Tony Ryan: Press

IRISH MUSIC WITHOUT THE FIDDLE AND MORE OF THE ROCK

Whatever public perception may be, not all Irish and Irish-Americans playing music thrive on traditional music. In fact it's probably fair to say that most of them don't.

Local Irish pubs in Los Angeles, at least, are a much more likely place to hear Dylan and (Van or Jim) Morrison covers than jigs and reels.

For that matter, Ireland probably has just as grand a tradition of great songwriting as anywhere else, of both traditional and non traditional-influenced varities.

Here are two very good examples of it, performed by people who have plied their trade in Irish pubs, but whose music has more to do with the Beatles, Dylan and Stones than the Cheiftans or the Clancys.

UNHOLY BLUE Tony Ryan

The music of Dublin-born San Francisco resident Tony Ryan goes down a little rough, but ultimately rewards the listener with the emotional depth of his songs, mostly about the up and down of love and lust.

Ryan has a somewhat gritty voice and an ability at loosely fitting interior rhymes, which some would probably call "Dylan-esque", though that's ultimately a hollow comparison, as his own personality shows through on the album-closer "Bar Without Pity," a wry detached observation of of its denizens, and a gruff but but refreshingly un-cynical love song "Someone to Lean On."

A talented wordsmith, Ryan is not only capable of of dense lines like "Flogged to death second fiddles, reduced to smoke" or "Razzle-dazzle psychobabble" but is able to phrase them in a natural and unpretentious manner.

With eight songs coming in at under 30 minutes, it's a little scant, but there is no dead weight. Most impressively, all vocals and instruments, including the guitar with a rich and occasionally biting tone, are by Ryan himself.

Tony Ryan grew up in Dublin (Ireland, not Ohio). His sound, while more relaxed than somehow reminds me of another Irish singer-songwriter. Tony's songs aren't quite as high-energy but the overall feel of these songs is reminiscent of Elvis Costello.
He has a groovy guitar sound in these eight simple tunes, especially in "Up and Down World." They are well-crafted mellow tunes with good lyrics. My favorite lyric on the album is in "Angel," when he sings "…walking on water like the Jesus lizard."

I can just imagine Tony Ryan playing in the local coffee shop or neighborhood pub. The mellow groovy vibe would be great at a small venue like that. But it's also one of those CDs that kind of sneaks up on you. You listen to it once and think, "That's pretty good." Then the more you listen, the more it grows on you. Soon you've recommended it to a lot of your friends. If you like singer-songwriters in general, or more specifically, Elvis Costello, you'll dig this CD.