Strangers

Very rare album in great shape vinyl, cover (minor shelf wear). and lyric sheet.

O’Brien and his new record label, Marmalade Studios new in-house label Toast, backed by PolyGram, then decided to come back with a “big budget album” that would be called Strangers.

Over the winter of 1982, O’Brien laid down 10 tracks, eight of which were O’Brien/ Porter compositions. 'Nature' songwriter Wayne Mason and musician Kevin Bayley each provided a song. The local musicians contributing included jazzmen Frank Gibson Jr, Bob Smith and Martin Winch, with backing vocals by Jacqui Fitzgerald and Erana Clark.

Strangers retains a slick and professional sound, vividly recorded on analogue 24-track equipment. Standout tracks include 'Only The Night To Kill' and the melodramatic 'Into A Stranger', where the O’Brien vibrato is showcased. Bayley’s 'Julia', the first of two singles from the album, has a great singalong quality.

Strangers proved a critical rather than commercial success. O’Brien decided to change course, soon establishing the iconic Slow Boat Records in Cuba Street and, with wife Suzy, raising two daughters. Behind him was an impressive portfolio of three albums and 14 singles, including four in the UK.

Three decades passed. Most people only knew O’Brien as the knowledgeable old geezer up at Slowboat. No clue this was the rocker who once had them swooning in the aisles. In 2012, in classic below the radar style, O’Brien released Still In the Same Dream (1972-1982), a CD of 21 digitally remastered songs.