Shy – Brave The Storm

Here is another album that formed part of my formative AOR years. The quite amazing ‘Brave The Storm’ album courtesy of British AORsters Shy.

Written by: gdmonline

ARTIST: Shy
ALBUM: Brave The Storm
LABEL: RCA
SERIAL: PL 70605
YEAR: 1985
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England

LINEUP: Tony Mills – vocals * Steve Harris – guitars * Paddy McKenna – keyboards * Roy Stephen Davis – bass * Alan Kelly – drums

TRACK LISTING: 01 Hold On (To Your Love) * 02 My Apollo * 03 Reflections * 04 Keep The Fire’s Burnin’ * 05 The Hunter * 06 Brave The Storm * 07 Wild Wild Woman * 08 Caught In The Act * 09 Was I Wrong?

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Shy Background

Here is another album that formed part of my formative AOR years. The quite amazing ‘Brave The Storm’ album courtesy of British AORsters Shy.

The album review from Sounds back in the day made reference to the model on the front-cover. Apparently she could’ve graced the pages of that erstwhile female fashion magazine ‘Jackie’ (remember that mag blokes?).

The Shy boys had certainly come a long way within the space of two years from their Ebony Records debut ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’. Though an admirable outing for a first-up record, it’s overshadowed by this Tony Platt produced masterpiece.

I can’t remember how often I thrashed this LP to death in 1985. That is until I scored the 1996 Japanese CD with bonus tracks a few years later.

Not even Tony Mills brylcreem laden hair could put me off this record, one of the finest for 1985 in my books.

The Songs

Leading the attack, Paddy McKenna’s synths are set to arpeggiator mode for ‘Hold On To Your Love’. It’s a chorus-laden special with big vocals both lead and backing from all concerned.

There’s more synth goodness in the offing as ‘My Apollo’ is an absolute drama scene-stealer. Not even a Oscar Award can outdo these boys on this album.

There are some wondrous ballads on BTS and the first of these is the effortless ‘Reflections’. It’s a gorgeous well-worked piece that builds up slowly to a crescendo.

Returning to harder melodic territory, ‘Keep The Fires Burning’ is the obvious anthem here, and a good one it is too.

‘The Hunter’ has a whole load of UFO references contained within. You can guess Phil Mogg never quite sounded like this.

Next up is the title track. Again, those keyboards from Paddy McKenna give this song a huge boost. A mammoth song for me personally over the years, and as anthemic as it gets.

‘Wild Wild Woman’ borrows an early Europe styled neo-classical riff though the song isnt as rabid as the songtitle suggests. Another keeper is the wondrous ‘Caught In The Act (Of Love)’, topped by some OTT vocals by the helium powered Tony Mills. Simply magnificent. The acoustic guitar fills from Steve Harris are another feature.

Finishing up the set, ‘Was I Wrong’ is another top-notch effort. Fiery and energetic and a glorious end to a superb record.

In Summary

The album received a batch of great reviews. Shy travelled on the back of support gigs with UFO, Gary Moore, Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister. Two years down the track and Shy would reveal perhaps their coup de grace: ‘Excess All Areas’. Another fine AOR release!

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