Customer Reviews

Sugar & Spice: A Collection

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I followed the Shames around and saw them at several of the teen clubs in Chicago that sprang up back in the 60's. Their music was not well appreciated outside the immediate area of the City after a couple of years. They don't get anywhere near the airtime on the current "oldies" stations in the Chicago are like the Buckinghams or New Colony 6 do, but they had their own unique style and appearance in the days of the "Mod" look. Many suburban teens identified with them and local musicians enjoyed their success.

The historical write up that is included with this CD is very well done, and perhaps is better done than the recordings themselves. It's too bad that more CD's today don't have this much great information included with the disk. One thing that seems strange to me though is that songs that followed each other on the original album are in a different order on this collection. It would be a better musical experience to hear them in the original order. This disk has a great representation of the variety of styles that the group played. "Up on the Roof" for example is so different from the original version of the song that they are complementary rather than competing versions of the same song.

Just wish this disk had "Hey Joe" on it.

I thank Columbia for making this collection available to those of us who remain fans of those guys from Hinsdale, Il.

This is another example of a great band that didn't receive the proper backing from their label, decent management, nor the credit they deserved.

The Cryan' Shames' hook (claim to fame) was indeed a real hook. Yep, they had a tambourine player that didn't sing (much) and had a hook instead of a left hand. That may have been the gimmick that got them noticed, but their musical qualities were undeniable.

I saw the Shames in Cleveland in '67 during a ten-band extraviganza. At that time, and for their first album, they did a lot of Beatles and Byrds covers but with (dare I say it) better harmony, great lead guitar playing on both 12- and 6-string, a stronger drummer and a great show.

Their second LP (easily their best in performance and production) is well represented in this compilation and contains more of their own compositions. Their final album had the vocals I expected, but the band was often buried in the often-overproduced orchestration. It's good stuff, I'd just assume hear the band and not the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (or whomever they hired).

This collection carries the same title as the Shames' first LP, but isn't the same album. Instead, it has many of their best cuts from each LP, and a few of which do not appear on any of their three Columbia releases.

I am a doctor of music now and still listen to and appreciate this album. It's decently remixed except for a loss of strength and warmth in the bass, common in most CD's.

The Cryan Shames were a group of guys from Chicago that had the sound, but never had the promtion to share it with the masses. This album captures samplings of some of their music that many of us knew well, in addition to a few previously unreleased songs, never heard by most. To me, the essence of the Cryan Shames is expressed in their version of Carol King's "Up on the Roof", followed by the upbeat "Cobblestone Road" and "Dennis Dupree From Danville." These songs were taken from the "Scratch in the Sky" album that probably was their best production ever, note for note. They present beautiful harmonies in all of their music, and as shown in "Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith & Jones", amazing timing. Sometimes they sound a little like the "Association", sometimes a little Monkees, but mostly they sound like the "Cryan Shames." While they do perform a few cover tunes such as "Rainmaker", written by Harry Nilsson, most of their music is original and written by Jim Fairs and various members of the group. You'll like this album, if you like good, well written 60's & 70's music.

The Cryan Shames were one of numerous 1960s groups that had a strong regional following (Chicago, in this case) but never managed to break out on the national scene. Too bad, because the Shames had some fine songs and arrangements and excellent harmony vocals that rival the Association, the Harper's Bizarre, and the like. "Sugar and Spice" and "It Could Be We're in Love" were regional chart-toppers and moderate national hits, but there are several other worthy songs here. Highly recommended.

It is a real treat listening to this CD and bringing back all the memories from Chicago and the sixties. I saw the Shames in several teen clubs of the era (The New Place, The Cellar) and hearing Sugar and Spice again sends chills down my spine. The second half of the CD represents music that seems over done with the strings.

The whole Chicago band scene in the 60's was a wonderful time and The Cryin' Shames were one of the great bands. They still play in the area, but not with most of the original members. Word from their site was a new CD and dates with the original members and the current band as backup.

Buy it, you'll like it!

Numerous very good songs, but missing are 3 of the absolute best Shane's songs from the first album, "Hey Joe", "If I Needed Someone" and the best live version of "We Gotta Get outta This Place" that I have ever heard to this day. If these songs and a few different, better Shames songs were added, it would be Killer.

Sugar and Spice is the kind of thing college professors study when they're trying to figure out what it was like to be alive at a particular time. It turns out that the 60s weren't just an era of violence, confrontation and social unrest. The innocent 60s, idealism and teen love, ooze out of every note on this CD. Hearing "It Could Be We're in Love" for the first time in 30 years suddenly made me 16 again, and put me in the car on the way to see my girlfriend in August, 1967. ("Eighty-nine, W-L-S, Chi-ca-go.")

Given the heavy nostalgia trip, I'm not sure how good the music really is. But the Cryan Shames clearly had a lot of range, and enough courage to stretch themselves. The harmonies are great even if the voices sometimes sound a little weak. And, depending on the track, they sound like a succession of contemporary bands, including the Association, the Beach Boys, maybe even the Dave Clark Five. As stated elsewhere, the band history is excellent, and the song selection gives a good sense of the arc of the Cryan Shames' first four years of life.

The CD is well worth the price. Rock from the Vault was made for projects like this.

Excellent review of Cryan Shames music however lacks probably the best track on the first album, "If I Needed Someone" by George Harrison. Apparently, the Cryan Shames went forward with production and usage of the song without the proper permission. They were forced to remove this song from subsequent reproductions. I saw the group on tour in Miami in 1967 and lead guitar was fantastic as it is on this single.

The Cryan' Shames had one of the most dastardly deeds done to them that a record company ever did. Columbia consigned the Shames to a "Midwest" market, and this great, great band was denied a national following. I grew up in Naperville, Illinois, close to Hinsdale, where the Shames were based, and that whole area was alive with great original music in the 1963-1968 time frame. The genius in the Cryan' Shames dwelled in the heart of guitarist Jim Fairs, who wrote their classic lovesongs that put them on top in the Midwest. Listen to "We Could Be Happy" and "It Could Be We're in Love."--love songs to rival The Association or Jimmy Webb. "July" is a tiny gem of 12-string guitar and ethereal lyrics. Top notch production, led by Fairs himself, makes this album a pop masterpiece. I had the privilege to play in a band with Fairs and Jimmy Pilster (J.C. Hooke) later on in the 70s, along with future Survivor vocalist Dave Bickler. I highly recommend this cd.

The true value of this collection is it's snapshot of an era of soaring harmonies and 12-string guitars. I saw the Shames several times in their heyday, and had the unique experience of playing in a band with the genius behind their music, lead guitarist Jim Fairs. A true artist and renaissance man, Jim Fairs WAS the Shames...