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Critic's Review
Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
The Cryan' Shames have never gotten the attention they deserve. A sharp garage, folk-rock band out of Chicago, they released three joyous albums (Sugar and Spice, A Scratch in the Sky, and Synthesis) during their peak years of 1966-1969, before disbanding as the 1970s began. Obviously fans of the Beatles and the Byrds, but with a sunshine pop side that made them sound, at times, like a funkier version of the Association, The Shames merged bright garage rockers with baroque, orchestrated psychedelia, and had their best album, A Scratch in the Sky, been better marketed, their future may well have been very different. This collection assembles the best tracks from their three albums, and includes the joyous singles "Sugar and Spice," and "I Wanna Meet You," as well as the beautiful, Byrdsian "July." An energetic live act, they occasionally do reunion shows in the Chicago area.
