Iconoclassic Watch: Label Preps Expanded CDs for Dwight Twilley Concert, The Snake Corps, Members of The Bongos

Twilley Agora
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With typical aplomb, Iconoclassic kicks off a new release year this week with the first of three forthcoming titles: the official release of a live show by one of the label’s favorite acts, and expanded editions of an overlooked post-punk classic and a power-pop rarity making its debut on CD.

Tomorrow, February 20, the label will release Live on Fire At The Agora 1978, another vintage slice of guitar greatness from the Dwight Twilley Band. Having expanded four of Twilley’s solo albums (Twilley (1978), Scuba Divers (1982), Jungle (1984) and Wild Dogs (1986)) and given a proper release to a set of live material recorded with longtime guitarist Bill Pitcock IV, the label takes it back even further to a set at the legendary Agora Ballroom in Cleveland in the fall of 1976. Live on Fire At The Agora, naturally, features “I’m on Fire,” the Top 20 hit from the band’s debut Sincerely, and includes not only material from that album but the next year’s follow-up Twilley Don’t Mind, with the band – Twilley, Pitcock, singer/drummer Phil Seymour, guitarist Bingo Sloan and drummer Robbie Armstrong – in fine form. Thirteen of these 14 tracks were released on an unsanctioned live disc more than 15 years ago – but this, mixed from original multi-tracks by the band’s engineer James Barth, remastered by Vic Anesini and approved by the estates of both Twilley and Seymour, is as definitive as it gets. The booklet includes a previously unreleased photo by rock photographer/illustrator Zox, plus new liner notes by Greg Roberson and Ralph Chapman.

Snake Corps
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Looking ahead to April 24, Iconoclassic lines up a new expanded and remastered presentation of Flesh on Flesh, the debut album from U.K. rockers The Snake Corps. An offshoot of the then-defunct gothic rock group Sad Lovers & Giants (initially featuring their guitarist Tristan Garel-Funk and drummer Nigel Pollard, who left before tape rolled on the album), the band featured singer Marc Lewis, guitarist Garel-Funk, bassist Liam McGuinness and drummer Jon Grenville of Rudimentary Peni. (All four contributed keyboards.) With a sound that recalled the early works of Echo and The Bunnymen or U2, the melodic, razor-sharp guitars and moody atmosphere earned them a cult following throughout Europe (well beyond the U.K., even). The group recorded intermittently, releasing two more albums in the ’90s; they’ve since reunited throughout the 2010s and beyond, with vocalist Lewis remaining as frontman. Flesh on Flesh returns to CD for the first time since its original release, newly remastered by Maria Triana and boasting seven rare or new-to-CD bonus tracks – all material from the album’s singles “Science Kills” and “Victory Parade” plus non-LP favorite “Testament.” Writer Mick Mercer has put together liner notes, drawing on new interviews with the band’s members.

Nuts and Bolts
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Finally, New Jersey post-punk/power-pop heroes The Bongos – or at least half of them – make a triumphant return with the premiere CD release of Nuts and Bolts, recorded by band frontman Richard Barone and guitarist James Mastro. After a breakneck tour in support of The Bongos’ celebrated debut Drums Along the Hudson, the duo found themselves with newly-composed material that didn’t necessarily seem to fit on a new Bongos album. Instead, they decided to release it themselves, decamping to Drive-In Studio in North Carolina with Mitch Easter, who was starting to make a name for himself as the frontman of Let’s Active and a key co-producer of R.E.M.’s early work. Nuts and Bolts was cleanly divided into sides of Barone’s and Mastro’s material, never once sacrificing the energy and melodic richness that eventually saw The Bongos sign to RCA and enjoy a cult MTV hit in “Numbers with Wings.” In addition to the album making its CD debut, it’ll feature four unreleased bonus tracks including live cuts and an alternate mix of album closer “No One Has to Know.” The duo (plus Easter) have contributed new liner notes, with Barone and Mastro also plumbing their archives for unpublished photos from the period. It will also be available April 24 – just in time for the pair to perform a few select dates in celebration of the reissue (including one at City Winery in New York City on May 3).

Pre-order links for each title can be found below; as an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Dwight Twilley Band, Live on Fire At The Agora 1978 (Iconoclassic ICON 1088, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store)

  1. Shakin’ in the Brown Grass
  2. Just Like the Sun
  3. Chance to Get Away
  4. Could Be Love
  5. Trying to Find My Baby
  6. Betsy Sue
  7. I’m on Fire
  8. Looking for the Magic *
  9. Twilley Don’t Mind
  10. Here She Come
  11. Skywriter
  12. TV
  13. Rock and Roll 47
  14. England

All tracks recorded live at The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH – 10/18/1976. Unofficially released (except *) as Live from Agora – Gigatone 892265002598, 2009

The Snake Corps, Flesh on Flesh (Expanded Edition) (Iconoclassic ICON 1093, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store)

  1. Victory Parade
  2. Animals All
  3. Save My Heart
  4. Man in the Mirror
  5. Miracle
  6. Science Kills
  7. Another Monday
  8. Look East for Eden
  9. House of Man
  10. Flesh on Flesh
  11. Party’s Over
  12. In Flux
  13. Always Be the Same
  14. Painted Ocean
  15. Testament
  16. Hit the Cat
  17. Goodbye Forever

Tracks 1-10 released as Midnight Music CHIME 00.14 S (U.K.), 1985
Tracks 11-12 released on “Science Kills” U.K. 12″ – Midnight Music DONG 13, 1985
Tracks 13-14 released on “Victory Parade” U.K. 12″ – Midnight Music DONG 19, 1986
Tracks 15-17 released as Midnight Music U.K. 12″ DONG 30, 1986

Richard Barone & James Mastro, Nuts & Bolts (Expanded Edition) (Iconoclassic ICON 1099, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store)

  1. I’ve Got a Secret
  2. Flew a Falcon
  3. My Sin
  4. Five Years Old
  5. Just Like Me
  6. Jacob’s Ladder
  7. Time Will Tell
  8. Dizzy
  9. Angel in My Pocket
  10. Jamais
  11. No One Has to Know
  12. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Live At The United Nations) *
  13. Continent (Live At The United Nations) *
  14. Flew a Falcon (Live At The United Nations) *
  15. No One Has to Know (Alternate Mix) *

Tracks 1-11 released as Passport PB 6021, 1983. Tracks 12-15 previously unreleased

Mike Duquette
Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

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3 thoughts on “Iconoclassic Watch: Label Preps Expanded CDs for Dwight Twilley Concert, The Snake Corps, Members of The Bongos”

  1. “Temptation” in the Snake Corps write-up should be “Testament”.

    Interesting to see them getting reissue attention. They got onto my radar back then because of the Rudimentary Peni connection.

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