GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS : LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST

  1. The Music Of The Devil
  2. Grand Scheme Of Things
  3. Sun Valley
  4. It Mattered To Me
  5. Wicked Wit
  6. Pablo's Hippos
  7. Cannabis
  8. Shorthand
  9. We Did Nothing
  10. Lost Track Of Time
  11. Last Stretch Of The Road
  12. Them Bugs
  13. Since You Left Me Baby

Label : Big Stir Records

Release Date : September 8, 2023

Length : 40:59

Review (Glide Magazine) : In the near fifty-year interim, since Graham Parker announced himself to the world with the magnificent one-two punch of 1976’s Howlin’ Wind and Heat Treatment, he’s never made a bad record. And he keeps his record intact with Last Chance to Learn The Twist, thanks in no small part to the sympathetic contributions of his accompanists. Parker more or less defers to the horn section and the female singers in the otherwise somewhat amorphous early going here. His wry designations of ‘The Easy Access Orchestra’ and ‘The Lady Bugs,’ respectively, are actually his most overt expressions of personality during “Sun Valley” and “Pablo’s Hippos.” And rightly so, for those accompanists’ contributions are as laudable in their own salty way there as the wry evocations of Disney soundtracks on “The Music of the Devil” and 50’s doo-wop for “Grand Scheme of Things.” This musicianship and vocal work, plus the accompaniment of the core quartet including keyboardist Geraint Watkins, is too fluent to sound truly imitative. But there’s a decided lack of rigor afflicting the material as well as the musicianship at the outset of this roughly forty-one minutes co-produced by Parker and Tuck Nelson. “Wicked Wit,” for instance, belies its title, missing the crisp, hook-laden expressions of attitude from prior works of Graham’s like 1988’s The Mona Lisa’s Sister or the very next year’s Human Soul (both of which boasted honest influences of Motown and Philly soul/pop). There’s also no appreciable instrumental solo to speak of until ex-Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont, the titular leader of the band, steps into the spotlight on “Lost Track of Time.” Such a long stretch of any record focusing on structured ensemble arrangements usually conjures up a certain sameness and Last Chance To Learn The Twist is no exception. But leave it to Graham Parker himself to bring an end to the pervasive monotony by leisurely blowing some jaunty harmonica to introduce the piquant “Last Stretch of the Road.” This interval from whence comes the album title might better have been sequenced earlier on for the sake of better pacing. As such, its placement would infuse the record with some necessary humor, not to mention the additional bite underlying the reggae bounce of “Them Bugs:” borderline slight as a composition, that selection’s nevertheless a good rhythmic workout for the band, moving in synchrony with each other and its frontman. Perhaps excising a couple of the baker’s dozen tracks mid-way through this album would’ve nurtured its otherwise stunted dynamics. “Cannabis” and “Shorthand” don’t come off as fully-formed songs and until “We Did Nothing,” with its brisk acoustic chording, popping percussion, and the author’s deceptively laconic vocal delivery, too many of the surrounding performances simply lack verve, unlike the patently self-referential (autobiographical?) nature of “It Mattered To Me.” To be fair, all this sounds no more (or less) tentative than Parker’s reunions with the Rumour in 2011 and 2015. But that only partially mitigates the sporadic impact of this collaboration, a stark contrast to the bristling chemistry pervading GP’s return to form on 2018’s Cloud Symbols. Accordingly, whether intentional or not, the cover art of the package (by Jimmy Parker) is an apt metaphor for the music it contains. The image depicts Graham Parker ensnared by all manner of entangled tentacles and tendrils, so much so that his piercing visage is difficult to discern within the graphic. It’s ultimately worth the effort to carefully peruse and thus fully appreciate that eccentric design though. As is also the result arising from paying close attention and fully comprehending the partially-camouflaged musical value(s) of Last Chance To Learn The Twist.

Review (Spill Magazine) : Last Chance To Learn The Twist is the first album of new songs from Graham Parker since 2018’s Cloud Symbols and it is nice to have him back. Once again, he is recording with The Gold tops, but the one beautiful thing about him is that it does not matter what band backs him, he remains constant. From the minute the needle hits the record, one knows this is Graham Parker. His voice, his wit, and the brilliant lyrics are still very much part of the package. Musically, Parker is experimenting with some new sounds but even then, he morphs them into his own. This is not a criticism. It probably freed him up to try many new things and arrangements, such as on “The Music Of The Devil”, which makes excellent use of backing singers, and “Sun Valley” which does not have the usual structure. He makes them work and everything fits together. “Pablo’s Hippos” has a gritty, swamp bluesy sound. Parker has a great band, and he sounds fantastic. The album is extremely well-produced and really has a nice flow to it. It has a very nostalgic feel to it and has some arrangements that date back to the 1970s, such as the closing track “Since You Left Me Baby”. The horn arrangement takes one back to a very different time, kind of like Nick Lowe or Lyle Lovett. Parker knows exactly what he is doing, and he does it extremely well. Last Chance To Learn The Twist is a great album full of wonderful songs. It is a very strong album and one that will translate easily to the live stage. To these ears, this album goes down as another classic Parker album and one that will grow in stature over the years.