Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Back in the ‘60s an obscure British beat group recorded an instrumental called “There Are Eight Million Cossack Melodies And This Is One Of Them”. I’ve always loved that jokey title. It conveys no little insight, that there are many, many more songs out there… somewhere… than will be heard by no more than a few people, millions of songs penned in Parisian bedrooms and African mud huts, Kensington High Street and even the Russian Steppes which will never be heard by anyone save their composers, their circle of friends and God. In view of all this, what I will refer to as The Richard O’Conor Project (my idea, not his – the dear chap wouldn’t resort to something so portentous) hits a chord with me. The idea of a singer/songwriter who by his own admission is relatively unknown (save for one flash of near Christian music fame with Loose Goose) simultaneously releasing four albums of his home studio recordings appeals deeply to me. A man who’s served God and the faithful flock of St Barnabas, London, who uses the new technology of CD burners and colour printers not as a pitch at the music biz big time (the gatekeepers of which, in truth, allow few to enter) but as a means of serving the larger Christian body. His songs are recorded warts and all, sometimes with a full blues rock band, more often with a well played acoustic guitar. Many of Richard’s best songs are based on Scripture and both “In The Beginning” (John 1:1-5) and “Love” (1 Cor 13:1-7) make an impact. There are some wacky moments as well; “Bound For Heaven” is a jokey blues number while “Blessed Is He” is a surreal romp with cod German accent! Musically while it’s pretty diverse as well, with “Louder Than Words” funk bass and a ricocheting rhythm ringing the changes. I think the latter and voice and guitar “Bad To Good” are my favourite tracks. In fact, “Bad To Good” is just the kind of memorable song that makes the whole Richard O’Conor Project worthwhile. If God ever opens the door to do a properly produced album of the best O’Conor compositions, that should be on there. And I suggest they should call the album ‘There Are Eight Thousand Song Ideas On Richard O’Conor’s Demo Tapes And These Are 10 Of Them’.

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