Sincerely (Twilley album)
Encyclopedia
Sincerely is the debut album from the Dwight Twilley Band
, released in 1976 on Shelter Records
. The band consisted solely of Dwight Twilley
(guitar, piano, lead and harmony vocals) and Phil Seymour
(drums, bass, percussion, lead and harmony vocals), although touring band member Bill Pitcock IV played lead guitar on every song except for "Sincerely" itself. The album credited production to Oister, which was the original name of the Dwight Twilley Band; later reissues have credited production directly to Twilley and Seymour.
" and "You Were So Warm"), 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.
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. Had Fire been released as planned in late 1975, the track list supposedly included the following thirteen songs, with five songs produced by Oister (#) and eight by Cable (+): "I'm On Fire"#, "England"+, "Look Like An Angel"+, "I Don't Know My Name"+, "Lovin' Me"#, "Rock Yourself, Son"+, "Sky Blue"+, "Shark (In The Dark)"#, "Miserable Lady"+, "You Were So Warm"#, "No Resistance"+, "Dancer"+ and "Please Say Please"#.
Because Shelter had no deal to release anything at the time, though, Fire was never released, and the final album was substantially altered, as the Twilley Band had recorded and produced at least another album's worth of material in the intervening year. Ultimately, only one of the Robin Cable-produced songs ("England") and three of the songs from Fire (also "I'm On Fire" and "You Were So Warm") reached the original version of Sincerely.
) to play up the connection. All but one of the songs from Fire (and the other unreleased Twilley tracks from that period, some of which were intended for The B Album -- at one time viewed as the follow-up to Fire) have ended up either as bonus tracks on later editions of Sincerely or on The Great Lost Twilley Album
, a compilation of unreleased Dwight Twilley Band tracks that was issued on DCC Compact Classics (through Shelter) in 1993. The only song that has never been released in any form is the Cable-produced version of "Sky Blue"; although Twilley has written that the Dwight Twilley Band recorded that song more times than any other and that it was the first Twilley Band song to be played on the radio, the only version of it to be released is a Twilley solo version.
Because of the shifting distributions of Shelter Records until it was acquired by EMI
in 1993, Sincerely went out of print on LP within a couple of years after release. It has been reissued on CD three times: by DCC Compact Classics in 1989, by The Right Stuff imprint of EMI in 1997 and by Australia's Raven Records
in 2007, as part of a two-pack with the second Dwight Twilley Band album, Twilley Don't Mind
. Both of the first two reissues of Sincerely contain a bonus track that is not available elsewhere: "Look Like An Angel" on the 1989 DCC Classics reissue, and "Tiger Eyes" on the 1997 The Right Stuff/EMI
reissue. However, all of the bonus songs on the 2007 Raven Records
reissue were previously released on The Great Lost Twilley Album.
1989 bonus tracks
1997 bonus tracks
2007 bonus tracks
except: "TV" produced by Twilley, Seymour and Bob Schaper;
"England", "Look Like an Angel", "Miserable Lady", "Rock Yourself, Son" and "I Don't Know My Name" produced by Robin Cable;
"Shark (In The Dark)" produced by Twilley, Seymour and "The Master of Time and Space" (Leon Russell
).
Dwight Twilley
Dwight Twilley is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" and "Girls"...
, released in 1976 on Shelter Records
Shelter Records
Shelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop atmosphere" with a recording studio in a converted...
. The band consisted solely of Dwight Twilley
Dwight Twilley
Dwight Twilley is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" and "Girls"...
(guitar, piano, lead and harmony vocals) and Phil Seymour
Phil Seymour
Phil Seymour was an American power pop drummer, singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for the singles "I'm On Fire" and "Precious to Me". He had a major role in the seminal pop group Dwight Twilley Band...
(drums, bass, percussion, lead and harmony vocals), although touring band member Bill Pitcock IV played lead guitar on every song except for "Sincerely" itself. The album credited production to Oister, which was the original name of the Dwight Twilley Band; later reissues have credited production directly to Twilley and Seymour.
Background
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 FireI'm on Fire (Dwight Twilley Band song)
"I'm on Fire" is the debut single by the Dwight Twilley Band released in April 1975. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1975. "I'm on Fire" was later included on the Dwight Twilley Band's first album Sincerely released in July 1976....
" and "You Were So Warm"), a recording session produced by Robin Cable at Trident Studios
Trident Studios
Trident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield a drummer of former 1960's group The Hunters and his Brother Barry....
in London that produced an entire album of material (tentatively called Fire), and the band's sessions in Tulsa after returning from London.
Due to the split between Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
and Denny Cordell
Denny Cordell
Denny Cordell was an English record producer. He is notable for his late 1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, The Move, Procol Harum and Joe Cocker.-Career:...
, Shelter Records lost its distribution deal in 1975 and was essentially out of business for a year. Had Fire been released as planned in late 1975, the track list supposedly included the following thirteen songs, with five songs produced by Oister (#) and eight by Cable (+): "I'm On Fire"#, "England"+, "Look Like An Angel"+, "I Don't Know My Name"+, "Lovin' Me"#, "Rock Yourself, Son"+, "Sky Blue"+, "Shark (In The Dark)"#, "Miserable Lady"+, "You Were So Warm"#, "No Resistance"+, "Dancer"+ and "Please Say Please"#.
Because Shelter had no deal to release anything at the time, though, Fire was never released, and the final album was substantially altered, as the Twilley Band had recorded and produced at least another album's worth of material in the intervening year. Ultimately, only one of the Robin Cable-produced songs ("England") and three of the songs from Fire (also "I'm On Fire" and "You Were So Warm") reached the original version of Sincerely.
