Richie UnterbergerOn their second album,
the Cryan' Shames shifted from the heavy British Invasion and
Byrds influences of their debut into a more California sunshine pop-flavored sound without abandoning their debts to
the Beatles and
the Byrds altogether. Never mind that they weren't from California; the harmonies, and sometimes the arrangements, have definite echoes of
the Beach Boys and
the Association. The Cryan' Shames were good harmony singers, and all but two of the songs on the LP are the work of group members Jim Fairs and Lenny Kerley. But the fact is that the songs aren't nearly as good as those of
the Beach Boys, though there are definite nods to classics like "Wouldn't It Be Nice" in some passages, and not even as well-tailored for AM success as
the Association's hits. As such groups go, though, they're above average and more wide-ranging, getting into some faintly
Byrdsy and faintly psychedelic sounds on "The Sailing Ship,"
Revolver-influenced guitar work on "Mr. Unreliable," and pure gossamer harmony pop on "The Town I'd Like to Go Back To." Sometimes it seems like they can't make up their mind what to emphasize: "Sunshine Psalm" has a hard-driving verse that sounds influenced by
the Byrds' "I See You," yet melts into light
Association-styled harmonies in other sections. The cover of
the Drifters' "Up on the Roof," which came out as a single, is way too MOR-slick, though. [Sundazed's CD reissue adds seven bonus tracks. Five of them are single versions of songs from the LP; the others are the 1968 non-LP soft rock single "Young Birds Fly" and the B-side "The Warm," a harmony ballad with more Beach Boys/
Association influences.] ~ Richie Unterbergrer