If Lovey captured Evan Dando as he found his signature blend of punk-pop, jangle pop, and folk-rock, It's a Shame About Ray is where he perfected that style. Breezing by in under half-an-hour, the album is a simple collection of sunny melodies and hooks delivered with typical nonchalance by Dando. None of the songs are about anything major, nor do they have astonishingly original melodies, but that's part of their charm -- they're immediately accessible and thoroughly catchy. Dando's laid-back observations of middle-class ...
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If Lovey captured Evan Dando as he found his signature blend of punk-pop, jangle pop, and folk-rock, It's a Shame About Ray is where he perfected that style. Breezing by in under half-an-hour, the album is a simple collection of sunny melodies and hooks delivered with typical nonchalance by Dando. None of the songs are about anything major, nor do they have astonishingly original melodies, but that's part of their charm -- they're immediately accessible and thoroughly catchy. Dando's laid-back observations of middle-class outcasts are minor gems. The heartbroken title track or "Confetti," the crushes of "Bit Part in Your Life," the love letter to substances "My Drug Buddy," or the wonderful "Alison's Starting to Happen," where a girl finds herself as she discovers punk rock, capture the laconic rhythms of suburbia, and his warm, friendly voice, which is offset by Juliana Hatfield's harmonies, gives the songs an emotional resonance. It's a Shame About Ray was later re-released with a competent punk-pop remake of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" added as a bonus track. As Dando approached stardom, the album was repressed again with the title of "My Drug Buddy" truncated to "Buddy." It was later restored to its original title. [The 30th Anniversary edition of It's a Shame About Ray recycles everything that appeared on the previous double-disc expansion of the 1992 album. That version appeared as a double-CD from Rhino in 2008, a set that included the Lemonheads' cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson," the B-side "Shaky Ground," and a selection of nine demos. All of these demos get their first-ever vinyl release on this 2022 edition from Fire, along with five tracks that weren't on the 2008 reissue: "Divan," a KCRW Session version of "My Drug Buddy" featuring Juliana Hatfield on backing vocals, then acoustic versions of "Confetti," "Alison's Starting to Happen," and "Knowing Me, Knowing You," an ABBA cover not available elsewhere. All of this new material is worthwhile, but collectors who already have the 2008 set may find it slightly thin; the vinyl variation does make this particular edition notable.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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