Page 4 - You and I: The Very Best of O'Bryan booklet

T he phoenix hope, can wing her way through

the desert skies, and still defying fortune’s
spite; revive from ashes and rise.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The phrase “What was once old is now new again” certainly seems
to be the case with soul music. The revived interest in artists
from the 1970s and 1980s has been going on for quite some time,
but the changes in technology — in particular, the rise of the
Internet, digital downloads and the ability to record and produce
music virtually from anywhere — have caused a seismic shift in
the music industry. The financial barriers to produce, create and
distribute music are now considerably lower, allowing some of the
more underrated acts to come back in the spotlight. Moreover,
the changes are empowering these artists to release their music
on their own independent labels.

One artist whose career has been resurrected like a phoenix is
O’Bryan, who produced four albums for Capitol from 1982 to 1986.
After reintroducing himself with the 2007 release “F1RST,” longtime
fans reminisced about his previous works — from uptempo hit
songs like “The Gigolo,” “I’m Freaky” and Lovelite;” to his covers
of The Four Tops’ “Still Water (Love)” and Stevie Wonder’s “You
and I;” to the ballads “Lady I Love You” and “Together Always;”