Day 0714 - It's a Shame About Ray

The Lemonheads "It's a Shame About Ray" (1992)

The Lemonheads were up to album number 5 with "It's a Shame About Ray" leading to a few commentators to point to the rise of grunge as being beneficial for the band.   The band were also buoyed by their remake of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs Robinson" which was put out in conjunction with a re-release of the film 'the Graduate'.

Things hadn't been rosy before that.  The band's fourth album hadn't fared too well and one band member left the group.  Guitarist/singer/songwriter Evan Dando decamped to Australia to work on songs that would end up going towards this album.

With its upbeat, catchy songs with a bit of straight-ahead rock guitar backing, the Lemonhead's sound would occasionally get tagged with the label of "bubble grunge".  The group combine grunge, pop, garage and even a bit of country to make their sound.

Another one, unfortunately, that falls into the category of "I liked it well enough, but won't rush to revisit it."

Day 0668 - Shake Your Money Maker

The Black Crowes "Shake Your Money Maker" (1990)

 
To pull out the 'old reliable' again "I'd heard of the band by name, but wasn't familiar with any of their music".  Turns out that I had heard a couple of these tracks ("Too hard to handle" and "She talks to angels") but just wasn't aware that they were Black Crowes songs.

The band was maybe one of the earlier groups to start the fad of reviving the 1960s blues rock sound.  Channelling artists such as Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker ("Seeing things") and Tom Petty.  They deliver a set of tracks that dwell in the sleazy, greasy good-time aspect of rock n roll, while still delivering a slice of gravity in "She talks to angels" which deals with another rock n roll 'classic'... heroin addiction.

Day 0417 - The Cars

The Cars "The Cars" (1978)

One of the early new-wave albums and a huge pop 'smash' that managed to stay in the US Billboard charts for some 139 weeks.

The quote that accompanies the album's entry in the book reads" I never wanted to really be a musician and I don't care about musicianship that much. I care about style and content" which I guess kind of sums up 80s pop music in general. The prog and fusion bands of the 70s with their virtuosic musicianship, were giving way more and more to glossy new-wave sounds.  Even bands like Queen and Sparks pared back their arrangements and eased up on their more indulgent flashier musicianship to produce simpler arrangements and more (theoretically) accessible pop fare.

This is an enjoyable and recognisable album, every second track seemed to be "that song I've heard on the radio".