Ron Hynes – Face to the Gale

Face to the Gale is the second solo album from Newfoundland's Ron Hynes, a gifted songwriter. It was nominated as the Country Recording of the Year and the Male Recording of the Year at the 1998 East Coast Music Awards, where "Godspeed" also received two nominations. AllMusic rates it 4.5 stars out of 5 and praises Hynes not only as a writer but for "his other talents of singing and musicianship." The Top 100 Canadian Albums book ranked Face to the Gale at 94th.

Both "Godspeed (Requiem for Gene MacLellan)" and "Constance" were released as singles, with the former reaching top 40 on the Canadian country charts. The "Sonny's Dream" included here is a re-recording of a song that he previously recorded (twice) with the Wonderful Grand Band and also released as a single in 1990, when it made the country charts. "St. John's Waltz" is another outstanding track.

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Track Listing

1. "Constance" (Ron Hynes, Connie Hynes) – 4:15
2. "Leaving on the Evening Tide" (Ron Hynes) – 3:46
3. "Sonny's Dream" (Ron Hynes) – 3:50
4. "Killer Cab" (Ron Hynes) – 3:45
5. "Common Man" (Ron Hynes) – 3:32
6. "Gone to Canada" (Ron Hynes) – 3:26
7. "Godspeed (Requiem for Gene MacLellan)" (Ron Hynes) – 2:47
8. "St. John's Waltz" (Ron Hynes) – 3:29
9. "The Final Breath" (Ron Hynes) – 3:23
10. "Primitive Thunder" (Ron Hynes) – 3:31
11. "Lighthouse" (Ron Hynes, Declan O'Doherty) – 4:21
12. "Away" (Ron Hynes) – 3:09

Personnel

• Ron Hynes – vocals, guitar
• Brian Leonard – drums, percussion
• Tom Szczesniak – bass, accordian (on 5, 6, 8, 10)
• Michael Francis – acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin (on 2, 5, 8, 10), mandola (on 9)
• Ray Parker – electric piano, synthesizer, organ, piano, keyboards
• David Blamires – background vocals (on 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10)
• Neil Donell – background vocals (on 1, 2, 3, 5)
• Scott Alexander – fretless bass (on 3), acoustic bass (on 4, 12)
• Pamela Morgan – background vocals (on 11, 12), whistle (on 11)