Edges of Twilight

Tea Party | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 3, 1995)
• Original Release Date: July 4, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000003JD0
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Poster
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,444 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Fire in the Head

2. The Bazaar

3. Correspondences

4. The Badget

5. Silence

6. Sister Awake

7. Turn the Lamp Down Low

8. Shadows on the Mountainside

9. Drawing Down the Moon

10. Inanna

11. Coming Home

12. Walk With Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Living on the "Edges", May 25, 2003

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Edges of Twilight (Audio CD)

Finding good music is hard to do. Finding good, well-written, well-sung and original stuff is even harder, but Tea Party's exceptional "Edges of Twilight" manages to be all of the above. With a sort of exotic-rock edge reminiscent of classic bands (Led Zeppelin, The Doors), "Edges" is a treat.

Among them is the wonderful rock opener "Fire in the Head" ("I'm waiting/flowers of evil in my mind/and I'm waiting/dancing with fire on the edge") and the more exotic "Bazaar," the exquisite "Sister Awake," the amazing "Drawing Down the Moon," the strangely sexy, frightening "Walk With Me," and the very different, almost Middle-Eastern "Inanna" ("Into the starlit sea my love/into the moonlit sea/riding the crest of winds above/I'm begging you stay with me").

Even when the songs are simply written, the references to fire, "the sun in the flame," drawing down the moon, red rivers going to the sea, "the city of the evening star," idols speaking at twilight, moonlit seas, and the unnamed love riding the winds back to the narrator. There's a mystical-sounding edge to virtually every song on here, though that's not a quality usually assigned to rock-ier songs. The vocals are good, and the music more than makes up for any flaws; the guitar playing is some of the best I've heard for a long while, backed up by keyboard, sitar, drums, bells, and more.

While being influenced from some of the best of classic rock, "Tea Party" is entirely their own animal, with amazing songs that most bands can only dream of. Original, alluring, and a definite winner for fans of amazing music.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far beyond The Doors and Led Zeppelin......, May 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Edges of Twilight (Audio CD)

