It took a long time for Lemonheads to become overnight sensations and then they were gone in what seemed like a blink of an eye.
It was back in 1986 when the band formed in Boston, with the principal talent being Evan Dando who was guitarist, co-vocalist and main songwriter. Four albums into their career and they were hardly known outside college radio in the USA, so Dando upped sticks and moved to Australia where he hooked up with two other musicians, wrote some songs and recorded an album and a cover version or two. It was said cover version – Mrs Robinson – that brought them some fame, certainly in Australia and the UK, and all of a sudden in 1992 the media went crazy for the handsome Mr Dando.
The fifth LP, It’s A Shame About Ray, saw the band add ‘The’ before their name and the album took off after its re-release with a new inclusion of the hit cover. By 1993 the band were spending a fair bit of time in Europe, particularly the UK, and seemed set to really crack things when a new song, Into Your Arms was a Top 20 hit at the end of the tear with the sixth LP Come On Feel The Lemonheads going Top 5. It also helped that Dando had formed froendships with the members of Oasis who could do no wrong at this point in time.
The next single, in early 1994 was seen by all concerned as the one to propel The Lemonheads into the stratosphere:-
mp3 : The Lemonheads – It’s About Time
A tuneful and catchy radio-friendly number that surely would find favour with the record buying public.
Except, it didn’t stalling at a lowly #57.
The summer of 1994 wasn’t kind to Evan Dando as his often referred to drug habit – he’d been upfront enough about it before to mention it interviews and to even write songs about it (including one which appears on this CD single) – really took its toll and led to shows being cancelled and a media backlash. One of the world’s most beautiful people of 1993 was all but forgotten by the end of 1994. And it took him until 1996, a full three years after the last album, to get new material out. But his ship had sailed…
Here’s the other tracks on the CD single of the hoped for big hit:-
mp3 : The Lemonheads – Rick James Acoustic Style
mp3 : The Lemonheads – Down About It (acoustic)
mp3 : The Lemonheads – Big Gay Heart (acoustic)
Enjoy
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
The Lemonheads were a great band, easily misunderstood and dismissed here in the states. Exploring their catalog is an adventure that continues to pay off. And they did fantastic covers. I’d love to do one of your imaginary mix tapes. I’m not sure how it works, getting the digital songs to you (I’m kind of hopeless with these things), but let me know if you’re interested. Love the site. Every day.
Hi Jen….many thanks for the kind words.
All you need to do is put the words together and e-mail them to me at thevinylvillain@hotmail.co.uk
With a bit of luck I will be able to get my hands on all the tracks you select either through what I already have in the collection or by some other means. If push comes to shove I’ll talk you through attaching music files in an e-mail. Looking forward to hearing from you.
JC
Good song though this is, I was surprised when it was selected as a single – I always thought that I’ll Do It Anyway was the catchy track on “Come On Feel…”.