Customer Reviews

She Loves You

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a fan of the Afghan Whigs for years. When Greg Dulli decided to put that band to rest and go in a different direction musically, I followed. The first Twilight Singers cd, "Twilight", took me by surprise. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. Very slow and loose and not at all like the Whigs stuff. And so, it took me a while to really get into it. The second release, "Blackberry Belle", was better and more solid and I loved it immediately. Now comes a covers cd. When I read the track listing, I knew this was going to be a great release. It doesn't disappoint. The Twilight Singers (okay, Greg Dulli) cover everyone from Fleetwood Mac ("What Makes You Think You're the One") to Bjork ("Hyperballad") and on to John Coltrane ("A Love Supreme"). His interpretations of the songs are awesome. Very gritty and soulful and full of sex. Dulli's voice just exudes dirty, late night, drunken lust. There really isn't a bad song on here. Highlights, however, include "Hyperballad", "Strange Fruit", "What Makes You Think You're The One", "A Love Supreme", "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)". This is probably the most accesible Twilight Singers cd yet. Not to say it's commercial. Musically, it's very cohesive and sounds like the cd that the Afghan Whigs would have put out after their swan song "1965". If you like your "rock" music with a lot of soul, this cd will do it for you!

After being blown away by "Blackberry Belle", this release threw me a bit. Sure, covers are nothing new for Dulli. I've always enjoyed them as b-sides on Afghan Whigs singles. Songs like "Creep" and "Beware" are favorites of mine, and live versions of "When Doves Cry" and "Beast of Burden" always get the crowd going at shows. Dulli's subversion of the source material, often fairly popular songs and old motown standards, intrigued me. But I wasn't really looking forward to a cover album, because I always liked the remakes sprinkled amongst the original songs, which are uniformly excellent.

That said, this is about as good as a cover album is going to get. The thing that struck me initially was that I wasn't that familiar with half the songs. so there goes my frame of reference, which was tied pretty closely to the fun of the old Whigs covers.

The really cool thing about the record is that you can see a lot of Dulli's influences in the songs, and then in turn see how he reinterprets them through those influences. For example, I was suprised how Fleetwood Mac fit into the Dulli oeuvre. After hearing "What makes You Think You're the One", it's obvious the Mac was a huge influence Dulli, especially on "Blackberry Belle."

The music sounds great all across the board. "Too Tough to Die" is a real standout, as is the Marvin Gaye song "Please Stay." And the Singers pull off "Hyperballad" which is a feat considering they're covering Bjork. Actually, a majority of these songs were originally performed by women, which presents a challenge for Dulli's unique vocal style. Unique meaning soaked in booze and cigarettes. But I digress...

It works out beautifully, and gives the songs a unique spin. In true Dulli fashion, the more obvious cover of "Summertime" really rounds out the proceedings. This song is what I expect for the guy who fearlessly remakes "Moon River" and "I Hear a Symphony."

Greg Dulli has always displayed as much creativity and passion in covering songs as he has in performing his own; and they are almost always surprising - in their arrangement, in their interpretation, even, at times, in their selection. Dulli, a poet in the Baudelairean tradition, discovers in the seemingly most innocuous lyrics hidden landscapes of pain, fear, guilt, shame, and emotional sado-masochism previously unimagined and unimaginable. But once Greg Dulli has done a song, it becomes his song - a different song than the one you've heard before, and often a better song.

The Afghan Whigs' re-working of the Wizard of Oz song "If I Only Had a Brain" - titled "If I Only Had a Heart" - becomes a disturbingly dark and sinister confession after having alchemized in the crucible of Dulli's tortured-artist brain. The classic soul/R&B "I Keep Coming Back," while featuring some of Dulli's most off-key vocals, is also one of the most quietly compelling and heart-rending tracks on the "Gentlemen" album. The Ass Ponys' "Mr. Superlove" grows by leaps and bounds with the inclusion of a mandolin. "Come See About Me," "The Dark End of the Street" - even Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Temple" and the Mancini/Mercer sappy classic "Moon River" ...

"She Loves You" is the first collection of covers in Dulli's career - and I have to admit that I am unfamiliar with most of the songs - but if you didn't know better you'd think it was simply a sequel to the Twilight Singers' incredible "Blackberry Belle." Because none of what we have come to expect, love - and even fear - is missing here. Simply put, "She Loves You" is knock-the-wind-out-of-you-and-then-breathe-new-life-into-you album.

