Year : 1991 (Japan Edition 1993)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Melodic Rock , Pop Rock , AOR
Country : Ireland
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 95 mb
Bio:
Mervyn "Spam" Spence alias O'Ryan (born 1958) is a Northern Irish musician and producer, best known for his work with Wishbone Ash and Trapeze.Spence moved to Staffordshire from Ireland in the late 1970s, and began playing with bands such as The Jury and Big Daisy.During Spence's time in local bands, he was spotted by Mel Galley, who promptly offered Spence the bassist and vocalist position in Trapeze, which had been left vacant since Peter Goalby had left to join Uriah Heep. Spence briefly toured with the band, and during his tenure recorded one album's worth of material, which – due to Galley's departure to replace Bernie Marsden in Whitesnake – remains unreleased.Several of the songs from these sessions however (Demos exist in bootleg form), would form a very small part of Tom Galley's Phenomena project, which Spence would later join to sing and play bass on the 1992 album "Innervision" (billed as "O'Ryan").Spence later went on to buy the rights to the project, cashing in (and dining out) with a 'best of' compilation which featured a very small percentage of his work tagged onto the work of the real members of the project.Following the break-up of Trapeze, Spence was offered an audition for Wishbone Ash while he was pitching demo material to various outlets. On the strength of his vocal range and enthusiasm, Spence became a member of the band. Spence would perform on one album by the band, 1985's Raw to the Bone.Spence left Wishbone Ash in 1986 "to pursue family matters". He has since released two solo albums under the name "O'Ryan" (his mother's maiden name), 1993's Something Strong and 1995's Initiate.Spence secured a job lecturing music industry topics at Walsall College of Arts and Technology in the late-1990s early 2000s while hitting hard times musically.
Album:
Great AOR melodic debut album.Very good AOR from U.K. with some hi tech pop rock traces. Lead vocals are nice and lead guitars are strong but melodic. A mix of Strangeways and Stan Meissner. Does O'RYAN, tossed in the air like that, ring a bell? Not really, no.On the other hand, if I tell you, MERVYN SPENCE (ex TRAPEZE, ex WISHBONE ASH), DIETER PETEREIT (FAR CORPORATION, MEAT LOAF...), CURT CRESS (RICK SPRINGFIELD, SAGA, TINA TURNER...) and finally JIM HORN, the saxophonist with a CV as long as the Old and New Testaments combined. Doubtful? Just a few names, each more prestigious than the last: JACKSON BROWNE, GLEN FREY, BILLY JOEL... Want more? CHRISTOPHER CROSS, TOTO, ELVIS PRESLEY... Are you ready? Can I start my review, or do you want some more? I've got plenty more.So it's all here, on this single CD released in 1997, in the greatest of anonymity. And yet, the tracks are very catchy, like Stronger Than Love, which opens the album, followed by Reaction, with its groovy rhythm highlighted by a very successful pre-chorus and chorus. Don't Let It Slip Away takes us from the saxophone intro to the piano finale, MERVYN SPENCE's voice sweet and full of feeling. Shaky Ground, in the finest AOR High Tec tradition, pulses with a sound from another era. Something Strong, full of groove, reminds me of ROBERT PALMER's Every Kind Of People era. Emer May is the album's quietest track, punctuated by attractive percussion. Blood Upon A Stone is more pop-oriented, with a verse reminiscent of U2's musical universe. Lying Eyes takes us back to the magic days of Motown, with its swing and irresistible sax solo. Deeper Than The Ocean ends the record on a slower beat, with a repetitive, obsessive synth melody.The band had all the makings of a supergroup, but this was to be their only opus, probably due to the lack of public interest and the busy schedules of each of the musicians. Nonetheless, this album is a great success in its own right.
Line Up:
Mervyn "Spam" Spence alias O'Ryan - lead & backing vocals, bass programming, additional guitar - see also: ex-Phenomena, ex-Wishbone Ash, ex-Trapeze
Peter Weihe - guitars
Curt Cress - drums
Pit Low - keyboards
Dieter Petereit - keyboards, bass programming
Hermann Weindorf - piano
Jim Horn - saxophone –
Production:
Recorded At – Weryton Studios
Recorded At – Pilot Studios
Recorded At – Sound Stage Studios
Mixed At – Masterfonics
Executive-Producer, Mastered By, Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Mervyn Spence
Liner Notes – 川合純行*
Liner Notes [対訳] – 浅尾敦則
Mastered By – David Glover
Mixed By – John Guess
Photography By – Adrian Davies (2), Richard Mulhearn
Written-By, Arranged By – Alfred Dubell (tracks: 1)
Tracklist:
01. Stronger Than Love
02. Reaction
03. Don't Let It Slip Away
04. Shaky Ground
05. Something Strong
06. Emer May
07. Blood Upon a Stone
08. Lying Eyes
09. Deeper Than the Ocean
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