Customer Reviews

Sincerely / Twilley Don't Mind (Reis)

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

 

 

Sincerely, the Dwight Twilley Band'd debut album from the late 70s, is simply a masterpiece, easily one of the best Power Pop records ever made. Twilley Don't Mind, the follow-up, maybe came up a little short when compared to Sincerely, but is still a great album. Both of these records stand up to anything made in that era or style, including Big Star, Badfinger, Cheap Trick, et al. Having those two albums on one CD is reason enough to get this release, but the real clincher is the bonus material: four extra tracks recorded in the same area. All four stand up to the best material on the two albums, and a couple of them, "You Never Listen to My Music," and "Didn't You Say" are actually better than many of the tracks on Twilley Don't Mind. Get this, then go and find that 2-CD collection of demos by the Shoes that came out this year, and you will have the best of this year's reissued Power Pop in your possession.

It's nice to have these two classics in one place (I'm one of the few that prefers Twilley Don't Mind to Sincerely, but both are great.) But...I'm holding on to my individual copies, both remastered in '89 by Steve Hoffman (DCC/Shelter label) and in '97 by Bill Inglot (The Right Stuff/Shelter label). I haven't done an A/B comparison, but my initial impression is that this Raven reissue is not up to the Hoffman and Inglot remasterings. I was also disappointed with their Gram Parsons collection Warm Evenings, Pale Mornings, Bottled Blues several years ago...LOTS of hiss. Also, the DCC and Right Stuff editions have more bonus tracks (when combined) than the Raven CD. Apart from the sound quality, the Right Stuff reissues also include (in the booklet) Twilley's own recollection of the era and the recordings. The Great Lost Twilley Album (CD) from '93, also remastered by Hoffman, is another way to go, and has several really good previously unissued tracks from Dwight, Phil, Bill, and company.

The first Twilley album, Sincerely, was a breath of fresh air at the time. I couldn't believe how good "I'm On Fire" was at the time, merging pop and Elvis. Then I heard "You Were So Warm" and "England", two pop masterpieces, so beautifully produced. The album holds up for a listen and they showed much promise. The second album was almost perfect, save two songs. "Looking For The Magic" and "Sleeping." Two more pop classics. And they had a unique quality, no one has captured since. I saw them live in 1979 and Phil Seymour was even better in person. They were a little awkward overall as a stage act, but it was hard to live up to the great production of these two albums. I think they were idled from progression, by over-involved record companies as the third album demos blew away the final LP. Phil made some great tracks afterward before he died and Dwight has struggled for consistency since. This is a must compilation for pop music lovers.

I can't believe how overlooked this pair of classic albums are; "Sincerely" and "Twilley Don't Mind" are classic slices of power pop at a time when the Dwight Twilley and the late Phil Seymour should have made the big time. After gaining traction with their first album and single release "I'm On Fire" due to a bone headed decision by an executive at their label the follow up single was NOT released because he feared that "Shark (In the Dark)" a strong follow up would be seen as a novelty tune.

It's a shame because the Dwight Twilley Band were meant for greater, bigger things that just never arrived for the Dwight and Phil.

The first album is a stone cold power pop five star classic and the second album although a fraction weaker the latter album benefits from an actual band playing on it (as opposed to Dwight and Phil overdubbing themselves and working with other players).

The first album deserves five stars while the second certainly four and a half.

This reissue from Raven does a great service by putting these two albums back in print with some terrific bonus tracks and an exceptional booklet that describes the difficult process of making the first album and the frustration the duo found on the "road" to success.

The mastering sounds pretty good although it might not be up to audophile level.

The Right Stuff reissues are out-of-print as is the DCC 1993 "The Great Lost Twilley Album" and can be difficult to find so it's nice to see these back in print.

It's a pity that Raven couldn't have done what The Right Stuff Label had done and include these previously released tracks along with the bonus tracks from those albums and put this on a two CD reissue but, either way, this is a terrific pair of classic power pop albums that deserved to find a wider audience in its day.

Highly recommended.