"Feeling of Gaze" is, in Dulli's hands, every bit as dreamy as Mazzy Star could make it, though the tenor is a bit different. "Too Tough to Die" is here an anthem of arrested-adolescent bravado (and though it doesn't have quite as much bombast as it does live, it can still scorch even as it smolders). "What Makes You Think You're the One" has the same spiritedness that makes "Teenage Wristband" one of the best cuts from "Blackberry Belle." The album's second half is not as strong as the first - but that says more about the first five tracks than it does about the ones that follow (the album would be worth every penny for the staggering "Strange Fruit," alone) . And "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" (which you probably already own if you're an initiated fan) and the drastic and fantastic face-lift of "Summertime" provide a perfect ending to a phenomenal work.

The Afghan Whigs were (and are) one of the most overlooked (though not underrated) bands in recent music history. But with the Twilight Singers, Greg Dulli is living out their legacy with as much poetry, passion, and pain as he brought to his earlier work with the Whigs. And it really doesn't matter how much attention they get from the "public" - because after producing such artistic efforts, recognition is only the icing on the cake. And this cake doesn't need it.

Some people would argue with my title that this CD is only for Dulli fans. That's not to say that there aren't new ones waiting in the wings, but you're not going to force The Twilight Singers on your average Matchbox 20 fan. I find it's often not worth arguing about artists that take risks with such people, as the rawness created by singing outside of his range, as Dulli does sometimes, isn't something that Joe Average can handle. That doesn't make me better than Joe Average, just different.

There's an easy way to tell if a CD is good enough that has nothing to do with Amazon ratings or amateur reviews such as this one. As I write this, there are 61 used CDs for sale here, and the lowest one is going for NINE DOLLARS. That is amazing.

As for me, I'll just give you impressions on two songs. One morning I was almost late because I had to find this CD among my 2000+ CD collection to hear "Too Tough to Die" on the way to work. It's nice to hear the hook coming from the bass instead of the guitar. "Strange Fruit" gives me chills every time I hear it, but maybe because living in the South, the topic of lynching is a little too close to home. I think the arrangement is effective.

This isn't a CD you'll love at first listen, you have to give it a chance. Peace.

This latest release from the twilight singers,a collection of cover songs(mostly rare)is really impressive.Greg dulli and co.add atmosphere and ambiance to these great songs.If your already a fan you probably already own this,but if your new to the twilight singers,buy this, dulli's music has a way of seducing the listener,and really taking you to a place most(rock?)music does'nt.This cd may introduce you to a band that's music may change your life(for better or worse...laugh!)thanks.

Greg Dulli has an incredible knack for taking other people's songs and making them sound like his own. He emits more emotion in some of these songs than the original artists. The sound is a little darker and louder than Blackberry Belle, which is just fine. I was particularly blown away by his rendition of Strange Fruit which was popularized by Billie Holiday. The cover of Black Is The Color made popular by Nina Simone is also equally compelling. I am usually not a fan of covers unless Dulli is involved because most covers are just emotionless derivatives of the original. Once again, Greg Dulli delivers the goods.

Having grown up with the Whigs in dungeons like Bogart's (Cincy, holla) during the early- to mid-'90s, I've always been amazed by Dulli's fluid use of skillful, personalized cover songs on stage to either slow the crowd down or get 'em jumpin. Dulli obviously and justifiably considers himself the heir of rock, blues, jazz and R&B heavy-hitters alike (any doubts, check out the "Going To Town" CD-5 import). When I saw the Twilight Singers for the first time last autumn, it was refreshing to see Dulli continue the tradition with a great version of "Black Is the Color..." and a loose cover of "A Love Supreme." Sadly, while promising in concept, this album doesn't come close to the Dulli live experience. First of all, white dudes shouldn't try to cover "Strange Fruit" at all, even if it were a moving, inspired attempt -- and the version on this album is not. "What Make You Think You're the One" and "Too Tough To Die" are flaccid, and Dulli's rough vocals on "Real Love" dishonor Mary J. Blige's streetwise-yet-smooth soul. That's not to say the album has no great songs. "Hyperballad" is a standout, as are "Hard Time Killing Floor" and "Summertime"; tackling these three songs with such competent and fresh takes does assert that Greg's talent for redefining classics isn't going anywhere soon. "Black Is the Color..." is a great song as well, but it already showed up on the EP with the same title (which I HIGHLY recommend).

