Technically, Liverpool band
the Cryin' Shames were primarily active for a single year, releasing two singles in 1966. There was much more to the story before and after those four songs, however, and the extensive compilation
Please Stay attempts to tell parts of that story. The band was one of many acts taken under the wing of producer
Joe Meek, whose studio sound and artistic guidance became just as much a part of the total picture as the songwriting or performances.
The Cryin' Shames are an excellent example of some of
Meek's unusual gifts. "Please Stay," the band's biggest hit, is a ghostly ballad written by
Bob Hillard and
Burt Bacharach, but transformed into something otherworldly by
Meek's production. On the flipside, "What's News Pussycat" is a dead ringer for
Bob Dylan's "On the Road Again," down to the song structure, harmonica blurting, and patented surrealistic swagger borrowed directly from
Dylan. Some of
Meek's most notable productions appropriated other artist's hits, and this one seems especially modeled after
Dylan's work. The band regrouped as
Paul & Ritchie & the Cryin' Shames before 1966 was over, and worked with
Meek on the far more grooving "September in the Rain," a lighthearted pop tune driven by loopy Farfisa organ. Along with two tracks from sometimes bandmember
Derek Cleary's later group
Friendly Persuasion, these few tunes were all that ever publicly surfaced from
the Cryin' Shames camp. This compilation goes incredibly deep into the vaults, however, excavating an audition tape from the band when they were still called
the Bumblies that includes a hushed version of "Please Stay," as well as a variety of other cover tunes, and then digging deeper to find similar unreleased
Cryin' Shames recordings. There's a wealth of soul and beat cover versions, alternate studio takes, a BBC performance, other live tracks, and even the gorgeously orchestral "Feels Like Loving," which was recorded by
Shames vocalist
Charlie Crane but never released. Even with
Meek's patronage and the ear of some industry bigwigs (the band was at one point approached by
Beatles manager
Brian Epstein, but they declined his offer to represent them),
the Cryin' Shames were ultimately one of countless great but under-known bands that quickly blipped in the mid-'60s.
Please Stay shines more than ample light on essentially everything they made during their brief time, exposing levels of talent that could have contended with some of their better-known peers if circumstances had been different. ~ Fred Thomas
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