As many of my friends know, I have been a pop music buff almost all of my life. I am a big fan of 80's new wave and of the oft neglected guily pleasure known as "Power-Pop," a genre that contained a lot of new-wave bands, but also has its Richenbacher roots as far back as The Beatles, among other 60's Brit bands.
One of my long faves in the genre has been Dwight Twilly. His mid 70's hit "I'm On Fire" was one of my teenaged 45's, and I had many of his albums. Most have been only limited releases or imports on CD, in fact his best known album, "Jungle," has yet to show up digitally at all. At one time, both he and Tom Petty were signed to the Shelter label, and both were picked to become superstars. Petty escaped a sloppy Shelter demise to sign with MCA, but Twilley's label woes are almost the stuff of legend.
So when a new Twilley CD shows up, I get psyched. To get wind of a new release is pretty exciting stuff. Twilley's new "Out Of The Box" is a sugary treat; a whole album of covers from a man who used to write songs like these with his eyes closed. There's everything here from Bee Gees to AC/DC, Beatles (5 times) and Bob Seger, all filtered through Twilley's jangly, harmonic power-pop style. It's kind of cool to hear "Old Time Rock and Roll" done up as a power-pop tune, and his version of Elvis' "Burning Love" belies the time Twilley journied to Tennesee is his quest to be a Memphis Sun singer.
The real gems, however, are the 60's oldies. Twilley's love of The Beatles' songs has always been evident, but when he lets his inner Lennon/McCartney loose on "In My Life" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," it is enough to justify the Peter Max-ian cover art. The more obscure picks are a delight, like "Big Iron" (Marty Robbins) and "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" (Buddy Holly). If there was any justice in the world, Twilley would ride one of these to a third comeback. For now, his clutch of fans can sit back and enjoy the party.
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