Don't get me wrong. I still recommend the album, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up in the novelty bin in the future. That being said, I'm looking forward to the new, original Twilight Singers and Gutter Twins material.

As recent covers albums go, this is a good one: it aces out Cat Power on concept and Tori Amos on sheer consistency. The concept this time out isn't sex but "real love," the kind of soulful, abiding love that not only goes into choosing our mates but also our favorite songs. And Greg Dulli's choices are as eclectic as they come. But bless his heart, Dulli is a rocker, one of the last authentic ones we've got. He digests Tricky trip-hop, cabaret-electronica, smoove R&B, even jazz, and delivers the pulsing heart of all his song choices as good old, electric-guitar-driven rock. But this ain't your daddy's guitar rock. This is sinuous, layered music, seen through a dub-gauze, darkly. Sometimes "She Loves You" seems to be emanating directly from someone's dreamlife, sonic flashbacks in the chill-out room. Mark Lanegan, author of last year's excellent "Bubblegum," pitches in as back-up vocalist on three tracks, but he's really just here out of comradeship; this is Dulli's show all the way. Daringly, Dulli uncovers the sadism always latent in Billie Holiday's masochism in a truly unsettling version of "Strange Fruit," and he finds a comfortable groove on Bjork's fear-of-commitment "Hyperballad." But the album's two showstoppers are the tense, surreal "Too Tough to Die" (not the Ramones song), and a very cool, slightly lounge-y arrangement of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair" which just keeps revving up for more, and which is almost as great as Bowie's similar heart-pounding treatment of "Wild is the Wind" (off "Station to Station"). She loves you? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, first I need to respond to a previous reviewer who gave this CD one star and stated...

"She Loves You~ Twilight Singers is the kind of music that I detest. It is wordy and pretentious and sounds like the lyrics are written to annoy rather then for the audience to enjoy."

"She Loves You", as clearly stated by most of the reviews here and Amazon's description of this CD, is an album of cover tunes. Meaning, all songs writen by other people. So your complaining about the verbosity of Greg Dulli in a review for this CD is...well...dumb. Upon investigation into your previous reviews I noticed you gave 5 stars to a Nick Cave CD which is surprising because Nick can be pretty verbose and often times pretentious. Bottom line, if you are here to talk trash about somebody at least listen to the CD first and be honest about it.

that being said...

Greg Dulli shows some pretty serious ambition with his choice of covers on "She Loves You" including the oddball "Hyperballad", the Billie Holiday classic "Strange Fruit", and Fleetwood Mac's "What Makes You think You're The One". Onlike most cover albums, Dulli doesn't just pay lip service to the originals, he applies his unique soulfull paintbrush to each and makes them his own.

Most cover CDs are bad...this one isn't. It's really, really good. Buy it.

The Afghan Whigs were a truly under-rated US alternative 90s rock act that hit their peak with 1965 and then slowly disintegrated. Having dabbled with projects such as the movie soundtrack to Beatles biopic Backbeat, head Whig Greg Dulli formed the Twilight Singers and released similarly stylish albums Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers and Blackberry Belle. She Loves You differs from prior Dulli releases in the fact that it's an album filled with covers, although given Dulli's previous interests strangely does not contain the titular Beatles hit. Opting for obscure songs rather than guaranteed chart hits, Dulli and his Twilight collective work their way through Marvin Gaye's Please Stay (Once You Go Away), George Gershwin's Summertime, Mary J Blige's Real Love (which briefly includes a snatch of John Lennon's Real Love as a nice adjunct) and Martina Topley Bird's Too Tough To Die. More well known tunes include Billie Holliday's Strange Fruit (previously covered by Tori Amos, Diana Ross, Sting, Siouxsie & The Banshees and many others) and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, but it's the cover of Bjork's Hyperballad that really shines. With his pal Mark Lanegan on board as co-vocalist, She Loves You becomes completely mesmerising after listeners indulge in a few repeat plays. Unlike many by-numbers covers albums, Dulli injects a fresh beauty to the eleven tunes gathered here. Originally showcased during extensive tours of the United States and Europe, The Twilight Singers have found there own niche within these songs to ensure they are far from fly-by-night knock ups. While it may not be new material from Dulli's astute mind, She Loves You remains another magnificent set from the Ohio native.