Eddy Lee's Expected To Fly

Eddy Lee's Expected To Fly

Bruce Von Stiers

Eddy Lee Ryder (formerly known as Liz Brennan) is a singer / songwriter who has been around for a short while. She was trained as a classical musician and opera singer. Ryder broke away from her pop infused influences when she discovered Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks. She even credits one of her influences being Spinal Tap.

Although she has released several singles in the last few years, Ryder hadn't recorded an entire album or EP. That is, until now. She has just released a five song EP titled Expected To Fly.

Eddy Lee produced most of the songs, with added recording and producing on two of them by Kevin Killen. His credits include albums by Kate Bush, U2, Bon Jovi and Peter Gabriel. Expected To Fly was recorded at Proper Pop by Matt Basile. He has quite a roster of musicians he's produced as well as recorded his own music.

On the EP, Eddy Lee does the lead vocals, plays piano and plays both electric and acoustic guitars. Matt Basile, who I just mentioned, plays piano, bass, electric guitar and bass guitar. Joe Goretti is on drums for one of the songs. He's played with a number of named performers, including Moby. Also helping out on drums is Devin Collins. Besides being a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Collins has played around the world and drummed for many major artists. Josh Dion, who fronts his own band, has been a sideman for just jazz greats as Candy Dulfer and Bill Evans. He plays drums on a couple of the songs on the EP.

Also helping out on piano are Charlie Giordano and Dave Archer. Charlie was once a member of Pat Benetar's band, but now hangs out playing with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Dave has played for the Annie Minogue Band among others. Teddy Kumple has a list of credits that would fill a couple of paragraphs. He helps out on guitar on a couple of the songs. Chase Baird studied under Eric Marienthal, one of my favorite jazz saxophonists. Chase plays sax on a song.

There are some backing vocals on Expected To Fly. Those are done by Joanna Levine and Abby Payne. Joanna has a couple of musical things going on, both as an educator and performer. Abby wrote the musical The Gunfighter Meets His Match and teaches. She also performs and records with a whole bunch of talented artists.

The title track, Expected To Fly, is first on the EP. It is about not growing out of a wild, youthful mindset and not conforming to what's considered adult and normal. And how it can be lonely and somewhat dark as everyone else has moved on. The vocals in the song are really good. At times Eddy Lee's vocals made me think of Laura Branigan. The music in the song has a strong drum beat and decent guitar. And there are some really nice choral backing vocals.

Silver Chain has a solid pop /rock ballad style. The chorus made me think that it might me something that Stevie Nicks might do. It deals with things have changed but there is no silver lining, just a silver chain. The song has a nice rock guitar riff as the song fades out.

There In Dreams is a beautiful, yet sad ballad. Eddy Lee has stated that the song is about her relationship with her father. He died when she was a teenager and he had been her anchor. And as she struggled through life, Eddy would try to find him through her dreams.

Small Apartment is a semi-true story about Eddy Lee's downstairs neighbor. It seems that the neighbor, Roberta, has exaggerated complaints about Eddy Lee. It is a fun song that has a nice pop / rock sound.

Vultures is a song about love and how you can be disenchanted by it. Eddy Lee emphasizes the darker intentions of people when others are seeking love and companionship. The song has haunting, yet beautiful vocals. There is some really cool sax in the background.

The music on the EP melds pop, rock, folk and dance for a captivating sound. According to article in Hype magazine, Eddy Lee's music has the definitive term of “demented pop”. There is definitely a distinct styling in Eddy Lee's music.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I found that I really liked Expected to Fly. The music was excellent and had lyrics that were fun at times, heart wrenching at others. Add Eddy Lee made full use of her background in opera and other musical areas to present a fantastic vocal presence.

Expected To Fly has just been released. You can find it at your favorite music outlet.

Eddy Lee Ryder's official site can be found at https://www.eddyleeryder.com/ She also has a band page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EddyLeeRyder/

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