Customer Reviews

Out Of The Box

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

 

 

Dwight Twilley is one of those long suffering classicists who always seem to be just *this* close to the brass ring, only to have some sort of industry banana peel send him back to the end of the line. His two lone top 40 singles were almost a decade apart, "I'm on Fire" in '75 and "Girls" in '84. His record label woes are legendary, with whole albums left unreleased and bootlegs all over. Heck, most of his albums are criminally out of print!

For us Twilley fans, that is one tough row to hoe. Want the CD's? Start looking for pricey imports or raid the used bins. "Jungle," the closest thing he's had to a big hit, has yet to even make it to CD. So to get wind of a new release is pretty exciting stuff. "Out Of The Box" is a sugary treat; a whole album of covers from a man who used to write songs like this with his eyes closed. There's everything here from Bee Gees to AC/DC, Beatles (5 times) and Bob Seger. It's all filtered through Twilley's jangly, harmonic style. It's kind of cool to hear "Old Time Rock and Roll" done up as a power-pop tune, and his version of Elvis' "Burning Love" belies the time Twilley wanted to be a Memphis Sun singer.

The real gems, however, are the 60's oldies. Twilley's love of Beatles' songs has always been evident, but when he lets his inner Lennon/McCartney loose on "In My Life" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," it is enough to justify the Peter Maxian cover art. The more obscure picks are a delight, like "Big Iron" (Marty Robbins) and "You're So Square Baby I Don't Care" (Buddy Holly). If there was any justice in the world, Twilley would ride one of these to a third comeback. For now, his clutch of fans can sit back and enjoy the party.

What can one say about someone who knows just how and when to hit certain pitches with his voice just at the right moment. Dwight is one of the most talented singer/songwriters since the mid seventies when he and buddy Phil Seymour released the wonderful "Sincerely" album. That album is such a classic (I hate to compare great music to others) it has sweet harmonies of the Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkle, Beatles and a little Elvis. Every Twilley album is a new adventure. First, I would start with the 2 on 1 cd; "Sincerely/ Twilley Don't Mind". Great vocals with a bit of rockabilly. "Out of the Box" is loaded with cover tunes that many will know. My fav's are; "Burning love", "Stand by me", "The last time", "(You're so Square) Baby I don't care", "Big Iron". 20 songs on one cd!

Another Cheap GIGATONE CD ....its actually a CDR with color copies for an insert...cheap cheap.

the musical content is great..Dwight is full of surprises on these covers and at 20 its certainly a full Disc... wild combinations from Secret Agent Man to AC/DC's "Girls Got Rhythm" to the old Gene Pitney classic "Town Without Pity" ...mix in Beatles and Elvis and WOW..its a great CD for a party or a drive.

SHAME on this cheap record label for putting this out like it was some burned mix tape...

Dwight Twilley is one of those long suffering classicists who always seem to be just *this* close to the brass ring, only to have some sort of industry banana peel send him back to the end of the line. His two lone top 40 singles were almost a decade apart, "I'm on Fire" in '75 and "Girls" in '84. His record label woes are legendary, with whole albums left unreleased and bootlegs all over. Heck, most of his albums are criminally out of print!

For us Twilley fans, that is one tough row to hoe. Want the CD's? Start looking for pricey imports or raid the used bins. "Jungle," the closest thing he's had to a big hit, has yet to even make it to CD. So to get wind of a new release is pretty exciting stuff. "Out Of The Box" is a sugary treat; a whole album of covers from a man who used to write songs like this with his eyes closed. There's everything here from Bee Gees to AC/DC, Beatles (5 times) and Bob Seger. It's all filtered through Twilley's jangly, harmonic style. It's kind of cool to hear "Old Time Rock and Roll" done up as a power-pop tune, and his version of Elvis' "Burning Love" belies the time Twilley wanted to be a Memphis Sun singer.

The real gems, however, are the 60's oldies. Twilley's love of Beatles' songs has always been evident, but when he lets his inner Lennon/McCartney loose on "In My Life" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," it is enough to justify the Peter Maxian cover art. The more obscure picks are a delight, like "Big Iron" (Marty Robbins) and "You're So Square Baby I Don't Care" (Buddy Holly). If there was any justice in the world, Twilley would ride one of these to a third comeback. For now, his clutch of fans can sit back and enjoy the party.

You've read the old cliché ad nauseum, about being a big fan of the artist in question, but I do have enough history to buy Dwight's records on spec with at least satisfactory results.

This CD on first listening was an immense disappointment.
Dwight's voice was not in usual good form, his voice and acoustic guitar work sounded too far forward in the mix, and much of the first half of album sounded like it mastered/transferred at several r.p.m.s too slow.

I don't know if my mind is equalizing it but it now does sound more balanced in the mix, more of performances sound more energized, but the vocals on several songs still sound earnest and labored. The sense of disappointment is lifting but still think it's second tier to his other recordings. Maybe at some future point I'll have unqualified enthusiasm, but right now I couldn't in good faith recommend to someone.

I still hate "Hello Goodbye", it sounds like a dirge. "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" sounds like he's unsuccessfully trying to sound Like John Lennon. In general, he doesn't consistently sing the rest of them as well as he sings his own songs.

The cover is heavily modeled off a treated Richard Avedon photo of John Lennon from 1967 [...]


I do find it dispiriting that Dwight, like The Smitereens, now seem to be making a career of recording whole albums of covers, both have done two full albums of Beatle covers. In Dwight's case there is an album is all of songs that appear on the album "The Beatles" aka "The White Album", both albums have mockups of Beatle album sleeves for covers.