Fossils: Dwight Twilley Band's Sincerely (1976)

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Dwight Twilley Band – Sincerely

Although cult rocker Dwight Twilley scored a Top 20 hit single in the spring of 1975 with the infectious, melodic “I’m On Fire,” he was nevertheless about five years too early for the 1980s power-pop revival he helped inspire and influence. For Twilley and musical partner Phil Seymour, it would take almost a year and a lot of false starts before they’d come up with a proper debut, 1976’s excellent Sincerely album.

Sadly, it seemed to be a case of “too little, too late.” Although Sincerely scratched its way onto the Top 200 chart (peaking at #138), there wouldn’t be another “I’m On Fire” in the offing. The pair built upon a fine pop-rock tradition that included similar cult faves as Crabby Appleton and Big Star, or even moderately-successful bands like Badfinger and the Raspberries, with songs like “Could Be Love,” “Release Me,” and “Baby Let’s Cruise” finding an appreciative, albeit smallish audience that has only increased over the ensuing decades.

Although the band’s label – Leon Russell’s Shelter Records – lacked the financial resources to fully promote Sincerely, the advertising that accompanied the album’s release masterfully evoked a simpler time, calling up the nostalgia of summertime, drive-in movies, and intelligent pop-rock music of the Dwight Twilley Band variety. Twilley has continued to make great music in a similar vein, most recently with 2014’s Always album…but he’ll forever be revered by power-pop fanatics for the groundbreaking Sincerely and it’s follow-up, 1977’s Twilley Don’t Mind. 

Alex Chilton Live Album Coming October 8th

Alex Chilton fans – they are legion and are growing – have a lot to be happy about these days. For one thing, there's Nothing Can Hurt Me, the recent documentary covering Chilton's long-suffering cult band Big Star and the Memphis rock scene of the '70s. The critically-acclaimed film is accompanied by a briskly-selling soundtrack album that is earning Chilton, Chris Bell, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens new fans among a generation of hipsters too young to have enjoyed either Big Star's brief day in the sun or Chilton's often maddening solo career during the late 1970s and throughout the '80s.

On October 8th, 2013 Bar None Records will release Electricity by Candlelight, a previously unreleased live performance by Chilton that was fortunately caught on tape. The back story goes like this: Chilton and crew were performing at the Knitting Factory in New York City on February 13th, 1997 when the lights went out. Undeterred, Chilton borrowed an acoustic guitar from somebody and, accompanied by his drummer Richard Dworkin on half the songs, launched into an inspired solo set that was spontaneous, intimate, involved the audience, and featured songs not often performed by the singer/songwriter. 

Because of the nature of the performance, Electricity by Candlelight offers up rare performances of songs Chilton seldom played before or after this single show, including some country tunes, a little Beach Boys, and some original material that seldom saw the light of day. A talented and often underrated musician, Chilton sadly passed away in 2010. His immense legacy lives on however, whether through his 1960s-era chart success with the Box Tops (Chilton sang the classic "The Letter" when he was just 16 years old), his cult status as Big Star frontman, or his eclectic solo career, all of which would influence bands like R.E.M. and the Replacements during the 1980s and '90s, an influence that reaches to today and a wealth of like-minded, pop-oriented rockers that can be glad that Chilton was there to blaze the trail.