SPYS - SPYS/Behind Enemy Lines
Tracks :- SPYS : Don't Run My Life She Can't Wait Ice Age Danger Over Her Desiree Don't Say Goodbye Into The Night Hold On (When You Feel You're Falling) No Harm Done Producer : Neil Kernon Behind Enemy Lines : Rescue Me Midnight Fantasy Behind Enemy Lines Sheep Don't Talk Back Reaction Heartache Race Against Time Younger Days Can't Stop Us Now Producers : Al Greenwood & Ed Gagliardi Total Time : 79:45 m:s Label : Renaissance Records (Originally EMI) Year : 1996 (Originally 1982,1983)
I first heard about these albums a good number of years ago. I was never able to get my hands on a copy until now. The self-titled debut is widely regarded as an AOR classic. After waiting so long, my expectations were high.
SPYS were formed by Al Greenwood & Ed Gagliardi, who had previously been in Foreigner. The sound is typical of many 80's AOR acts. Clearly the time with Foreigner has had an impact. Other comparisons might be Balance and Touch. The sounds harks back to a time when synths were still relatively new and quite of few of the songs feature them heavily. If you are new to this type of music and wonder where Harlan Cage get their inspiration, then look no further.
The first album features an approach that was fairly typical of bands of the time, from what I remember. This album is the more consistent of the two. Don't Run My Life starts off the album is style and the quality is maintained more or less throughout the album. Other highlights include Ice Age (reminds me of Balance), Don't Say Goodbye, Into The Night and the ballad Hold On.
The second album sees the band trying to experiment a little. The charts in the early 80's were dominated by synth bands and it's into this territory that SPYS start to stray on this album. Midnight Fantasy sees the band doing the type of lightweight material that wouldn't have been out of place on a dance floor at the time, but it's one of the better tracks on offer. The title track features some quirky Russian style chants and the singer sounding very Duran Duran on the chorus. Oddly enough I quite like this one.
OK. This brings me to Sheep Don't Talk Back. A drum machine introduces this piece of chop laden synth pop. Either this was a desperate attempt to get a hit single or a total piss take. Whatever, it has no place on this album or any other album as far as I'm concerned.
This time the big ballad is called Younger Days, but it fails to impress.
Overall, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed by these albums. I've waited a long time to pick up these two and maybe my expectations were too high. I prefer the more traditional approach of the first album. To be honest if I had splashed out cash on the second album and discovered that they had wasted vinyl on Sheep Don't Talk Back I would have been extremely pissed off. Taking the two albums as a whole, there is enough good material to justify spending money on the 2on1 CD.
You know, the more I listen to this type of music (Harlan Cage, SPYS, Balance etc), I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that this pomp synth AOR doesn't light my candle.
Rating : 6 (Spys : 8, Behind Enemy Lines : 5)
