ALBUM: The Cryan’ Shames, ‘A Scratch in the Sky’
Chicago was a hotbed of quality music in the 1960s. Aside from the countless garage bands that were banging out their own contributions to society, you had your hitmakers (with varying levels of chart success) like the Buckinghams, the Ides of March, the New Colony Six, the Shadows of Knight, and last but not least, the Cryan’ Shames.
Anybody who lived outside of an ear’s shot of Chicago in the ’60s might have heard the Shames in 1966 when their version of the Searchers’“Sugar and Spice” (released on the local Destination label) cracked the Billboard Top 50 . They signed to Columbia Records and released a fine debut album with the usual concoction of original material and some covers.
During 1967, the Shames laid down the tracks for their second LP A Scratch in the Sky. It proved to be a huge leap in quality (if not, alas, in sales). Gone, for the most part, were the covers. What remained was a fine resume of the writing talents of members Jim Fairs and Lenny Kerley, who wrote nine of the 11 tracks on the album. It also displayed just how downright talented this group was.
As for the sound, imagine an ambitious combination of Sunshine Pop harmonies and arrangements (such as the Yellow Balloon, for example) with more experimental Beatles-esque traits. This album is their Revolver.
Just to give you an idea of what’s hidden in the grooves, take the lead track, “A Carol for Lorelei.” At first, it sounds like a companion piece to Don & the Goodtimes “I Could Be So Good to You” with the upbeat tempo and lovely harmonies, until things get a little wacky. They strip the instruments away and bring the tempo down a little, giving the tune a dreamy ethereal aura — then pow! Back to the pop sound again — and that’s only halfway through the song.
Other tracks feature a harder guitar sound (“Mr. Unreliable”) or allow room for experimentation without going too far into la-la land (“The Town I’d Like to Go Back To”). They also provide their interpretation of “Up on the Roof,” and while the Drifters’ original can never be surpassed, they give the song a nice update. It should have been a hit when it was released as a single.
Come to think of it, the album itself should have been a hit, but it wasn’t. Chalk it up to life not being fair. Don’t even get me started on why Columbia didn’t release the last two tracks (“Cobblestone Road” and “Dennis Dupree from Danville”) as singles.
If you missed your chance to buy this album in late ’67, and the Sundazed reissue somehow slipped by you a few years ago, you’re in luck. Now Sounds (a subsidiary of Cherry Red in the good ol’ UK) has spent the last couple of years releasing the mono mixes of albums by the likes of the Association, Harper’s Bizarre, and even Tiny Tim(?!). Now Sounds has been kind enough to tackle the small Cryan’ Shames library as well with stellar results. Their mono release of A Scratch in the Sky sounds terrific, and it’s fleshed out with excellent liner notes and bonus tracks of 45 mixes and non-LP tracks from the same period.
If you already own the excellent Sundazed release from a few years ago, you might be asking if this would be a redundant purchase. The honest answer is yes… and no. The bonus tracks are the same, so you won’t be getting any new music. The mono mix, however, while not radically different, gives the performances a whole new feel. The stereo mix lets you appreciate how great everything sounds in pieces, but the mono mix REALLY shows you how well the whole thing melts into a mouthwatering musical mofongo.
Seriously, this is a great album and worth getting if you haven’t got it already, or revisiting if you already own it. The Shames made it look way too easy to sound this good.
