Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers

Twilight Singers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 12, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00004XSWM
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,181 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT AN AMAZING RECORD, September 19, 2000

By 

Dsc "dsc" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers (Audio CD)

Even though Fila Brazilia collaborated on this album, it ain't no electronica album. Fila adds, as usual, the right subtle touch of funk and space to Dulli's funk and soul. Talk about unusual pairings, Dulli and Fila make an album that's worth taking home the best album of 2000 award. The sound is still unmistakably Afghan Whigs, but softer, more quiet and more optimistic than any Whigs' album. The Whigs are adept at creating anthems that perfectly describe an emotion. The same holds true on the Twilight album. Every song describes a fleeting moment in time, in human emotion. Hence the Twilight moniker. After my first listen, I almost cried. Goosebumps ran up and down my body. If there are any miracles in music, this is definitely one of them. Thank you Greg for making me feel like I'm never alone.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANCE IN TWILIGHT, October 29, 2001

By 

Michael DiMarco (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers (Audio CD)

Ever so smooth, Greg Dulli's voice slinks around piano chords like vintage Marvin Gaye on the darkest of evenings. Once again, Dulli has created a masterpiece, nodding favorably to the rhythm and blues soul that continues to influence his music. This time around the music is mellower, though the emotions expressed mimic those of previous Whigs' albums. Nothing has changed lyrically: Dulli is the bastard in bed, watching the nameless girls crawl out of his room before dawn, watching the dirty videos he presumably filmed himself. He plays scapegoat, stalker, and victim and plays them all well. Plays us well. And in the end, a lustful lick on the cheek meets a deserving kick in the groin.

Holding out his hand, Dulli takes us to places existing in the small window of twilight, under the silver stars and moons on the album's cover, where hearts are broken in a jaded romanticism familiar to Whigs' fans. The emotions are powerful and far-reaching. Yet Dulli makes it work because when he speaks we believe him. Or at least we try. Hanging on every word, the brutal, jagged honesty oozes from his mouth in neatly written verse. Undoubtedly, this is the soundtrack to the night, as it complements those hours precisely.

Backed by New Orleans session players, and calling themselves the Twilight Singers, Dulli incorporates drum machines, ambient grooves, and subtle piano into the mix. Consequently, he eases off the trademark guitar riffs, which came to define the Whigs in the decade past. The swank is still apparent, however, possibly even more so, creeping through horn arrangements, lush melodies, and Dulli's swelling wails and whispers. Those expecting the hard-edged riffs of "Gentlemen" and "1965" will be disappointed, as this record is an experiment, mixed by Fila Brazillia, and meant to stray slightly from the posturing self-assurance of the Afghan Whigs. Each song is itself artful testament, weaving through the tapestry of modern relationships. We arrive at the final track, immersed completely in Dulli's purgatory. Lost in the dark. Yet arriving here at track 12 we are reassured by the singer that this twilight may indeed hold promise. Dulli says so. And we believe him. Just like all the other girls.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fallacy of gestalt, March 17, 2005

By 

A. O. Dugo (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers (Audio CD)

It seems that listeners don't understand that this album is NOT Greg Dulli, nor is it Fila Brazillia. It is an entirely new and synergistic beast, and this is why it is not called "Fila Brazillia plays Dulli" or something of the like. This is one of the few albums that I can listen to for hours upon hours, and this is entirely the result of experimentation, collective vision, and a superb analogy between lyric, instrumentation and production. Somehow, the Twilights are able to combine racking heartache and betrayal with appropriate bittersweetness to create a masterpiece of ephemera. I constantly feel after listening that I have lost something deep inside -- but found the marrow of myself nevertheless. Of the songs abounding in the soundtrack I play inside my head, tracks from Twilight invariably pop up out of the blue, and I find myself humming for hours. It's a truly complex album too -- I'm always finding a note here or there that I never noticed, without which the songs wouldn't quite be the same -- the hallmark of an excellent work. Quite frankly, this is a beautiful album of true and unfettered emotion -- the layering of sounds only serves to further amplify -- and the segues are fantastic, rivaling perhaps the second side of Abbey Road. The irony here is the album's ability to make you feel as if you're falling in love despite lyrics such as "tell me where you were." Again, a bittersweetness that always leaves me wanting more.