Lemonheads Revisit 'It's a Shame About Ray'

The Lemonheads
With the Shining Twins
Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 9 p.m.
Urban Lounge

If you’re too young to remember the early ’90s, here’s a quick history lesson: There were a bunch of scruffy dudes in Seattle who took Black Sabbath’s big riffs and added a few extra layers of fuzz and feedback. They wore Doc Martens and screamed a lot and the media found a catchy little title to describe it all: grunge.

But before, during and after grunge there was a band called The Lemonheads. In the late ’80s, the three-piece act from Boston was basically a punk band, in the vein of The Replacements or Hüsker Dü. While bands all around them started playing heavier music, the Lemonheads got softer.

In 1992, the band released “It’s a Shame About Ray,” an album of upbeat pop songs that stood in stark contrast to the teenage angst of the time.

Frontman (and the only constant band member) Evan Dando found a way to fit the world into songs that rarely made it past the two-minute mark. There were bouncy rockers, soft-hearted ballads and flirtations with country music. With the addition of a ramped up version of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson,” the album was the perfect package.

“It’s a Shame About Ray” should have been the start of big things for The Lemonheads. But it never happened. The Lemonheads released two solid post-“Ray” albums, but Dando’s descent into drug abuse became a distraction and led to the undoing of the band.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the end of Dando. After a long hiatus, he released an endearing solo album in 2003 before reviving The Lemonheads name for a self-titled record in 2006 and a covers album in 2009.

Nearly two decades later, things have come full circle. Dando is back on the road, performing “Ray” in its entirety. The tour may be a throwback to another era, yet the songs sound just as good as they did during the height of flannel and goatees.

Let’s hear it for second chances.