World Wide Woozle - Albums that matter episode #4

Music fans, stalkers, groovers, here we are again.

Album # 4: The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray (1992)

In 1992 I had never heard of The Lemonheads other than perhaps their 1989 cover of the Suzanne Vega classic, Luka. It was also a pivotal year in my life for many reasons. I ran away from the Army (I don't recommend this but it worked out in the end), and Alison and I got engaged. 

In the olden days, there were a couple of ways to get exposure to new music. Of course, at this time in Australia, Triple J radio had not long gone national and was essential listening. One could read the local music press which even in the relatively small market of Canberra was a significant influence via the free publication, BMA. Record shops were king, and here it was Impact Records. I spent a lot of time, and money, in this fantastic shop which sold every kind of music imaginable. I'd go in, knowing that two of my idols, Matt and Lucy from Armoured Angel, worked there, but was initially too shy to talk to them. I've only ever purchased two albums on the strength of hearing them playing in a shop. One was Sacred Reich's, The American Way and the other, well, keep reading. Oh, and I had to wait for Sacred Reich to finish on the store CD player because it was the only copy.

In 1991 Impact Records moved away from their original location close to Electric Shadows Cinema and The Terrace Bar. The new spot, in what is now the Civic Bus Interchange, was definitely more central, and larger, and for a while it was awesome until JB HiFi took it over.

Impact Records was fabulous. I remember calling them, from a payphone, during a holiday, to ensure that they would keep a limited edition Metallica box set aside for me. 

One fateful day in 1992 I was in the shop doing one of my favourite things, browsing. I was playing in an indie band by this time and the Canberra music scene was such that you were likely to meet someone you knew and then discuss what they were listening to. On this day, It's A Shame About Ray was playing and I remember being transfixed. Acoustic guitars mixed with a bit of grunge, folky melodies, and the energy. So I bought it and took it home. 

I was excited. No-one I knew had heard of this band and the album was magnificent. Then it happened. They released a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's, Mrs. Robinson, and hit the charts. My version of the album does not have this song on it, they added it a bit later. Suddenly everyone knew about them! We saw them live in March 1993 at the ANU Refectory. They played plenty of songs from the album, but to the crowd's disappointment, not that huge single. And they ended with a wall of noise that took the shine off a good evening.

It's A Shame About Ray was re-released in 2022 and it still stacks up in my opinion. One of my favourite all time lyrics is on this LP; "she's the puzzle piece behind the couch, made the sky complete".

For me, this album is about time and place as much as it is about the music and lyrics. At the time it was the kind of music I wanted to play in a band and we sort of got there with Lovesmudge.

The Lemonheads - Confetti - https://youtu.be/SOiTkEfNAPU

Thanks for reading this,

The Woozle

For those that came in late, the first three episodes are:
AC/DC - Blow Up Your Video
Jason Isbell - Southeastern

The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God