It's a Shame About Ray

It’s a Shame About Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992. Tom Morgan of australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs.

After its initial release, the album was re-issued with a cover of Mrs. Robinson, originally by Simon & Garfunkel, which was released as a single. The song had been recorded after the other tracks, with a different bass player. Pressure from the record label also caused the title of the song My Drug Buddy to be reduced to the less-provocative Buddy when the album was reissued.

The album and its title track was inspired partially from a club owner who called everyone Ray. Band leader Evan Dando later saw the actual line “It’s A Shame About Ray” in a Sydney newspaper article about something that happened to a child named Ray.

Alison’s Starting to Happen refers to Alison Galloway, the drummer for Smudge.

The album also includes a cover of the song Frank Mills from the musical Hair.

The band performed the album in its entirety at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on September 14 and 15, 2005, as part of the All Tomorrow’s Parties-curated Don’t Look Back series. The cover of Mrs. Robinson, a song that Dando grew tired of after its popularity, was missing from the setlist.

Confetti and the title track were also released as singles in the UK.

The album was re-issued as a collector’s edition by Rhino in 2008. This edition includes several bonus demo versions of album tracks, along with the b-side Shaky Ground plus a DVD containing the previous VHS release Two Weeks In Australia.