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My Amazon Reviews: Dwight Twilley "Green Blimp"

Dwight Twilley Goes Green 
3 Out of 5 Stars

Dwight Twilley has been on an interesting path for the last six years. His last album of original songs was six years ago, there have been two albums of covers (one of which was the excellent "Out Of The Box") and now, he's finally taken flight again with "Green Blimp." Twilley fans will be thrilled, as Dwight maintains his usually high standards of quality and his trademark power-poppin' style. While nothing here jumps out at you ala "I'm On Fire" or "Girls," the CD's dozen songs will not disappoint.

Twilley has always been preoccupied with that mix of Beatles/Beach Boys/Phil Spector wall of harmony and sound production style, and "Green Blimp" is fully inflated with it. Songs like "Stop," "Ten Times" and the goofy "Doctor" are packed with hooks and Twilley's unique voice. He slows things down for the psychedelic title track and the decent ballad "Let It Rain" for change ups, but for the most part, "Green Blimp" is a full throttle guitars album. Which might be because old hand (and original DTB guitarist) Bill Pitcock IV has come back on board. (Along with long time associate Susan Cowsill on backing vocals!)

What that means for "Green Blimp" is that Dwight Twilley has made another confident, successful album. Not sure if anyone outside Power Pop and Twilley aficionados will ever hear it, but it's certainly worth a listen.

 

My Amazon Reviews: John Lennon "Walls and Bridges"

Ah! Bowakawa pousse, pousse!
4 Out Of 4 Stars

Coming out from his infamous "Lost Weekend" period in Los Angeles, John Lennon returned to New York with a batch of songs and renewed focus. From that wellspring came "Walls and Bridges," Lennon's first album to contain a solo number one single. I know a lot of Lennon fans characterize this album as one of Lennon's weaker albums; I happen to have a certain nostalgic love for it.

After all, Lennon had befriended Elton John and Elton famously bet Lennon that "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" would be a chart-topper. This being 1974, Elton was at one of his peak periods and it's his piano and backing vocals that propelled the song. Lennon lost the bet and the payoff was to be a guest at Elton's Madison Square Garden show, which infamously was Lennon's last live appearance and the duo performing "I Saw Her Standing There" eventually appear as the B-Side to Elton's "Philadelphia Freedom." The album also contains the one time John and his son Julian appeared together on record, as Julian plays drums with his dad as the album closes on the oldie "Ya Ya" (which John eventually recorded for inclusion of the "Rock 'n' Roll" album).

Even with these touching moments, Lennon had compiled some wonderful songs. "Number 9 Dream" is a mystical, hallucinatory dream diary where Lennon took words and thoughts from dreams and formed them into a nugget of psychedelia. "Scared," which opens with a lone wolf howl, is emotionally naked and can't be seen without the backdrop of his separation from Yoko. Nor can the stark "Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out," which also bares its soul in a Dylanesque manner.

"Walls and Bridges" was the final album of original material from Lennon until "Double Fantasy" with Yoko six years later. While it was the last of Lennon's solo written albums, it often lost. With such open and autobiographical songs as "Going Down on Love," the bitter "Steel and Glass" (allegedly written about Lennon's disgust with Allan Klein) and even the jubilation of "Whatever Gets You Through The Night," it deserves better.