09/07/2024
JULY 1976 (48 YEARS AGO)
Dwight Twilley Band: Sincerely is released.
# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5
# Allmusic 5/5 stars
# Rolling Stone (see original review below)
Sincerely is the debut album from the Dwight Twilley Band, released in July 1976. It reached #138 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart, and features the hit, "I'm On Fire", which reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album's sound is characterized by jangly guitars, harmonized vocals, and a blend of rock 'n' roll energy with pop sensibilities. It draws influence from early rock 'n' roll, British Invasion bands, and contemporary power pop acts of the time.
The "band" was primarily Twilley's childhood friend, Philip Seymour, with session musicians Bill Pitcock and Johnny Johnson contributing guitar and bass as needed.
When Twilley, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, released his first single, the rock track "I’m on Fire" in April 1975, it became a hit, reaching #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
However, if there was ever a victim of bad luck and bad timing, it was Dwight Twilley and his band. Due to the split between Leon Russell and Denny Cordell, Shelter Records lost its distribution deal in 1975 and was essentially out of business for a year. The extensive delay in release of the album after "I'm on Fire" contributed to Sincerely's lack of sales success. It topped out at #138 on the Billboard album charts—even though the album used the same cover photograph as the front of the "I'm On Fire" single (a photograph of Twilley taken in a photo booth) to play up the connection.
The songs on Sincerely come from three distinct recording periods: the band's first Tulsa and Los Angeles sessions for Shelter Records in 1974, which were intended by the label as rehearsals and demos but produced both of the first two singles (the top 20 hit "I'm on Fire" and "You Were So Warm").
After “I’m on Fire” hit, and Lacking an LP, Twilley and his band recorded 11 more songs that summer. A recording session produced by Robin Cable at Trident Studios in London that produced an entire album of material (tentatively called Fire), and the band's sessions in Tulsa after returning from London.
"Sincerely" was well-received by critics for its strong songwriting and production. It has since gained a cult following among fans of the power pop genre and is considered a classic by many. The album helped establish Dwight Twilley as a significant figure in the power pop scene of the 1970s.
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ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW
In America's less criss-crossed midsection, young rockers have the opportunity to incubate their dreams -- and their talents -- free of pressure. The most romantic of these Middle American rock & rollers make up an intriguing group of isolate but still much-inspired hip-innocents. Probably the best is Memphis's Big Star, whose two Stax-distributed albums are among the finest I've heard in the Seventies, but the Hot Dogs, Blue Ash and Cowboy (from Memphis, Youngstown and Macon, respectively) also know intuitively how to turn Beatles, Byrds and Beach Boys influences into thrilling and individual records.
The thoroughly inspired efforts of Tulsa's Dwight Twilley Band are finally drawing national attention to this phenomenon. Like Big Star, the Twilleys wrap themselves handsomely in Sixties filigree, with an emphasis on pre-psychedelic Beatles, adding some rockabilly echo for greater resonance. They do it so well and with such personality that it seems nothing short of miraculous.
The Twilleys managed to get on AM radio in mid-'75 with their very first attempt, the astounding "I'm on Fire," but they soon dropped from sight. Now, they reappear with Sincerely, which has been released to introduce the new ABC/Shelter label; I mention this corporate merger only because the attendant circumstances may provide the record with the necessary promotion to make it a hit. There's no question that the music is sufficiently accessible -- these riffs, hooks and harmonies are as irresistible now as was their source material in 1966. With the Beach Boys and the Beatles back on the charts, the stage is set for a Twilley breakthrough.
There are 12 tracks, all originals, nine of which were recorded in Tulsa; the longest is "I'm on Fire" at 3:15. All of the songs are loaded with gorgeous evocations not just of the three Bs but also of the Searchers, Mamas & Papas, Ventures, ? and the Mysterians, Buddy Knox, and the Turtles (among others), overlaid and quick-cut into a dazzingly coherent style. Twilley and partner Phil Seymour do all the vocals and most of the instrumental work, with Bill Pitcock IV laying in guitar leads on 11 of the songs.
Sincerely is -- to use the Hawaiian vernacular -- "chicken skin" music, in which the abundant sublime moments are as significant and well defined as any of the tracks as a whole. In keeping with the milieu they're advancing, the Twilleys have more sophistication and daring than they know what to do with. But at the same time, they manage to purvey a completely credible teen-innocent's romanticism. If their work here is blatantly derivative, it's also quite personal. The Twilley Band has concocted the best rock debut album of the year.
~ Bud Scoppa (September 9, 1976)
TRACKS:
All songs written by Dwight Twilley
Side one
1. "I'm on Fire" - 3:15
2. "Could Be Love" - 2:38
3. "Feeling in the Dark" - 2:54
4. "You Were So Warm" - 2:25
5. "I'm Losing You" - 2:11
6. "Sincerely" - 2:38
Side two
1. "TV" - 2:23
2. "Release Me" - 2:28
3. "Three Persons" - 2:05
4. "Baby Let's Cruise" - 3:00
5. "England" - 2:33
6. "Just Like the Sun" - 3:46
