It’s a Shame About Ray

Imagine Simon & Garfunkel stripped down to their basic chords, throw in some gain, add bass and drums, and replace the angelic voice of Garfunkel with a weary, drug-addled, morning-after rasp - more Gram Parsons than Art Garfunkel’s angelic choirboy tenor - and you’ve got the sound of It’s a Shame About Ray. It’s Simon & Garfunkel via The Replacements or Big Star. Wondering if I mean that in a positive way? Hell yeah.

Sometimes all you need are great, hooky tunes, an electric guitar, and lyrics about human relationships, alienation, or drugs. If it were that simple to stir up an album that works as well as this one, why don’t we have more of them?

Just listen to: Confetti, the title track, Alison’s Starting to Happen, Kitchen, My Drug Buddy. The melodies are saccharine - in the best possible way. It’s A Shame About Ray is mostly pristine early-’90s Boston jangle/alt-rock/underground pop bangers, with L.A.’s sublight baked into the fabric.

The tunes are insanely catchy, the runtime is concise, and it’s rough around the edges. In short: it’s pretty close to perfect.

I grew up one town over from Julianna HatfieId (I'm 3 yrs younger). She was the coolest kid around. I was in college in Boston when this album came out. The Lemonheads were just a part of life. It seemed like everyone in Boston had been in this band at one point it another. Listening to this album is like having a vivid flashback of my 20s.

Sort of bland... I somehow expected this to be a quirky '90s alt-teen experience. Instead the whole thing just kind of came and went.

Standout: Hannah & Gabi

Pretty standard fair 90s alt rock to be honest. I enjoy it as a fan of the genre but it doesn't blow me away in any capacity. Your biggest song being a cover isn't a great look either.

Decent alternative album

Welcome surprise

Guter 90s Indie-Rock. Hat mir gefallen.

If any album sounds like the 90s distilled, this is the one.
I don't think I'll ever listen to this again though.

I’m right at a 4.

Wikipedia really shouldn’t call this grunge. It sets an expectation that immediately gets wiped away from the first strums of the guitar, and thankfully, settles into something that’s right down my alley – this is R.E.M. with the RPM turned up a bit, with a hint of Matchbox 20, the Goo Goo Dolls, or Counting Crows in there. There’s certainly some influence from grunge, especially in the guitar/percussion, but it’s not the driving sound/genre of the album, at least compared to what most people would call “90s grunge”.

This is the sort of alt-rock that I have a lot of love for, specifically because it’s a bit on the poppier side of things; give me a good chorus, some strong melodies in the verses, some catchy enough repeatable lyrics, and blend it with a band that knows how to play the instruments they’re given, and you can’t lose in my eyes. This album doesn’t always click on all of those, but it clicks a LOT of the time. The main reason I’m at a 4 is because the album does sort of get a bit stale around the middle – the structure of “cool acoustics with heavy percussion” gets a bit overplayed, and the lyricism and vocals don’t overcome that stigma, specifically around tracks 5-7. They’re still fun listens, but they’re just not as compelling to me for whatever reason. The same applies to the last 2 tracks on the original release; that cover from the musical Hair feels rather strange as the “ending” of the album – the Mrs. Robinson cover on the rerelease remedies that, but that original finish would’ve been a bit strange in 1992, I think.

Regardless, I did enjoy a lot of this – it’s right down my alley, and maybe with enough time, it could go up to a 5. For now, it’s a recommended 4, that feels like a bit of a “normal” cleanser to my ears after that Mothers of Invention album – that’s still a fine enough album, but I really needed something traditional today, and The Lemonheads came through. I gotta check out more from these guys, I think.

I could see how this might get a little tiresome if it were long, but at barely over half an hour, it doesn't overstay its welcome. I like the title track a lot; i think it was a single. My Drug Buddy also good, and the cover of Mrs Robinson has some great bass playing. I think this merits a four.

90s alt-rock is such an average genre of music. there are so many bands this album could have been and so many bands who were doing the same thing at this time.

Mrs Robinson and knowing me knowing you are good covers; they get a star on their own!

Apart from the covers this is a very basic album that could be by anyone at that time and is instantly forgettable. That said I enjoyed Rockin stroll and It’s a shame about ray. Particularly the demos that are on the extended versions.

Favourite song: Knowing me knowing you
Least favourite: Nothing was bad, yet nothing was very good at all.
Album artwork: Cool cover.

The name of the band The Lemonheads sound familiar to me. But after listening to the album, I didn't notice much that was familiar. I didn't find the music particularly impressive. I liked It's a Shame About Ray. I soon found the cover version of Mrs. Robinson better than the original. The rest of the album strummed pleasantly but unimpressively in the background. 3/5

Replacement level 90s pop radio alt rock - nice jangle, strummy, some twang, it's very bright, melodic and earnest, but extremely paint by numbers. I like this genre a lot, but really hard to call this essential listening as an album - maybe a song on a best of the rest 90s comp.

I haven't listened to much of this band before. They have good energy. Very "90s sitcom intro" vibe. I never noticed there's a "coo coo ca choo" in 'Mrs Robinson' before.

Highlight: 'Confetti'

A nice surprise! Quite enjoyed this one

4 ⭐️

Every song sounds exactly the same. The template works, but it's just annoying to hear the same song for 35 minutes. If anything saves this album, it's the 90s nostalgia.

Enjoyable album, lots of elements of music I enjoy. Instrumentals maybe like the Smiths. 3*
Highlights from the deluxe version: the mrs robinson cover (apparently this is making me a S&G shill), knowing me knowing you (I'm also an ABBA shill and these guys make nice covers)

A mediocre dad-rock album with no unique elements. It's a shame this is taking the place of other potential albums. The only redeeming qualities are that many of the instrumentals are at least average and it's relatively short. 1.8/5 -> 2/5

Great sound, some good songs. Not much in the way of staying power, but I'm glad it exists

Monotonous voice and songs. Nothing special. It's just ok.