Customer Reviews

Shame Shame Shame

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This disc's title track was written by Sylvia Robinson, of the vocal duo Mickey and Sylvia ("Love Is Strange,") and sung by Shirley Goodman, of the vocal duo Shirley and Lee ("Let The Good Times Roll,") with the male vocal on this track provided by a session singer named Jesus Alvarez. Although it's been classified as a "disco" song, the sound is pure Bo Diddley, updated for the '70s. This song hit number one on the R&B charts in 1975, and it deserved to: It's funky, with a hook that grabs you and reels you right in. It's also a little flaky (thanks to Goodman's vocal), but it's just plain FUN.

Too bad, then, that nothing else on this disc is even one-tenth as good as this one standout track. The rest of the songs just sit there, without the hooks to make you want to listen to them again. Goodman's unique singing voice, used to such great effect on the title track, quickly becomes irritating when she doesn't have good songs to back her up.

The sound quality is nothing to rave about: The percussion on the title track is harsh and trebley, which will keep you from cranking up the volume. On the other hand, the rest of the instruments sound muddy. This song has ALWAYS sounded a little muddy and muffled, but the vinyl LP and the other CDs I've heard don't compound the problem with the harsh percussion sound the song suffers from on this disc.

By the way, the title track is presented here in a different mix than the one which appeared on the original vinyl LP. The song appears here with the guitar panned far-left and the piano panned far-right. On the LP (and every other CD I've heard), the stereo separation on this track is very poor, almost monaural.

The sound quality of this CD is terrible! It is full of distortion.

I had hoped to find the track "More Shame", wich is the intrumental flip-side of "Shame, Shame, Shame", on this CD. Instead I got an instrumental version wich sounds like a little kid who is experimenting with his new Casio!!!

So it is back to my 45 RPM again!!!

I remember hearing "Shame Shame Shame" when it first came out in 1975. I was 11 years old, and I saw Shirley & Company perform it on a comedy/variety show that Bill Cosby had on TV at the time. The song was so nutty, and their on-screen performance of it was so loopy and off-the wall, that I didn't even realize it was a real song by a real group. I thought it was another comedy sketch.

I got the LP for Christmas that year, and it's been a guilty pleasure ever since.

This album was obviously recorded on a bargain-basement budget with a no-frills production, and Shirley has a shrill voice which could shatter glass...but I LOVE this album. The music is an eccentric collection of Dr Demento-like novelty tunes("Disco Shirley") and romantic R&B ballads("Gotta Get Next to You") along with some forgettable filler("Love Is"). "Jim Doc Kay" has playful, nursery-rhyme lyrics, while the instrumental version of "Cry, Cry, Cry" is actually quite pretty.

Shirley and her friends were obviously having a lot of fun while they recorded this album, and I've always had fun while listening to it. Even the colorful, cartoon album cover perfectly matches the mood of the music contained within: Silly, Sweet, Stupid, kind of Cheap and so much Fun.

It's the best Disco album Dr Demento never made.

This is,I believe, the first disco lp to produce a single that made any respectable showing in the charts. The cd sound isn't perfect,but the original recording sessions most likely didn't have the greatest fidelity either. Not a classic,but not so bad you'll scream "Disco sucks!" either. Basically an item for Disco collectors to start with.

The title track on this album is a forgotten classic, but I agree you'd be better off just downloading that one song and leave the rest alone. The only other reason I can think to buy this album is for the picture on the cover which is absolutely hilarious. It depicts a woman dancing in front of a man who appears to be Richard Nixon. Put in context with the 70's it's obvious that the title "Shame Shame Shame" is being used as a reference to the Watergate scandal that was unfolding at the time of the song's release. Looking closer it even appears that the woman is trying to pick Tricky Dick's pocket! It really cracks me up. And yes, the audio here is a big disappointment also, but what a great song!