Customer Reviews

Scratch in the Sky

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For anyone who appreciates the artistry of a rock band at their most artistic, creative zenith, this CD is for you. The lyrics are intelligent, the vocals are stunning, the instrumentation is magnificent, and the vast majority of the material is original. If you enjoy folk (The Warm), hard rock (Dennis Dupree), country (Cobblestone Road), lovely ballads (I Was Lonely When), socially-significant lyrics (Mr. Unreliable), and stunning poetry sung aloud (James Fairs) "The Warm", this is the one for you. If a gene-splicing experiment between SGT. Pepper and Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds had occurred, A Scratch In the Sky would be the result. I genuinely believe this is the best CD recorded in the history of rock music.

One of the most influential garage bands from my home State of Illinois. These guys were very underated, their harmonies,lyrics a class act. Its been more than 40 years and I still listen to their music, my children love them also. NG/South Beach

One of the numerous excellent 1960s groups that had a huge regional following (Chicago, in this case) that somehow didn't make it very far on the national scene. Too bad, because the Shames had fine songs and arrangements and some lovely vocal harmonies. "It Could Be That We're in Love" was a regional smash and a moderate national chart hit, but there are several other worthy songs here. Recommended.

This 1967 offering from Chicagos finest band easily outmatches anything up to this point in time...even The Beatles Sgt Pepper..not only in composition, musicianship and recording quality/techniques...but the fact it is timeless....You wont find and drug references here....Just a down to earth, sincere musical effort by 6 extremely talented guys who truly loved what they did.

It is a tragedy that Columbia didn't venture more advertising budget into this band.....They had Americas answer to The Beatles and didn't do anything about it.

Buy this CD...and sit back and remember back to 1967 (if you're old enough to)...and think about everything that had been recorded to that point in time...and see if you dont agree....this was truly an overlooked masterpiece.

This was a big favorite of mine growing up. A BIG favorite. I've always felt that the Cryan' Shames stacked right up there with the best of 'em. Jim Fairs had a great gift for writing catchy tunes that stayed with you. One of my favorites of all time is his overlooked "The Town I'd Like To Go Back To" (missing from Columbia's "best of" several years back). The harmonies are exquisite - though some might say they sound a bit dated today, if only because they sound so different than anything you've heard in a long time. It's a real treat to finally have this out on cd. I love it! Thanx Sundazed!!

Sundazed Records (CDs?) has done it again; they've released yet another gem of 60s pop to CD. I have a special fondness for this group, 'cause when I was a kid their "It Could Be We're in Love"/"I Was Lonely When" single was given to me, and even with a big crack in it, I carefully played it again and again. I can't think of many more singles I've enjoyed as much. The "IWLW" single sounds like one of the best songs the Association never recorded, and "ICBWIL" is a great piece of sunshine pop, complete with grand pause near the end, and dramatic key change!) Here's the thing, though: when I got older and searched out the album on vinyl, I found that those two tracks differed from the single I remembered. They were anemic compared with the slick production on the single, plus, incredibly enough the album has someone laughing through that wonderful moment of silence in "ICBWIL"! Bummer!! This CD reissue remedies that--in addition to the original album, you get extra tracks, 2 of which are those beloved tracks of mine, so you can program your cd player to insert your favorite versions if you so desire. Now that I've done a dissertation on two songs...the entire 2nd side of this album (which starts with "Up on the Roof") earns the disc its four stars. The Drifters remake is a good one, not just a copy, but unique in its instrumentation and vocal arrangement, "Sunshine Psalm" is a swift, minor-key pleasure, "Cobblestone Road" is one of the best sing-along songs I've ever heard, and "Dennis Dupree from Danville" exits the album with good stomping rock and roll. Really nice job with the continuity and programming on that side as well. On the other side is the tilt towards a little bit more psychedelia (though nothing too trippy--these guys always were a vocal group at heart) with the opening tracks, and "Mr. Unreliable" is a groovy garage-style rocker that wears well even today. It says a lot about the absolute wealth of good popular music that everyone listened to at the time that this excellent group was more popular regionally (Chicago) than nationally by far. Highly recommended! Check out Sundazed's catalog for lots more goodies for the 60s rock fan (honest, I'm not an employee of theirs!)!

My favoprite LP's/CD's (not in any order) are
1.) The Beatles - Sgt Pepper
2.) The Byrds - The Notorious Byrd Brothers
3.) Taj Mahal - Giant Step/De Ol' Folks At Home
4.) Moby Grape - Moby Grape
5.) The (English) Beat - all 3
6.) Bruce Cockburn - Dancing In The Dragons Jaws
7.) Nick Drake - Four Leaves Left
8.) The Cryan' Shames - A Scratch In The Sky...
It's one of the most imaginative recordings ever. This band should have been huge. Great, great harmonies....very cool songs.
ENJOY

In the mid to late 1960's, Chicago was a boom town for bands that broke nationally-The Buckinghams, Spanky and Our Gang, The New Colony Six, The Ides Of March, The American Breed, and The Shadows Of Knight.
Although their national success didn't quite match those groups, the Cryan' Shames were hugely popular in the Chicago area and the upper Midwest and received lots of airplay on local radio. Their three Columbia LP releases were essential records of the time if you lived in the area.
Their second album, "A Scratch In The Sky", is part of the Sundazed reissue series of the group's catalog. It features the original eleven song line-up (along with five single or mono versions of those tracks) and two songs previously unavailable on album.
If there ever was a model for Chicago radio in 1967/1968, it would have to be this album. You can hear Beatle, Beach Boy, Byrd, and Association influences throughout the material and arrangements(add a dash of garage and psychedelia, also).
Songwriters James Fairs and Lenny Kerley knew how to write hooks for their tunes, too. "It Could Be We're In Love" dominated the Chicago AM airwaves when classic radio singles were everywhere. Along with that Shames' classic, the other highlights of this set are the rocking "Mr. Unreliable"; both versions of the lovely "I Was Lonely When"; the Brian Wilson homage "A Carol For Lorelei"; and the unique "Sunshine Psalm".
Their take on the Carole King/Gerry Goffin classic "Up On The Roof" was a regional hit featuring a big arrangement of nifty lead and background vocals.
The two special bonus tracks are a reflective James Fairs' beauty entitled "The Warm" and a moving cover of Oliver's "Young Birds Fly" featuring Tom Doody's heartfelt lead vocal.
As was always true with the Shames' work, the vocal work and musicianship is top notch.

Am a fan of this group and have the album but the quality of a CD is much better.

You really had to live in the Midwest in the late '60's to appreciate this band. They toured all over the Midwest, were probably the first rock and roll band that many people experienced. You could hear all of their hits on WLS-AM-Chicago. "A Scratch in the Sky" is their masterpiece accomplishment without any doubt. Growing up downstate Illinois, this band was as big as any in the country or abroad, at least here in the Midwest. They played at big auditoriums or small dance halls. The shows they put on were of the A+ catorgory. I saw them twice, once at small dance hall in Bloomington, Illinois and again at Illinois State University Horton Field house and they put on a show that I have remembered all my life. The other two Columbia releases are great too, but this one is it.