SHYANNE-“Shyanne” (1982 Shade Records/USA)

Admittedly, I know very little about this five piece AOR outfit who released only this lone self-titled album in 1982 (at least as far as I know!) on Shade Records. The cover art and packaging for the record is of a fairly high standard for indie bands of this time period and looks very professional and presentable (especially in comparison to jackets like the Lifer LP!).

SHYANNE hailed from the Seattle area of Washington State in the Northwestern United States (The album was actually recorded in Bothell, Washington, a small town just west of Seattle). They offered an interesting variety of musical diversions, which becomes curiously evident even before you spin the record. Of the five members, no less than three handle lead vocal duties throughout the album, offering a real roller coaster of unexpected twists and turns. Each of the three vocalists offer a very different style, and all of them lend their own talents to blend nicely with the albums’ ten tracks.

Musically, the styles vary from pomp, to hard rock and even vibrations of wave from time to time on a few tracks, mostly due to the vocals. This one is truly only comprehendible by breaking down the album track by track….so without further delay, let’s ride the roller coaster!

Side one begins with the opening track “Always Just Beyond”. Bass player Lee Perkins takes charge of lead vocals on this number. He has what I consider to be the most quintessential AOR voice of the three singers, plug him into virtually any AOR band from the 80’s and he’d fit well. Musically the song begins with a nice classic AOR guitar riff along with a sprinkling of acoustic chords to thicken things up a bit. It then continues along with some nice keyboard work filtering in to the mix, and although it never really gets rocking too heavy, it reaches a high point during the guitar solo. A short but outstanding 12 second bit of pickin’ with a fortress of keyboards to set the mood behind it. The solo sounds like it could have come off of even the most modern of AOR albums. This song can best be summed up as a nice upper level mid-tempo rocker with a great guitar solo. As with most of the compositions on the album, it’s moderate in length at a littler over three minutes, but definitely quenches your AOR thirst quickly, and sets a nice tone as the lead track on the LP.

The second song on side one is my favorite on the whole album. Entitled “Simple Girls”, it’s a pompy AOR classic that has the trademark maneuvers of greats like SUGARCREEK written all over it! Leading the way from the outset of the verse parts is the steady piano tinkling of keyboard player David Christensen. Perkins’ bass lends the perfect backdrop to the initial keys and then as the chorus gels we hear some nice synthesizer and simple but essential drum work by Perry White. Guitarist Eric Burgeson does the lead vocal and his style on this track fits with the sound and tempo very well. The choral arrangement also features some nice background vocals that are all sung a few notes higher than the lead vocals ala LE ROUX. Lyrically, the band reaches it’s peak early in the album’s progression inside of this song. With lines like “My car has too many parts”, “My house has too many rooms”, “My cat has too many lives” and “My girl knows too many boys”, the band intrigues you with their playful ingenuity. It all fits together into a fabulous little song of nearly four minutes and although I feel that SHYANNE stakes their apex on only the second track of the LP, they leave plenty of interesting moves for the rest of the album’s eight cuts.

Half way through side one we get to “Being Here”. A quirky, spooky, medium paced semi-ballad on which influences of THE POLICE are clearly evident, especially with Perkins back on lead vocal duties and displaying his best STING impersonation. The song isn’t amazing but it works well for it’s position and features more good bass work from Perkins and also some unexpected synth which shows up like the sudden glitter of fireflies swirling around in the dark of the songs moody landscape. Although it’s not the greatest of SHYANNE’s work, the track is certainly not bad at all.

Running fourth on side one is “I’m In Love”, a song rooted firmly in it’s lengthy (if not overly elooooongated!) chorus. Burgeson is now back on lead vocals again and sounds good fronting this radio friendly pomp tune. Although the chorus purposely dominates the songs’ three minutes, I feel this track features some of the best keyboard work on the entire record, albeit pushed into the background just a bit to showcase the vocal arrangements. The song has a mellow tinge but remains steadily paced and rocky enough to clearly steer it away from being a ballad. Many different bands come to mind when I hear this song, perhaps a pepper pot of 707 and HYBRID ICE with a bit less spice and a dash more smooth. All in all, it’s a nice track and I’m glad it’s part of the album.

Last on side one, and also in rank for the whole album I’m afraid is “Kool Kind Of Look”. Despite the classic misspelling in the song’s title for effect, it fails to impress on the originality report card. The song drones along doing very much of nothing except lulling you to sleep with it’s monotonous bass chords and it’s “we have a synthesizer and we’re just now learning how to use it” garage band antics. This, as best I can figure, is the bands’ attempt at appealing to the wave crowd of the 80’s and fails miserably to fit in anywhere on the record at all. About the best thing I can say about this track is Eric Burgeson’s ability to suddenly morph into DAVID BOWIE at will. File this track next to the fodder of disappointing acts like STERLING and YIPES. We’ll be easy on the fellows and chalk it up to a learning experience in experimentation. A bad song on a good record.

