Twilley (Expanded Edition)

Despite coming after the departure of longtime cohort Phil Seymour, 1979's Twilley is no great departure for Dwight Twilley, and indeed features a handful of songs he had been stockpiling for years. The band also features many of the same musicians from the previous albums, most notably guitarist Bill Pitcock IV, while songs like "Nothing's Ever Gonna Change So Fast," "Betsy Sue," and "Runaway" are the kind of classicly structured, lushly produced, and passionately performed power pop gems Twilley cranked out like a machine. What makes the album work is the variety of songs (a nice mix of rockers, introspective ballads, and moody tunes like "Runaway") and the use of strings on songs like "Out of My Hands" and "Standin' in the Shadow of Love." The strings combined with the songs' dramatic sweep lead to thoughts of ELO fronted by Tom Petty and produced by Phil Spector -- but, more importantly, give the record an added boost. Overall, it may not stack up to Sincerely, but Twilley is one of Dwight Twilley's best. ~ Tim Sendra