About the Album:
Del Amitri’s newest album represents “a moderate change of direction” WK from 1992’s Change Everything. “Whilst retaining their trademark melodic sensibilities,” WK “the Scottish quartet [are] revvin’ up the guitars for their rawest album yet.” GM Guitarist Iain Harvie considers it “the most ideal representation thus far of Del Amitri’s true character.” GM He says, “‘We made Waking Hours…on a really tight budget, and we were a bit uptight when it came time to making the follow-up record, Change Everything.’” GM He continues saying, “‘The up-tightness of the last record, I think, came from too much time being ‘songwriterly’ – trying to do things the way they should be done.’” GM
In contrast, Harvie says, “‘Twisted was done in a very spontaneous manner without any real concern for a particular sound and I think it helped the record a lot.’” GM “‘We wrote the album very organically – all living together for weeks in the country – and a lot was just bashed onto 4-track and that was very cool.’” GM “‘It was a real joy to get out of the grim rehearsal rooms, and get out into the fresh air.’” GM
“‘For those sort of reasons I’d choose Loneliness Comes Crashing Down the best riff I’ve ever written; it was certainly great fun to record. It was done completely live with only one guitar solo and the vocals overdubbed later. It was the first time we’ve successfully managed to write something in the rehearsal room around a live track, around the guitar playing, so it’s a favourite for me.’” GM
Frontman Justin Currie echoes the desire to put out music without dissecting it too much. He says “he longs for the days when bands would record songs in a couple of weeks, and the album would be released shortly thereafter.” JK “‘We actually finished writing all the material for this album in 1993…Every time [the guys in the band] got together, we wrote a new song. When we had about 30 songs ready to record, we demoed them in the fall of 1993. For whatever reason, our record company asked us to wait till 1995 to release the album because that’s when they wanted it out. So we had all our work done by the end of ’93.’” JK
The long layoff between albums wasn’t the only challenge to overcome. “On its current CD Twisted, Del Amitri serves up more of the group's trademark pop melodies, searing guitar work and Currie’s slightly off-kilter voice. An alto baritone/tenor who downplays his voice, the singer is adept at conveying feelings of pain and longing and jubilation without resorting to vocal histrionics.” JK The band maintains “Currie’s downbeat romantic meditations and Iain Harvie’s soaring Rickenbacker tones,” DS but “the label does have to overcome Del Amitri's relatively low profile.” DS As A&M product manager Brad Pollak says, “‘There’s this lingering problem of identifying them with the band.’” DS “‘People know some of their songs’” DS but still wonder “‘is Del Amitri a band, a guy, an Italian dish?’” DS
Currie says, “‘We’ve always put songs before gestures, which may have limited our audience for a time…If you’re a melodic band, as we are, it’s very easy to sound twee, which we’ve tried to avoid at all costs. This is the first time we’ve been able to make a record as raucous as we wanted to, no trumpets, no strings.’” DS
Pollack continues, saying “‘People need two or three singles before they decide they're going to buy this kind of record, so we're prepared for a long commitment.’” DS “That trek begin with the release of Here and Now, a melancholy first single that will be launched at album alternative radio.” DS
Next up was Roll to Me, on which Currie says the band were “purposefully aping Paul McCartney in its use of melody and intervals.” VM The result was Del Amitri’s most successful single, a top ten in the U.S. “The band are known not to consider the song one of their best, however, and have often seemed irked by the fact that what they see as a throwaway pop song gave them their biggest hit.” WK
“There’s enough diversity on Twisted – from the sardonically biting Being Somebody Else to the teary, romantic balladeering of Tell Her This – to propel the album into the hearts of a wide range of folks. But, as Currie admits, most of the songs are marked by a melancholy that makes Del Amitri seem best suited for a solitary mope, rather than a party.” DS
“‘I’ve tried to write happier songs, ‘cause I’m genuinely not an unhappy person,’ he says. ‘I’ve had terrible times in my life, and people around me will sometimes say, ‘Well, at least you’ll get a song out of it.’ That’s deeply offensive: It would be immoral of me to go around ambulance chasing to get songs. I think it’s just a matter of me listening to too much country music!’” DS
Twisted “was the last album to feature guitarist David Cummings, who left to begin a successful career in TV scriptwriting, and the only to feature drummer Chris Sharrock, who agreed to play on Twisted but declined to join the band as a permanent member.” WK
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