Customer Reviews

Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

yeah, yeah, it's not the whigs. but neither was "1965", in my opinion.

this is greg dulli. a little happier, freed up from rock angst, liberated by a drum machine. the guilt that fueled dulli in the whigs days, at least up to "black love", seems to have dissipated. now he's all about getting it on.

i loved the whigs, and i love "twilight." yes, they are very different entities, but after hearing "1965" you had to know where dulli was heading with his next project.

overproduced? yeah. but who cares? this is lush, get-it-on music. i have a copy of "love" before the fila brazilia extreme makeover, and it's great, but the album version fits perfectly into the feel of the record. sure, this album is not perfect, "annie mae" falls a little flat for some reason. but all of the other songs are very good, with some greatness scattered into the mix.

and let's not forget shawn smith and happy chichester. are there any less appreciated guys in music today? these guys are amazing talents, but no one's heard of them. the three part harmonies between these guys are heartbreaking.

so go out and get the record. and get the new howling maggie, too.

Despite my endless love for Greg Dulli and Shawn Smith, I was a little bit apprehensive about this record, but I really had no reason to be. For those Whig fans who like the crooner side of Greg Dulli, this will be a lovely treat. As for those Whig fans who are more into the screamer side of Greg Dulli and the angry, wild guitar licks of John Curley, it may not be so good to your ears. The album is very true to its name, "Twilight". It's perfect for those evenings at home after a long hard day at work. The mood of the album is somber and surprisingly sweet. All in all, I was greatly impressed by this album, and I look forward more collaborations with Greg (and the rest of the Whigs for that matter) and Shawn Smith and Fila Brazilia.

"Rock steady, baby," Greg Dulli croons on "The Twilite Kid", the opening track for his solo project/side band The Twilight Singers' debut release "Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers." Dulli, noted primarily for his work with the R&B-fused rock quartet The Afghan Whigs, proceeds to live up to the opening line. "Twilight" is a concept album, revolving loosely around one long evening in a shady, unnamed city that has all the trappings of a major metropolitan area: drugs, hookers, broken promises, blame. The evening begins with a delicately plucked piano, a swell of strings and that one utterance that ushers in the demons that follow it. Dulli captures the flash and flicker of a trapped soul searching for salvation in all the wrong places. "Goodbye, motherf**ker," a disembodied voice from an answering machine utters in the beatuifully haunting "Verti-Marte." The message is rewound, looped, as another voice ponders his descent into madness. The effect is as chilling as the night air you can almost touch in the overdubbed voices of "King Only." The albums progression toward sunrise is flawless. The protagonist recounts a life he used to live ("Railroad Lullaby"), mourns the loss of love ("Into the Street") and calls it a night with one promise: "Everything's going to be alright," ("Twilight"). While not as accessible as anything the Whigs did (there's a terribly disturbing off-key sound to "Clyde" and "That's Just How That Bird Sings"), this Twilight is one worth watching - if only for the way it paints the horizon.

Afer listening to this album for the first time, I just let it play again. Every track is completely different, linked only by the genius of greg dulli. Fila Brazilla adds that little extra, which puts this album over the top, though Fila's contributions are never over bearing. Musically, this ablum is deceptively complex. They obviously had a vision for this record and didn't compromise anything, and the final product shows that. The songs switch from mellow, but never lazy, to upbeat, but never clutterd. Dulli is a true songwriter, and 'That's Just How The Bird Sings' maybe the best song I've heard this year. Stand out tracks: all --Tracks to skip:0

Greg Dulli, frontman of The Afghan Whigs, takes his side project to the happier side of the Whigs best effort, Gentlemen.

Instead of the dark, brooding side of love and obsession, this time Dulli celebrates it, while still avoiding the cliches so common in love albums.

It's not an Afghan Whigs album. Guitars are there, but John Curley's bass is not, nor the drummer of the day. Dulli's love of Prince's drum machine shines and is evolved into a new type of rock/hip-hop collaboration which is entirely different from the current trend of Limp Bizket, Korn or Kid Rock. It's a softer, easier side, but still manages to have much more of an edge than the afore-mentioned teenny tastes of the day.

While the earlier, aucoustic demos carried a softer, more sensative - and perhaps better - album, the techno-ed, electric finished project is a rarity in today's musical climate. It uses electronica at its best.

The Motown influence that is so importnat to Dulli (see the Whigs' "Uptown Avondale" EP on Sub Pop), shines and is given new life as The Twilight Singers.

Why do I say that. This CD might have been highly awaited for had it not been in circulation before the final version finally dribbled out into the stores. So anyone who was into Greg Dulli had likely heard much of the cd or knew what to expect. All the surprise of a political campaign or looking at your X-Mas presents that have been hidden away from your prying eyes.

Taken as a singular entity Twilight is a fair enough album and would be marked as an interesting diversion. That it is the work of Greg Dulli, raises the bar considerably higher. Unfortunitely Twilight doe snot quite hit the mark. My key issue was the meeting of Dulli's signature soul oriented songsmanship with more of a techno/electronica sensibility. It is a sound that comes off as something of a compromise and slightly inorganic.

If you are a Dulli completist or are looking for something slightly different from the alternative rock subset this is a fair enough album to listen to over time. Don't expect to be blown over by it though.

Soulful and seductive. This albums will draw some real emotions out of you. To me it's a gem.