The Twilights
The Twilights formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1964 by guitarist Peter Brideoake, bassist John Bywaters, and Clem "Paddy" McCartney and future Little River Band co-founder Glenn Shorrock on lead vocals. Shortly after forming, lead guitarist Terry Britten (who would go on to co-write such hit songs as "What's Love Got to Do with It") and drummer Laurie Pryor would join up as replacements for Kevin Peek and Frank Barnard, respectively. Despite charting nearly a dozen successful singles in Australia, The Twilights didn't see much success internationally - although two of its members went onto worldwide fame. Compiler/mastering engineer Alec Palao has recently assembled a 3-CD complete collection of The Twilights' recordings which has been released by Cherry Red's Strawberry label. In the introduction to his comprehensive liner notes (co-written with Victor Marshall), Palao quotes Glenn A. Baker's assertion that they were Australia's greatest pop group "as certainly The Easybeats were our greatest rock group." With these 96 tracks (including 13 previously unreleased cuts, mostly live performances), it's hard to argue - although there's plenty of rock (and roll!) on display, too. The Twilights are probably best-remembered for their cover of The Velvelettes' Motown favorite "Needle in a Haystack" (an Australian chart-topper) but there are also great versions of songs both familiar and lesser-known from the young Barry Gibb ("Long Life"), Goffin and King ("I Won't Be the Same Without Her"), The Rolling Stones ("Satisfaction"), The Hollies ("Come On Home," "What's Wrong with the Way I Live"), Smokey Robinson and The Miracles ("You've Really Got a Hold on Me"), The Zombies ("She's Not There"), The Beatles ("All I've Got to Do," "Drive My Car"), The Who ("My Generation"), and Bert Berns and Wes Farrell ("Baby, Let Me Take You Home"). But as Terry Britten grew as a songwriter, The Twilights were the beneficiaries. Their 1968 album Once Upon a Twilight (heard here in both mono and stereo) featured 10 Britten originals - with Brideoake and Pryor each contributing a song - that show he'd successfully soaked up his early influences. Palao believes the album "is likely the first pop-rock album to emanate from Australia that comprised wholly original songs," and six decades on, these well-crafted pop nuggets still hold up. With its blend of covers and originals and a comprehensive, context-based approach (a 32-page booklet is included), Twilights Time makes for an enjoyable listen and fascinating excavation of a long-lost band that provided the springboard for Glenn Shorrock and Terry Britten's future successes. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.