O'RYAN - Something Strong [Japanese Edition] (1993)

Re-post from 7 years ago, as requested

O'RYAN is the pseudonym of Irish-born multi-instrumentalist Mervyn Spence. In the early Eighties, Merv moved to England and took part of the Phenomena project, was a stable member of Whishbone Ash and collaborated with other acts.
At the end of the decade started to work on his own solo career as O'RYAN, and released two stupendous albums.

"Something Strong" was the first, and makes justice to its title.
The CD is a wonderful collection of late '80s sounding Melodic Rock / AOR tunes, mostly performed by Spence itself with the help of some friends on few tracks.
Killer uptempo songs like "Stronger Than Love", "Lying Eyes" or "Shaky Ground" are mixed with excellent ballads in the form of the great "Don't Let it Slip Away" and the beauty of "Emer May".
On the AOR side, "Reaction" is simply awesome, while "Blood Upon A Stone" is irresistibly catchy.
Mervyn Spence's vocals are specially designed for this classic MR / AOR style, smooth when needed and powerful at the time to rock.



I love "Something Strong". This is what '80s UK's AOR is all about, both in sound and feeling. There's no weak tracks here, all are pure gold.
This is a rip from the rare Japanese pressing of the CD, with a superior output in my opinion and with a slightly different album artwork.
A must have in your Melodic Rock / AOR collection.


1. Stronger Than Love
2. Reaction
3. Don't Let It Slip Away
4. Shaky Ground
5. Something Strong
6. Emer May
7. Blood Upon a Stone
8. Lying Eyes
9. Deeper Than the Ocean

Mervyn Spence: lead vocals, guitar, keys, bass
Dieter Petereit: keyboards, bass, production
Curt Cress: drums
Pit Low: add. keyboards
Hermann Weindorf: piano
Peter Weihe: add. guitars




O'RYAN - Something Strong [Japanese Edition]
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