Love Too Much

Moondance has been through the wars. Everyone covers it. I am no different. The fact of the matter is - it is a savage song. Through years of covering it, you find different ways of tackling it. I asked a band last year to try and do it as though it was a filthy hip-hop tune. With a the drums in half time feel, the keys gently hopping and the bass and guitar covering the floor it leaves so much room for having fun with the vocals. 

Moondance - Van Morrison Cover

This is an adaptation of a classic Bill Withers tune that circulates my mind most days of the week. There are two chords in the whole song. With excellent lyrics. So we tried our best to do it justice. 
Mike Hogan - guitar, Cein Daly - bass, Conor J Ryan - keys, Noel Mooney - drums and Andrew Bromell - percussion. 
I hope you enjoy it

Use Me - Bill Withers Cover

There's a saying that goes - "if its not broke, don't fix it". Which in so many cases lies true. In this case we decided that the song was so well known and so well covered that it was only fair to put a little bit of our zest into it. So at most of our gigs we would come to the end of the piece and we would let loose. Preconceived yes, but there was always a sense of wonderment about where it might go this time. 

Feeling Good - Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse Cover

After listening to so many versions of this song and never really learning it I decided to take a stab at creating something familiar but original. So myself and my jazz guru, Peter Hanagan, wrote out an arrangement which included shavings from Herbie Hancock, Wyhton Marsellis, Thelonious Monk, Bobby McFerrin and Ledisi. Stephen McFarlen on guitar, Peter Hanagan on bass, Bryan Meehan on piano, Johnny Daly on drums and myself hitting some vocals.

'round Midnight - Thelonious Monk Cover

This song came about due to a number of things. Firstly, the album that this song is on is one of the most beautifully recorded sessions of music I've heard. It was handed so casually to me in 2010, while at a gig, from Joe O'Callaghan (who was the guitarist at the time). Jazz music changed for me at that point. And it was a secured feature of my car since then. Myself and my girlfriend at the time used to sit and listen to it when dropping her home to go back to Dublin. We would be yapping on through it but when Dedicated to You came on we would both shut up. It was intoxicating. Hartmans voice is like the original mans velvet voice. I vowed I would sing it and try to do it as much justice as I possibly could. 

Dedicated To You - Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane

Just Friends -  John Klenner &  Sam M. Lewis

Vocals - Conor J Ryan
Piano - Darragh Henessey
Guitar - Charlie Mooney
Bass - James Dunne
Drums - Graeme Stapleton

Recording Engineer Colm Finnegan
Recorded in Wind Milll Lane Studios

How Insensitive - Conor J Ryan

Written, performed, mixed and mastered by Conor Ryan
Backing vocals by Conor Ryan and Katja Rink.

Conor Ryan Music

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