The Cryin' Shames, Paul & Ritchie & The Crying Shames, Friendly Persuasion - Please Stay

Please Stay by the Liverpool band The Cryin’ Shames hit number 26 on the UK charts in 1966.  It was the last hit song for producer Joe Meek and within a year of that he was dead, and the band had broken up.  While they only ended up releasing two singles with a third from the offshoot band Paul & Ritchie & The Crying Shames, thanks to Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes, the latest in that series of releases from Cherry Red is this outstanding two-disc collection containing fifty-one tracks.  In addition to the six single cuts there are the audition tapes from The Bumblies (the band’s initial name), tracks recorded for an album that ended up never being released, alternate versions and sessions, two songs from Friendly Persuasions (a post-breakup band from guitarist Derek Cleary) and a handful of live tracks.

The band was initially started in 1963 as The Bumblies by bassist George Robinson and vocalist Joey Kneen and was rounded out by Charlie Crane (vocals, harmonica), John Bennett (guitar), Phil Roberts (keyboards), and Charlie Gallagher (drums).  They auditioned for Meek in late 1965 and the five songs from that demo session are here on disc one.  In addition to a couple of Dylan covers, the easygoing “She Belongs To Me” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”, walking the line between the original and The Byrds, are a ragged garage rock version of Van Morrision and Them’s “Gloria” and a bluesy, organ heavy take on Otis Redding’s “Pain In My Heart.”  Lastly, is the aforementioned “Please Stay” that was originally released by The Drifters in 1961 and later covered by Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band.  This early version was a gorgeous take consisting of only Crane’s vocals and Roberts’ organ.  While Meek liked the band he didn’t like their name, so they ended up as The Cryin’ Shames.  December 1965 also found them replacing Bennett with Ritchie Routledge.  The following February they released their debut single, the aforementioned “Please Stay”, which opens the box set.  Fleshed out here, most notably with drums and strings, it is a hauntingly beautiful song.  The flipside, presented here in an extended version with a longer fadeout, is “What’s New Pussycat”, a rocking R&B track that is actually musically almost a carbon copy of Dylan’s “On The Road Again”.   Their next single, released in June 1966, was "Nobody Waved Goodbye”.  Originally released just five months earlier as the B-side of a single by its composers, Joey Brooks & The Baroque Folk, their version was a dreamy pop tune that definitely showcases Meek’s production. The bouncy and extremely infectious “You” was the other track here.  It should be noted that during this period there were some member changes and questions as to who really played on what, that are all covered in depth in the extensive booklet included here.  A few months after the single’s release the band broke up and Routledge and Crane formed a new group called Paul and Ritchie and The Crying Shames.  In September 1966 they released the single “September In The Rain”, which was actually the only song they recorded.  It is an upbeat, slightly Beatles-esque pop tune with some really cool Farfisa organ, that is my favorite of their three singles (interestingly, the song was originally written in 1937 and has been recorded by a who’s who of artists in varying styles).  Although it is rumored they also recorded “Say Diddley Hey”, it isn’t included here at the insistence of Routledge, because he said it is not them.  Instead, the flipside was the brilliant freakbeat track “Come On Back” which was actually recorded during the same session at “You” and has made this a highly collectable single.  Next up are the twelve tracks recorded for an album that never saw the light of day.  The bulk of these tracks were covers, starting with “I’ll Keep Holding On”, which sounds a lot like a slightly slower version of the one released a few months earlier by The Action.  Following a fairly standard version of “Land Of 1,000 Dances” is another take on “Gloria”, which along with a slower “She Belongs To Me”, are two songs that were initially recorded at their audition.  Originally by Marvin Gaye and then The Birds (featuring Ronnie Wood), “No Good Without You Baby” is a surprisingly heavy, fuzz-guitar laden rocker.  To me their version of “My Girl” is the one real misstep here, as it sounds a bit off and really misses the mark. Dipping into the Dylan catalogue for the third time, their soulful version of “With God On Our Side” is hypnotic, drenched in organ and stripped-down percussion, as is their take on the Jagger/Richards tune “As Tears Go By” (originally recorded by Marianne Faithful and later a Stones b-side).  They give a real kick in the pants to the soulful garage rocker “Take Me For A Little While” (written by Trade Martin and recorded by Evie Sands and then The Koobas).  The last of the covers was their bouncy, rocking take on Holland Dozier Holland’s “You’re A Wonderful One” (originally recorded by Marvin Gaye).  Also recorded for the album were what are assumed to be two originals, the soulful “Only You”, which has some cool guitar work and the funk-tinged R&B tune “Wanna Be Loved”.  Closing out disc one are three more songs that were found among the Tea Chest Tapes, all of which are mentioned in the liner notes as possibilities for the third single.  While “Let Me In” is a catchy garage rocker and “Breakout” has a cool midtempo groove, “Feels Like Loving” is a dramatic ballad.  All three were enhanced with brass and strings and had the potential to be hits. 

Disc two opens with a varieity of alternate versions and sessions that as always with these collections really showcase Meek’s genius.  There are three versions of the first single “Please Stay”, including one with no overdubs and one with only overdubs, and an instrumental and alternate version of the b-side “What’s New Pussycat”.  Two alternate arrangements of their second single “Nobody Waved Goodbye” are here along with a take with no overdubs and one of just overdubs, and an alternate version of the flipside “You”, which has a more prominent piano presence.  Three more versions of “Let Me In” are here.  The first two are before the strings and horns have been added and really showcase the powerhouse percussion on this track (Phase 1 Take 3 even has a section where vocalist Kneen starts laughing in the middle), while the third is those missing overdubs.  Following a backing track version and guide vocal version of “Breakout” is an alternate version of the Paul & Ritchie & The Crying Shames “September In The Rain”, two versions of “Come On Back” including one with Kneen on vocals, and an alternate version of “I’ll Keep Holding On”.  While not all of these really stand up to repeat listenings it’s fascinating to hear the building blocks that go into the final versions.  After The Cryin' Shames broke up, guitarist Derek Cleary continued doing session work with Meek and in January 1967 he recorded there with his new group Friendly Persuasion, although they only recorded two tracks before Meek died.  First up is their take on the Skeeter Davis song "The End Of The World", which is a pretty standard band version of the track.  They fare much better with upbeat "Come On" with its great vocal harmonies and keys.  Next up are three tracks from Paul & Ritchie & The Crying Shames when they appeared on the BBC’s Saturday Club radio show on September 13, 1966, performing The Who’s “Circles”, Sam Cooke’s “Shake” and their version of “September In The Rain”.  The recordings sound great and the band are in top form.  Lastly are a couple of live cuts recorded during a television appearance in Paris featuring a performance of "Please Stay" and a raucous take on "Gloria".  As mentioned before, the CD booklet included here is very detailed and goes to great lengths to cover the details of the band's history, the various member changes and well as who played in the different named versions of the band.  It's definitely another welcome addition to the ongoing series of Tea Chest Tapes releases.

(Cherry Red Records)