SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Barry Ryan: The Albums 1969-1979, 5CD Box Set

I must start off by saying I have been waiting a long time for someone to finally come up with a definitive collection of the work of twins Paul & Barry Ryan. At last thanks to 7T’s Records its finally here & it doesn’t disappoint. The project has been lovingly overseen by Indie band member & journalist Bob Stanley of St. Etienne who is a big fan of the twins work which comes through in his essay on their work in the accompanying booklet. Which is crammed full of fascinating titbits, many of which I’d not been aware of before. So what does this new release comprise of, well the answer is a hell of a lot! There are 95 tracks spanning 5 separate discs each contained in their own cardboard sleeves inside a sturdy clamshell box complete with the aforementioned booklet. As with all Cherry Red releases the packaging quality is of a very high standard that always delights. The discs are broken down as follows: Disc1 Barry Ryan Sings Paul Ryan 11 tracks- Barry Ryan 12 tracks. Disc2 Barry Ryan 3 12 tracks Red Man 12 tracks. Disc3 Sanctus Sanctus Hallelujah 12 tracks Disc4 Barry Ryan Rarities 1968-72 19 tracks & finally Disc5 Barry Ryan Rarities 1975-79 17 tracks. Clearly I can’t give you a track by track critique, this would turn into a book! However here’s some observations & highlights to whet your appetite. When Paul decided he’d had enough of touring live (something he hated) in 1967 he chose to step back & concentrate on writing songs (mainly) for his brother. In 1968 he created what would become, in my view, the greatest Power Ballad of the 60’s (or possibly of all time) when he came up with the international No 1 ‘Eloise’. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love the song. I didn’t know until now that Paul wrote it after being inspired (& becoming rather obsessed with Richard Harris’s ‘MacArthur Park) & became determined to write his own epic. He certainly succeeded! And here I’d just like to profusely thank the compiler on this new release who has used the FULL version of ‘Eloise’ which starts & ends with what is best described as ‘maniacal’ laughing by Barry, a small thing you might think, but those few extra seconds just make the song even more perfect! Interestingly those vital seconds were missing on the original single release & on the Italian version on this compilation. The First album in the set as aforementioned concentrates on Barry singing his brothers songs, as indeed does the second album. There are gems galore to be found, obviously ‘Eloise’ but add to that ‘The Colour of My Love’ a hit in a cover version for Jefferson (Geoff Turton of the Rockin Berries) although surprisingly not for Barry in the UK as Polydor chose not to release it here. However he scored with it across Europe. In fact most of his subsequent hits were all in Europe with Germany being a particularly lucrative market for Barry where he remained very much a star for decades after giving up music in the mid 70’s to concentrate on his photography business. Track 6 ‘My Mama’ as the sleevenotes point out was another epic production to rival ‘Eloise’ which the twins mum, successful singer in her own right Marion Ryan must have been flattered by. Its a full blooded tour-de-force. Elsewhere ‘Love Is On The Way’ is an achingly beautiful song, followed by ‘What’s Been Sleeping In My Bed’ a curious song in many respects, but one which had me re-visiting it for its quirky melody. The second album simply titled Barry Ryan kicks off with a personal favourite ‘The Hunt’ yet another epic construction a No 22 hit. Where else in a rock song would your hear somebody crying out ‘Tally Ho’! In impassioned fashion! I don’t want to throw a lot of titles that may mean nothing to you if you are not familiar with the twins work, but other highlights include ‘No Living Without Her Love’ & ‘closing track ‘Where Have You Been’. Moving on to Disc3 & we are treated to a mix of songs from Paul & outside song-writers. It kicks off with the first recording of Cat Stevens classic ‘Wild World’ or as titled here ‘Its A Wild World’. It has a very fetching string arrangement & is an agreeable enough version, it just lacks the passion of Cat’s take. Highlights elsewhere are ‘Stop The Wedding’ ‘What Is Wrong With My Women’ & ‘Who Put The Lights Out’. The second album on Disc3 Red Man, opens with the title track, a hit in faithful Germany & France. Here in the UK it was un-issued in favour of ‘It Is Written’ a religious themed work that did no business at all The best track on the album in my view belongs to ‘All Thoughts Of Time’ a beautiful & tender ballad. The religious theme came to the forefront on Disc5 Sanctus Sanctus Hallelujah with the opening title track. This German only issued album saw Barry team up with band The Verge and move away from what had gone before & stray into heavier rock territory & produced some excellent songs like the fuzz guitar laden ‘Storm Is Brewing’ the single release ‘Cant Let You Go’ & melodic rocker ‘L A Woman’ (nothing to do with The Doors!). It showed Barry was quite at home as a rock & roll singer, not just a purveyor of big ballads. The final 2 discs that make up the compilation consisting of rarities from 1968 – 1979 are peppered with real gems, one of my favourites being ‘Love Is Love’ a song I’ve played a lot on the radio over the years. It was released as a single & reached No 4 in Europe, so I’m surprised it’s in the ‘rarities’ section, however I’m sure 7T’s have their facts straight. Its a magnificent epic song clearly reaching to be another ‘Eloise’ & whilst not quite succeeding is hugely enjoyable complete with Barry’s histronic vocals, it’s a real belter, love it. ‘Lay Down’ ‘Annabelle’ ‘Best Years Of My Love’ ‘Do That’ & ‘Give It All’ are some other personal highlights for me. As i said at the start of this review I’ve waited a long time for a retrospective of Paul & Barry’s work & this new release has repaid the wait. Thank you 7T’s for a great job. For those of you who never got past ‘Eloise’ this is what you missed. Do have a listen if you possible can. Enjoy.

For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk

Til next time…..take care & stay safe……Colin