The Edges of Twilight

Tea Party

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
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #108,798 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Like Led Zeppelin some 25 years ago, the Tea Party draw from a wealth of influences and cultures to create a sound uniquely their own, exotic and earthy, with neo-progressive flourishes and Middle Eastern-sounding melodies. On The Edges of Twilight they start off with a hefty punch of finely crafted, hypnotic hard rock, and then ease the listener into a world where piano ballads, the blues, and hypnotic, sitar-laden meditations seem to fit together perfectly.

From gorgeous acoustic instrumentals to jarring teeth-rattlers, the Tea Party prove unusually adept at everything they try. Sure, they are essentially an FM rock band, having more in common with Alice in Chains and Queensryche than they may care to admit, but they have far more talent and depth than many of their rather one-dimensional contemporaries. It's this versatility and wealth of quality material that separate them from the pack. --Adem Tepedelen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Tea Party Album Ever, November 5, 2003

By	Peter Udstuen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album is the Tea Party's best and my personal favorite. I listen to it almost everyday. My favorite part about the album is the fact that there are over 30 different instruments used on it, yet they all fit together perfectly somehow.
1.)Fire in Head-5 stars-This is a great rocker to open up with. Very philosophical and based on a book Jeff Martin read. That already makes in deeper than any American music.
2.)Bazaar-4 stars-Great song with awesome djembe intro. The song has a great rhythm, very catchy.
3.)Correspondences-5 stars-Very mellow, Door-esque song. Very brooding dark song about relationships and what not, but more poetic than most American music. Great solo on the guitar at the end too.
4.)The Badger-5 stars-Awesome instrumental guitar song. Ver mellow as well. Sets a nice mood, has a very irish-scottish feel to it.
5.)Silence-4 stars-Loud and surprising after such a mellow song in the Badger. Good middle eastern feel. More great poetry, similar vibe to the Bazaar.
6.)Sister Awake-5 stars-The Tea Party's opus. I would give it a million stars if I could. This album features many different instruments in one Epic song. Switches moods so quickly it makes you head spin and leaves you saying wow at the end. Once again another incredibly poetic song, awesome song and a good place to start.
7.)Turn the Lamp Down Low-4 stars- Very bluesy, slide guitar based song. Good ganja jam lol. There is another good version of this song on Alhambra.

8.)Shadows on the Mountainside-4 stars- Good folk-based song. Jeff's voice sounds excellent. I love listening to this song when I am in a mellow mood. Good segue into Drawing Down The Moon.
9.)Drawing Down the Moon-5 stars- Awesome blues based song. Very sombre and emotionally heavy. The song that first drew me into to album 6 years ago.
10.)Inanna-5 stars- Great middle eastern based song about the Sumerian goddess of the same name. Follows a similar vibe to the other eastern songs.

11.) Coming Home-5 stars- Great acoustic to heavy to acoustic song. Very poetic introspective song. It shows Jeff's guitar playing well. Just another great song, doesn't have all of the eastern instruments but still is awesome.
12.)Walk With Me-5 stars- Great way to end an album. Kind of a psychadelic song highlighting Jeff's great guitar playing. Good song about loneliness and what not. Another good ganja song. Has a cool spoken word section by Roy Harper after the song, and later on has a clip of Jeff destroying stuff while singing part of Correspondences.
And there it is, the whole album broken down song-by-song. I hope everyone finds this useful.

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 (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 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

"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.