Customer Reviews

Edges of Twilight

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

"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.

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.

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.

To all those people who think Jeff Martin is ripping off Jim Morrison's sound: That is his voice! it's beautiful, powerful, and seductive - just enjoy their music and their purpose to make music that goes deeper into our souls. The Edges of Twilight is by far their greatest Album, and a good one for new listeners. It truly showcases the trio talent as musicians and composers. Together they play over 100 different instruments, and their not afraid to use world instruments to make a unique sound. Any rock song that starts with a Sitar solo is great in my book. I just wish they would go back to that! I personally guarantee you will love this album. And if they come to your town - they have the best live performance I have ever had the honor to witness.

I first got this CD in mid-1997. My dad had picked it up after hearing one of their songs (which turned out to be "Sister Awake") on the radio, and he'd thought it sounded like an unreleased Doors track. When he played me this CD (mostly the opener "Fire In the Head"), I said "it's trash!" At that time, though, I was listening to Hanson (who I have no problem with, but...) and other pop groups, which, while good at cheery pop songs, were a bit one-dimensional. After giving this a few more chances, mostly with the quieter acoustic tracks, I REALLY started to like this album. Over time, I listened to it more and more, completely dazzled by the pure melancholy and spookiness prevalent on almost every track. Some CDs have a few "epic" songs, which really deliver an impact, but on Edges of Twilight, EVERY song is an epic. As well, there is huge musical diversity: folky acoustics ("The Badger", "Coming Home"), beautiful, melancholy tracks ("Correspondences", which has one of the best endings ever), and psychedilic, mind-expandingly SCARY songs like "Fire In the Head", "Drawing Down the Moon" (which also happens to have some downright amazing blues playing), and the menacing finale "Walk With Me", where Jeff Martin delivers what just might be the most purely EVIL vocal note known to man, where he baritones "Come on in and lady, you WALK", right before the final sanity-shattering chorus. This CD is simply a trip. And if it weren't for this, most of my existing 150-CD collection wouldn't be in my possession. That's how much I liked (and still do like) this disc.

The Tea Party's second album achieved the band fame, featuring a few big singles and more beautiful, creative compositions from the Canadian trio. "The Edges of Twilight" promptly moves along in a stylistic fashion with a creative assimiliation of instrumentation and gorgeous melodies. Very few bands compose works with as much variety as The Tea Party, and their hard edged Eastern sound mingles perfectly with lead singer Jeff Martin's baritone voice. Lyrically the songs tell stories of dreamy fantasies, and are contemplative and poetic. I regard this sophomore album as the band's best, but of course that is very debatable.

The album opener "Fire in the Head" opens with a dark, melodic guitar tune, and eases us into this raunchy rocker which is certainly one of my favourites. "The Bazaar" uses a fine assembly of percussion and guitar to create a very atmospheric song. "Correspondences" is in my opinion the finest ballad on the album, a 7 minute expedition driven by a gorgeous piano and Martin's vocal. "The Badger" is an excellent, underrated instrumental, showing Martin's musical prowess. "Silence" is a quick, energetic rock song that adds a new chapter of musical styles to the album. "Sister Awake" was the biggest single off the album, and is a grand rocker divided into different sections, and closing with Martin and his guitar. "Turn the Lamp Down Low" is a taste of Eastern blues, and is excellent. "Shadows on the Mountainside" is far more melodical and soft. "Innana" has another splendid Eastern feeling, and is well composed. "Coming Home" is really the only straightforward rock song on this album, while also featuring an acoustic rhythm to segue into the chorus. "Walk With Me" is the 14 minute album closer, beginning in a spacey, mysterious way as a few of their album closers do. When we finally reach the core of this song, it is very satisfying and purely driven by heavy guitar riffs.

Overall, this would be the Tea Party album I would most recommend to any fan of the band or a newcomer. It shows the trio at their creative peak, and these tunes are unbelievably original. The rock group are most popular in Australia and other distant countries while remaining fairly known in North America. While also showing a brilliant style of composition (i.e. 12-string guitars), "The Edges of Twilight" also shines in its lyrical aspects. Jeff Martin at times pioneers the album with his low vocal too. Highly recommended.

With `Edges of Twilight' the Tea Party hit their decade spanning peak, the fusion of middle-eastern vibes and old style Led Zep rocking is fresh and interesting, and Martin's deep voice is at its rich best. Recent efforts from the band are simply too mainstream, the formula is too basic, and while attracting some, the fans from albums such as this and TP's other classic `Transmission' have been disappointed.

`Fire In The Head' straight away lets the listener get a feeling for the band, it has those sumptuous acoustic passages fused perfectly with the heavy, distorted chorus, creating a fine idiosyncratic opener. `The Bazaar' while being relatively straightforward in approach, and TP are at their best when experimenting, has a fun catchy riff, possibly my favourite riff of the album. `Correspondences' is another highlight of the album; it builds and broods through its 7-minute duration with some fine powerful writing. `The Badger' is a fun showcase of Martin's wonderful acoustic playing, which on a whole really shines on this album, and takes more of a front seat than on any other TP albums. `Sister Awake' is possibly my favourite of the album and the best example of the mixture of heavy and soft guitar playing. Mention should also go to `Coming Home' which is a great Zeppelin sounding piece, some might say it `ripps' them off, I enjoy it nonetheless.

For those looking for a fresh take on alternative hard rock, the Tea Party should be a worthy addition to a collection. This and `Transmission' is TP at their best, and a good place to start.

I cannot say enough about this CD. If you believe in a god, you will disown him. If you are in love, you will shatter her heart. If you are alive, you will sell your soul. No one can top this CD, not even The Tea Party themselves. Dark. Mysterious. Angry. Deep. Hypnotic. Original. Powerful. They carved their own style and created a genre of their own. Too bad The Tea Party could not make in-roads into the US. That is ok, I am more than happy to keep them for ourselves in Canada :)

The Tea Party is and will always be one of my all-time favourite bands. This was their very first album that I ever listened to. I listened to Fire In The Head and loved it but wasn't too fussed on the other songs for quite some time. After the release of their next album TRANSMISSION I went back and listened to EDGES OF TWILIGHT and was amazed at what was on there. I realized that I didn't appreciate it nearly enough as I could have. It begins with two solid rock songs Fire In The Head and The Bazaar, and then with a bluesy/softer song in Corresondences. After having listened to all the Tea Party albums I rate this one the very best! It's got over thirty instruments used and each song has loads of things going on. A trademark Tea Party song is Sister Awake. This song would best define what the Canadian Tea Party band is all about! This is an album for all moods. Get it right away. It's amazing!