"The Edges of Twilight" (1995)- The Tea Party

Canada's most talented three-piece rock band (Jeff Martin, Jeff Burrows and Stuart Chatwood) has four major label albums to their credit, one of which has a multimedia section. They have also released an album independently, back in 1991. They have three double-platinum (Canadian sales) albums, meaning they've sold 600,000 or more. They've explored almost every genre of music, from blues and folk to heavy techno. Their best effort to date is 1995's The Edges of Twilight. The album starts with three notes playing over and over, on "Fire In the Head." It puts you in a trance almost instantly, and prepares you for what you'll hear. The title itself is a good term to describe the album. Once the feedback from the guitar rings in, you'll see what the band does best; they take you to some other place, where the music is all you hear (Listen to this album straight through from the start. It has a linear progression, like a story). The violins make the perfect climax to track 1, before bells chime in the fade-out (Listen closely to hear them). "The Bazaar" begins with a sinister bass, before ripping into one of the best intros I've ever heard for any song. Jeff Martin's voice is in top form on every song, Jeff Burrows can perfectly set a mood with his drum tempo, and Stuart Chatwood can play piano or use atmospheric sounds depending on the situation. After a frenetic 3½ minutes, the pace slows down for "Correspondences," but not the intensity. The tune starts slow, building up to the final chorus, with Jeff Martin shouting "You tear me apart!" The song isn't dark as much as melancholy, but the emotion in Jeff's voice is astounding. This one's my personal favorite, especially the guitar solo at the end, fading into the piano repetition. The album can't be described in words. You just have to listen to it. "The Badger" is the perfect foil for such an intense start, and shows off Jeff Martin's talent on guitar. It has a relaxed feel, helped by the keyboards in the background, and the lack of vocals. Despite all that's been said about Martin, the Tea Party is NOT a one-man band. Chatwood and Jeff Burrows have amazing talent, and Stuart plays bass as well as keyboards. "Silence" is a good song, but still the weakest on the album. It's almost too loud, with the hurdy gurdy blasting out at the start, and the song not slowing down. Some good lyrics (like the rest of the album), but it pales compared to the rest. "Sister Awake" is a very spiritual tune, something else that the Tea Party's songs have. Most other bands can't achieve that element. It showcases all of the band's talents; different instruments and styles (sitar, bongos, etc.), powerful lyrics; and of course, heavy sounds, which is a must if you want to be a rock band. Even then, the Tea Party defies true categorization. "Turn the Lamp Down Low" starts as a classic sounding blues Hendrix-style song, but after a few minutes of irate repetition, Jeff Martin goes insane, screaming "Don't go!" in a babbling frenzy right to the end, where the song fades out with bongos pounding. Easily the most `psychotic' song on the album, and it shows how loud Jeff can be! "Shadows on the Mountainside" calms things down, with an entrancing picking pattern flowing along. Jeff Martin plays a flamenco solo throughout the song, while playing the background rhythm and singing softly at the same time. Poetic lyrics and beautiful guitar make this one a first-rate relaxer, once again demonstrating the band's talent with acoustic material. "Drawing Down the Moon" starts off with an almost mocking blues riff (Hendrix, anyone?), but it still is neat to listen to. Once that ends, the dreary bridge riff comes in, with a slide fading through the background, Jeff Martin's yearning voice breaking into a scream for the hard-rocking chorus! Jeff keeps screaming before going back into the bridge, then falling back to the opening blues riff for the outro. A rocking song! "Inanna" is the most eastern style song on the disc, with the buzzing, ringing sitar having a haunting effect. The lyrics seem to fit pretty well, too. The atmosphere of the song is amazing, and the chorus seems to bring it all together. The drums, the echoes of Jeff Martin's voice and the keyboards in harmony will make you shiver. The fade-out is just as mysterious, ending with a strange tapping ring. The song isn't quite long enough, though. We want more of the whole album! "Coming Home" is a drastic change. A good, standard blues rock song, it has a great chorus. The riffs at the middle of the song, followed by the solo, are purely blues-influenced. This is probably as light-hearted as this album gets (that's saying a lot!). The picking at the beginning and end of the song is catchy, as well (the catchiest song on the album?). Once again, the mood takes a huge turn. "Walk With Me" is the darkest and most intense song on the album. It starts twisted, it gets heavy and evil, and it lasts for seven good long minutes! The soloing throughout is like experiencing insanity! This is especially the case near the middle, where the drum roll and high-pitched riffing, along with Martin's screaming, are something else! The ultimate high (or low, depending on how you look at it) is after the quiet chorus repeat. Jeff Martin hits a note with his voice that sounds like pure evil! Then it rolls back into the last crazed chorus, before it roars to a close (or does it? That last fade-in at the very end keeps you guessing!) If you're curious enough, you'll find the hidden track thirty seconds after "Walk With Me." Taking its title from the album itself (or vice versa), "The Edges of Twilight" is a touching song, with slow guitar riffs from Jeff Martin, and wonderfully poetic lyrics from Roy Harper, a folk singer out of England. The last few notes hit home, and are a perfect close for this amazing work (actually, there is an extremely short demo take of "Correspondences" after another few minutes. Nothing special). When you get past the Hendrix, Morrison and Zeppelin comparisons (which are all justified), this is still an amazing album which can't be done by some impersonator. The Tea Party just knows that those old groups had a good formula, so they might as well stick with it. What do similarities matter, anyway? The band can play great songs, that's all there is to it. More power to them.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blues, Mid-Eastern, Ballads, Folk, you name it, Edges has it, July 14, 1998

By 

Robert L. Kyle (Des Moines, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edges of Twilight (Audio CD)

If you had just one CD to choose from on your desert island, this is the one. It has a song on it for every mood. From hard rock to pound your fists with, to ethereal instrumentation to put you in a trance. The blues numbers on this CD are exquisite, but the Mid-Eastern-tinged songs are what makes this album really come alive. Numerous and numerous ecclectic instruments were used to produce many of the awesome sounds: from the Sitar, Hammered Dulcimer (Santur), Harmonium, Tamboura, Oud, Saz, Hurdy Gurdy, and the list goes on and on and on. Sure some of these songs resemble somewhat Led Zep's earlier work, but the mighty Zoso has never embraced Mid-Eastern music (not to mention playing the instruments) as the Tea Party has done. This CD is definitely a must-have for those with discriminating tastes and who can acknowledge excellent song writing, beautiful lyrics, and superb, rare-these-days-for-a-rock-band musicianship.