The Lemonheads – It's A Shame About Ray (2xLP)

The fifth, seminal Lemonheads album "It's A Shame About Ray", is lovingly re-released for its 30th anniversary in 2023! This long overdue reissue features a wealth of additional material, including an unreleased "My Drug Buddy" KCRW session version from 1992 featuring Juliana Hatfield, B-sides from the singles "It's A Shame About Ray" and "Confetti", a track from the "Mrs. Robinson/Being Round" EP, and demos released on vinyl for the first time.

This reissue duly celebrates Lemonheads' prestigious hit album: the deluxe bookback editions include new liner notes and unreleased photos. Described by music journalist and author Everett True as "A 30-minute insight into what it's like to live hard and fast and loose and happy with like-minded mates, fueled by a shared love of similar bands and drugs and booze and freedom". "It's A Shame About Ray" had a considerable impact in those heady, carefree days of 1992.

The record perfectly captures Dando's ability to effortlessly encapsulate teenage longing and lust in a two-minute pop song. Singles like "My Drug Buddy" and the breezy, perfect pop of the title track may stand out (plus the most ingenious cover version of "Mrs. Robinson", which was added to later pressings), but the album's real strength lies in the tracks in between; the truly fantastic "Confetti" (about Evan's parents' divorce) and the breathtakingly laid-back acoustic cover of "Frank Mills" (from the hippie musical Hair), a version that seems to carry every ounce of pathos and feeling for the lost generation of the 1960s.