Dwight Twilley 5: Jungle

The ‘80s were the best of times for some, and the worst of times for others. Some people successfully embraced new sounds, and others were swallowed by them. Dwight Twilley already knew the guy who invented the Linn drum machine, and he wasn’t so stubborn that he wouldn’t see what synthesizers could do for his career. But while Jungle was something of a hit, it has not aged well.

The dramatic piano intro to “Little Bit Of Love” is a false alarm, as a synth part right out of the Eurythmics playbook drives the rest of the tune. It’s still got a killer chorus, bolstered once again by Susan Cowsill. But people likely bought the album on the basis of “Girls”, which got a lot of play on MTV thanks to its Porky’s-inspired video. (In a clever touch, Carla Olsen lip-synchs the lines Tom Petty actually sang.) “Why You Wanna Break My Heart” is pure ear candy, given new life—and fat royalty checks for its author—a decade later when it was covered for the Wayne’s World soundtrack. “You Can Change It” has a lot of crunch, but the choruses are starting to sound the same; this case, they sound much better in “Cry Baby”.

After a dramatic backwards fade-in “Don’t You Love Her” chugs along inoffensively, whereas “Long Lonely Nights” doesn’t need its minor key synth intro, totally at odds with the rest of the track. Even worse, the title track sounds like a Cars parody until he starts singing. “To Get To You” would be a decent rockabilly track if not for the backing, and the thunderstorm effects are misplaced. The jokey “Max Dog” is silly, but it’s got personality, and it’s welcome, though we don’t know how it took three people to write it.

It’s too bad that “Girls” is still so terrific, as the rest of the album doesn’t live up to it. We blame the era. Indeed, the eventual expanded CD included six outtakes slash demos that were a little more palatable sonically, especially “Forget About It” and superior takes of “Long Lonely Nights”, “You Can Change It”, and “Jungle”.

Dwight Twilley Jungle (1984)—2½
2024 CD reissue: same as 1984, plus 6 extra tracks