without much musical invention or skill, then you had better have an amazing singer with compelling lyrics. Evan Dando doesn't really hit either mark. A fine 90s rock album, but there are loads of those.

It’s all nice and floaty, but it just feels like there’s something missing. It’s just a bit dull and samey.
Aside from their great interpretation of ‘Mrs Robinson’ is just beige background music

It's fine. I haven't got a lot of strong opinions about it, other than to say Mrs Robinson is a great cover (but it's not even technically on this album). I'm neither enthused nor disappointed.

2.5 really, but I like it fine enough, so

3/5

Nice and catchy and well-crafted but not much to sink your teeth into. Great for a bit of early 90s nostalgia.

The Lemonheads play some particularly jangly power pop with a fire lit under them and an ear for great melody. The appeal here isn't particularly complicated, this is just a particularly tight ~30 minutes of exciting, emotionally interesting pop music. And I know it's a bonus track, but the Mrs. Robinson cover here is particularly enjoyable, and I see how it became a hit. It's A Shame About Ray is short and airy enough that I see myself returning, even if it isn't in my upper echelon, and thst is very much a win for The Lemonheads.

Ніколи уважно їх не слухав. Нормальний альтернативний рок, нічого видатного або оригінального, але і не прям погано. З пісень запам'яталась тільки My Drug Buddy.

Did I really have to listen to this before I die?

I mean sure, Mrs. Robinson is a great song, and it has a few really good tracks.

Sure it's a fun album, but pretty much that's it.

one note

Feels like an empty shell of pop

Two songs that are pretty awesome, and a bunch that are pretty ok.

3.5 stars

I like it!

It is a catchy and jangly collection of tunes but seems to carry nothing that noteworthy within in. It is a very easygoing listen overall.

7/10 [DROP]

I remember the hoopla about this band at the time, and Evan Dando seemed to be omnipresent throughout the 90s, but after listening to It's A Shame About Ray now, I just don't fully see why. It’s definitely a fun, breezy throwback to early 90s alt rock with all those short, jangly songs that don't drag on, but honestly? It feels pretty lightweight and generic and it’s missing the edge or depth to really stand out from all the other college rock bands floating around back then.

The whole thing is over in less than 30 minutes, and yeah, tracks like "Confetti" and the title song have some catchy hooks, Juliana Hatfield’s backing vocals are a nice touch, too. Still, it says a lot that their biggest song is that tacked-on, punky "Mrs. Robinson" cover.

It's not terrible, but the twangy instrumentation/vocals and fairly unsophisticated nature to proceedings aren't much my thing.

Bland, inoffensive indie rock. I am struggling to see how these guys had any impact on the culture back in the 90s. The best track is the cover which closes this LP, the original Simon & Garfunkel song with a new desktop theme.

Another one hot album. Generic 90s alt band trying to sound punkbbut sounds like every other generic 90s alt band thats trying to sound punk