The Twilight Singers, Twilight Singers - She Loves You

Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli has always had a soft spot for karaoke. Many of the highlights of his former band's live shows involved staggering covers of songs by unlikely sources like Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder. With his latest outfit, Dulli finally gets to make the album that's been bursting through his skin. The material for She Loves You comes from sources as disparate as Björk ("Hyperballad") and John Coltrane ("A Love Supreme") but the singer treats them all with the same ravenous intensity, gasping through majestic versions of "Strange Fruit" and "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" with the unshakable intention to make each song his own. --Aidin Vaziri Amazon.com

A Cover Album's Never Sounded So Good

The Afghan Whigs were a truly under-rated US alternative 90s rock act that hit their peak with 1965 and then slowly disintegrated. Having dabbled with projects such as the movie soundtrack to Beatles biopic Backbeat, head Whig Greg Dulli formed the Twilight Singers and released similarly stylish albums Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers and Blackberry Belle. She Loves You differs from prior Dulli releases in the fact that it's an album filled with covers, although given Dulli's previous interests strangely does not contain the titular Beatles hit. Opting for obscure songs rather than guaranteed chart hits, Dulli and his Twilight collective work their way through Marvin Gaye's Please Stay (Once You Go Away), George Gershwin's Summertime, Mary J Blige's Real Love (which briefly includes a snatch of John Lennon's Real Love as a nice adjunct) and Martina Topley Bird's Too Tough To Die. More well known tunes include Billie Holliday's Strange Fruit (previously covered by Tori Amos, Diana Ross, Sting, Siouxsie & The Banshees and many others) and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, but it's the cover of Bjork's Hyperballad that really shines. With his pal Mark Lanegan on board as co-vocalist, She Loves You becomes completely mesmerising after listeners indulge in a few repeat plays. Unlike many by-numbers covers albums, Dulli injects a fresh beauty to the eleven tunes gathered here. Originally showcased during extensive tours of the United States and Europe, The Twilight Singers have found there own niche within these songs to ensure they are far from fly-by-night knock ups. While it may not be new material from Dulli's astute mind, She Loves You remains another magnificent set from the Ohio native. December 30, 2005

For Fans Only

Some people would argue with my title that this CD is only for Dulli fans. That's not to say that there aren't new ones waiting in the wings, but you're not going to force The Twilight Singers on your average Matchbox 20 fan. I find it's often not worth arguing about artists that take risks with such people, as the rawness created by singing outside of his range, as Dulli does sometimes, isn't something that Joe Average can handle. That doesn't make me better than Joe Average, just different.

There's an easy way to tell if a CD is good enough that has nothing to do with Amazon ratings or amateur reviews such as this one. As I write this, there are 61 used CDs for sale here, and the lowest one is going for NINE DOLLARS. That is amazing.

As for me, I'll just give you impressions on two songs. One morning I was almost late because I had to find this CD among my 2000+ CD collection to hear "Too Tough to Die" on the way to work. It's nice to hear the hook coming from the bass instead of the guitar. "Strange Fruit" gives me chills every time I hear it, but maybe because living in the South, the topic of lynching is a little too close to home. I think the arrangement is effective.

This isn't a CD you'll love at first listen, you have to give it a chance. Peace. April 25, 2005

Sonic flashbacks in the chill-out room

As recent covers albums go, this is a good one: it aces out Cat Power on concept and Tori Amos on sheer consistency. The concept this time out isn't sex but "real love," the kind of soulful, abiding love that not only goes into choosing our mates but also our favorite songs. And Greg Dulli's choices are as eclectic as they come. But bless his heart, Dulli is a rocker, one of the last authentic ones we've got. He digests Tricky trip-hop, cabaret-electronica, smoove R&B, even jazz, and delivers the pulsing heart of all his song choices as good old, electric-guitar-driven rock. But this ain't your daddy's guitar rock. This is sinuous, layered music, seen through a dub-gauze, darkly. Sometimes "She Loves You" seems to be emanating directly from someone's dreamlife, sonic flashbacks in the chill-out room. Mark Lanegan, author of last year's excellent "Bubblegum," pitches in as back-up vocalist on three tracks, but he's really just here out of comradeship; this is Dulli's show all the way. Daringly, Dulli uncovers the sadism always latent in Billie Holiday's masochism in a truly unsettling version of "Strange Fruit," and he finds a comfortable groove on Bjork's fear-of-commitment "Hyperballad." But the album's two showstoppers are the tense, surreal "Too Tough to Die" (not the Ramones song), and a very cool, slightly lounge-y arrangement of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair" which just keeps revving up for more, and which is almost as great as Bowie's similar heart-pounding treatment of "Wild is the Wind" (off "Station to Station"). She loves you? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
March 1, 2005

Twisted mouths and dark hearts

Duhli is lacking the usual passion he brought to the Whigs and the first Twilight Singers recording.


*sigh*

If you cannot get the name correct then do not review the cd. Folks, for those who grew up in the cult of Dulli it is easy to tell that this cd is a natural progression the Afghan Whigs sound and past recordings. If you are expecting the glorious howl of Gentleman, the love burdened scream of Black Love or street corner bliss of 1965 you will get small sampling of each with a huge serving of dark and regretful love.

Yes,there are some covers that were unexpected but hey personal growth isn't so bad now is it kids? The cover of Hyperballed is a bit in left field but it's a great take on the Bjork title. Too Tough to Die is close to the Topley-Byrd original expect it's not as jungle/house like. Track 8 through 11 are by far my favorite section of the disk.

If you need a great Dulli fix then he's still your boy. If you stylishly need to be in the know then I hear that the Beta Band has a new cd coming out soon.

Buy this cd..or better yet buy the new vinyl pressing to be released this week. There's an extra track on it.



January 26, 2005

Not what I wanted.

I just sold this back through Amazon, I was so disapointed with it. It's an all cover record, and while Greg Duhli does add an interesting twist to the covers, all of the music feels too subdued, too flat.

Duhli is lacking the usual passion he brought to the Whigs and the first Twilight Singers recording. January 6, 2005

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