Ticket 2 Ride

Ever hear of the Lemonheads pop-rock group of the 1990s? No, I didn’t think so. This group reminds me of The Lovin’ Spoonful or The Monkees. Cool, jangly, melodic pop, with just enough of a harder edge to take these guys seriously.

Remember the early 1990s? There was grunge, alt. rock, and the more acoustic slacker rock. Lots of new artists surfaced with acoustic guitars and catchy tunes. We think of the 1990s as being Nirvana, AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Ozzie, Van Halen, Stone Temple Pilots, Motley Crue, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Alice In Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, The Flaming Lips – hard rock, metal, loud, distorted and angry.

There was also a resurgence of less frantic, jangly, folkie pop-rock. The Breeders, The Cranberries, The Wallflowers, The Rembrandts, 10,000 Maniacs, Marc Cohn, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Lisa Loeb, Tracy Chapman, Wilco, Bare Naked Ladies and Juliana Hatfield among them.

The Lemonheads fell into both camps. Early Lemonheads definitely landed in the grunge, pop-punk category. Beginning with Lovey (1990), their first major label release, the band reigned in the distortion for more melody. Granted, much of their music on Lovey was still loud and raw, but the change had started. Dando even put more effort into singing on key. The slower, more melodic songs infused some alt-country, jangling. Lovey has its moments, “Ballarat,” “Year of the Car” “Lil Seed” as the band is a bit less undisciplined and the production is improved. Regardless of how cool these guys seemed and the hard-ons some music critics got, they sounded no different than many garage-grunge bands trying to break big.

The Lemonheads had now been around for a few years when their next album was released in 1992, It’s a Shame About Ray. They already had gotten notice with a slacker-perfect cover of “Mrs. Robinson,” which was later added to It’s a Shame About Ray.

Allmusic.com said: “the album is a simple collection of sunny melodies and hooks, delivered with typical nonchalance by Dando. None of the songs are about anything major, nor do they have astonishingly original melodies, but that’s part of their charm — they’re immediately accessible and thoroughly catchy.”

At the time, the bad was composed of: Evan Dando – guitar, vocals; Juliana Hatfield – bass guitar, backup vocals; David Ryan – drums. You might recognize the name Juliana Hatfield, because she would go solo and find her own success. Dando was the voice, principal songwriter and Jim Morrison-type poster boy, who would also have some of the same self-destructive tendencies as Morrison.

Dando looks a bit like the late Beach Boy Dennis Wilson: handsome, disheveled, charming, self-destructive. Come On, Feel the Lemonheads turned out to be the peak of The Lemonheads and Dando. The band broke up, reformed with new players for Dando, albums that went largely unnoticed, a Dando solo career, drug issues, and largely nothing.

Sky magazine said this about Dando at the time: “The general consensus about Evan Dando is that he is about as unwarped by fame as you can get.” In other words, Dando just doesn’t give a shit in general. He’s one of those people who have God-given talent, Robert Redford-looks, and he just walks away from it all. My two-cents are that wasn’t challenged, it the beginning it all came too easy, except he never pushed himself to grow, to channel his energy and commit to becoming better. He coasted and got bored, and self-medicated. I could be totally wrong, but I don’t think so.

Dando’s output the past 30 years has been sporadic. It’s a Shame About Ray and Come On, Feel the Lemonheads stand by far as his best work. Opinions differ on which is the best of the two, critics seems to pick the former, but my favorite is the latter. Both are 4 out of 5 stars.

Baby, I’m Bored (2003) was Dando’s only solo album to date. It’s a low-key affair, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. What it lacks in production, is made up for in its soulful earnestness. It’s mild compared to Lemonheads albums. Dando wrote or co-wrote nine of the twelve songs, and plays a handful of instruments. He gets help from frequent co-writer Tom Morgan. This was released during his marriage to Elizabeth Moses. Frankly, the album was a pleasant surprise, a revisit to the acoustic and jangly guitar days of yesteryear.

Does it seem like 30 years have passed since Come On, Feel the Lemonheads? Nope. Still my favorite Lemonheads album. Many would recommend It’s a Shame About Ray as The Lemonheads’ best, certainly a great choice, and you can’t be wrong with either.