Flipping to side two we get things started with “Love Is Too Demanding”. Within seconds of the needle landing on the first grooves we can all but forget about the finishing dunce cap of side one, that sent the guys to AOR detention for a moment of childish basement band behavior. Now we can fully concentrate on this track with its’ very strong keyboard/guitar interplay on the verse portions to lead off. This part reminds me a bit of later POINT BLANK material, circa “On A Roll”. Burgeson is once again in front on vocals, and has now shed his Bowie improv for a more suitable leading role. His vocals do become a bit more throaty on this song, but still maintain a fitting presence for the music. After the keys and guitar mesh long enough with
Burgeson’s vocals they weave to an unexpected bridge with some surprisingly haunting background vocals. This all finally culminates in a nice strong chorus on which Burgeson flies solo and is aided by a big wall of keyboards. This song also ranks alongside the mid-tempo variety, but with the sharp edges of guitar riffs and Burgeson’s vocals along with the technical renderings of the keyboard work, it manages to pass by as a very enjoyable track. Once again a mixed bag of tricks that all comes together quite well. A good song on this album.

Seventh on the album (as a whole) and perhaps most enigmatic of all is “Wardance”. This is the only track on which keyboardist David Christensen sings lead vocals. He also possesses an impressive AOR vocal style, and is perhaps even arguably better than his other two singing cohorts. Describing this track is very difficult. Once again, upon a thorough overall inspection, it qualifies as a mid-tempo track with a bit of a rockier feel. However here, there is a real melodic quality to the song which is seemingly more so than the other tracks which fit its’ same general description on the album. The beat is steady on all fronts…drums, guitars, keys etc. The song has a nice chorus that includes some interesting piano parts, and the quality and
maturity of the musicianship is apparent throughout its’ four and a half minute running time. The one thing about this band however, is their ability to take you completely off guard at any moment. They achieve that on “Wardance” in the solo towards the middle of the track. Not only does it feature some great guitar, but it becomes an entire passage that separates from the rest of the song in just a few short moments with pompy bombastic keys to boot! Very fine! It’s a good song that becomes one of the most likable on the album after a few spins. About the only pitfall it suffers is the bands’ relentlessness to end the song, as they needlessly keep dragging it out for the last 40 or 50 seconds and playing around with some backmasking and tribal drums as it fades. Still, not enough to ruin this winner!

“Oh, Jane” is the halfway mark on side two and fills the obligatory 50’s flashback for the album. The bands’ inspiration for this song came straight from a bubble gum blowing bobbysoxer who stuck a dime in the soda fountain nickelodeon and didn’t get his change back. It’s pretty dull and predictable and the only thing that saves it from being completely useless is the nice synthesizer solo towards the songs latter stages. Not a total dud, but next to “Kool Kind Of Love”, the second weakest cut on the LP.

Next to last on side two is the guitar driven “Gonna Make a Man Outa You”. Although better than it’s predecessor “Oh, Jane”, for the most part this is a by-the-book guitar rock song. For some reason it reminds me of something you’d find on a NIGHT RANGER demo tape. Good harmonies and certainly enjoyable axe work, but nothing really spectacular. Save for perhaps the guitar solo, which again proves a worthy enough sideline to save the song from being a monotonous disaster. This isn’t as good as SHYANNE can be, and other than the solo parts, it’s pretty much a filler track.

The albums’ finale’ is one of the best songs on the album. “Summer Love” is an up-tempo AOR rocker with some very melodious guitar and keyboards. The vocals are very strong and the songs’ bridge and chorus are some the most outstanding arrangements displayed on the record. Eric Burgeson is at home on lead vocals for this toe tapper which in addition to the great rhythm section also includes a unique “unplugged” electric guitar solo within the interior of the track. This song reminds me a lot of STONEBOLT and similar bands who could achieve a smooth, almost mellow feeling whilst balancing it within a package of rock n’ roll grit. A remarkable effort from this high class undiscovered AOR act!

In closing, I think we can best summarize SHYANNE’s self-titled LP as a lost gem. Perhaps not the biggest diamond in the rough, but without question one worth enjoying if you should manage to dig it up. This might be a bit tougher than most however, as the man I purchased this record from said he used to be friends with some of the members of the band and that less than 500 copies of this LP were ever pressed to the best of his knowledge. I am currently working to excavate some of the former members of SHYANNE to ask them about this piece of AOR history. Of course you can expect a full report should I manage to hit the mother lode! In the mean time, if you see this album…buy it! Maybe not for really big bucks, but certainly if you want a unique piece of AOR for your collection and your ears.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Reviewed by Christian Hansen, United States Of America