Release
The extensive delay in release of the album after "I'm on Fire" contributed to Sincerelys 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 boothPhoto booth
A photo booth is a vending machine or modern kiosk that contains an automated, usually coin-operated, camera and film processor. Today the vast majority of photo booths are digital. Traditionally photo booths contain a seat or bench designed to seat the one or two patrons being photographed...
) to play up the connection. All but one of the songs from Fire (and the other unreleased Twilley tracks from that period, some of which were intended for The B Album -- at one time viewed as the follow-up to Fire) have ended up either as bonus tracks on later editions of Sincerely or on The Great Lost Twilley Album
The Great Lost Twilley Album
The Great Lost Twilley Album was the third and final studio album from the Dwight Twilley Band, recorded in 1974 through 1980 and released in 1993 on Shelter Records...
, a compilation of unreleased Dwight Twilley Band tracks that was issued on DCC Compact Classics (through Shelter) in 1993. The only song that has never been released in any form is the Cable-produced version of "Sky Blue"; although Twilley has written that the Dwight Twilley Band recorded that song more times than any other and that it was the first Twilley Band song to be played on the radio, the only version of it to be released is a Twilley solo version.
Because of the shifting distributions of Shelter Records until it was acquired by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1993, Sincerely went out of print on LP within a couple of years after release. It has been reissued on CD three times: by DCC Compact Classics in 1989, by The Right Stuff imprint of EMI in 1997 and by Australia's Raven Records
Raven Records
Raven Records is an Australian record label that specializes in retrospectives and reissues or recordings by American, British and Australian artists.Raven Records was established in 1979 by Glenn A. Baker, Kevin Mueller and Peter Shillito....
in 2007, as part of a two-pack with the second Dwight Twilley Band album, Twilley Don't Mind
Twilley Don't Mind
Twilley Don't Mind is the second album from the Dwight Twilley Band, recorded and released in 1977 on Shelter Records, distributed at the time by Arista Records. The band consisted of Dwight Twilley , Phil Seymour , and Bill Pitcock IV...
. Both of the first two reissues of Sincerely contain a bonus track that is not available elsewhere: "Look Like An Angel" on the 1989 DCC Classics reissue, and "Tiger Eyes" on the 1997 The Right Stuff/EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
reissue. However, all of the bonus songs on the 2007 Raven Records
Raven Records
Raven Records is an Australian record label that specializes in retrospectives and reissues or recordings by American, British and Australian artists.Raven Records was established in 1979 by Glenn A. Baker, Kevin Mueller and Peter Shillito....
reissue were previously released on The Great Lost Twilley Album.
Track listing
All songs written by Dwight Twilley- "I'm on FireI'm on Fire (Dwight Twilley Band song)"I'm on Fire" is the debut single by the Dwight Twilley Band released in April 1975. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1975. "I'm on Fire" was later included on the Dwight Twilley Band's first album Sincerely released in July 1976....
" - 3:15 - "Could Be Love" - 2:38
- "Feeling in the Dark" - 2:54
- "You Were So Warm" - 2:25
- "I'm Losing You" - 2:11
- "Sincerely" - 2:38
- "TV" - 2:23
- "Release Me" - 2:28
- "Three Persons" - 2:05
- "Baby Let's Cruise" - 3:00
- "England" - 2:33
- "Just Like the Sun" - 3:46
1989 bonus tracks
- "Did You See What Happened?" - 3:15
- "Look Like an Angel" - 4:42
- "Miserable Lady" - 2:56
- "Rock Yourself, Son" - 2:27
1997 bonus tracks
- "Tiger Eyes" - 2:36
- "Please Say Please" - 2:23
- "Miserable Lady" - 3:03
- "Rock Yourself, Son" - 2:28
2007 bonus tracks
- "I Don't Know My Name"
- "Shark (In the Dark)"
- "Didn't You Say"
- "You Never Listen to My Music"
Producers
- Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour (also known as "Oister")
except: "TV" produced by Twilley, Seymour and Bob Schaper;
"England", "Look Like an Angel", "Miserable Lady", "Rock Yourself, Son" and "I Don't Know My Name" produced by Robin Cable;
"Shark (In The Dark)" produced by Twilley, Seymour and "The Master of Time and Space" (Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
).
- Engineers: Jim Barth, Roger Harris, Roger Linn, Robin Cable, Ted Sharp, Bob Schaper, John Harkin
Musicians
- Dwight TwilleyDwight TwilleyDwight Twilley is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" and "Girls"...
: lead and harmony vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica on "Baby Let's Cruise" - Phil SeymourPhil SeymourPhil Seymour was an American power pop drummer, singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for the singles "I'm On Fire" and "Precious to Me". He had a major role in the seminal pop group Dwight Twilley Band...
: lead and harmony vocals, drums, percussion, bass - Bill Pitcock IV: lead guitar
- Roger LinnRoger LinnRoger Linn is an industrial designer, mainly of electronic drum machines, and has recently branched out into guitar effects pedals. His products have become underground hits, being used on many famous recordings...
: lead guitar and bass on "Sincerely" - Jerry Naifeh: drums on "TV"
- Johnny Johnson: bass on "I'm Losing You", "TV", "Three Persons", "Baby Let's Cruise", "Please Say Please" and "Didn't You Say"
- Leon RussellLeon RussellClaude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
: piano and bass on "Feeling In The Dark" and "Shark (In The Dark)"