THE SHAMES
The Shames were a garage rock band from Ipswich, Massachusetts who were active in the mid-1960s. They are known amongst collectors for two songs which are highly regarded: “Special Ones” and especially “My World is Upside Down”, which has been mentioned as a classic in the genre. Remarking on “My World is Upside Down”, Tim Warren of Crypt Records has called it“. . . by far the best garage record out of the entire New England area”. (More from Wikipedia)
There are some great covers on the Tell-Tale Hearts CD that run the gamut of the whole Sixties scene, among them “Just in Case You’re Wondering” (originally by the Ugly Ducklings), “Me Needing You” (the Pretty Things – the band who inspired the name of Mike Stax’s magazine, Ugly Things), “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (the Shadows of Knight), “Satisfy You” (the Seeds), the great lead-off track, “My World Is Upside Down” (the Shames), and “Cry” (the Malibus). The band’s original songs are steeped in the same Sixties brew; my favorites include “(You’re a) Dirty Liar”, “Crawling Back to Me”, “It’s Just a Matter of Time”, “One Girl”, and “Promise”. As usual though with the UARB’s, all of their music sounds great to me.
(September 2017)
