The Twist Thread

From: Colleen M.

Hello all,

First things first though. Jon-Paul, our fearless leader, asked one thing of us:

> One thing some of you might be able to help me with is
> the track listing on some non-NZ releases of Twist.

As the one thing I am always complaining about re: the CH list is that noone ever answers questions that you pose (although they are happy to answer the ones they would like you to pose), I submit the following information:

The version I have is: Tristar WK35025 (which would also I think be related to Sony Music). Track listing:

1. The Lap of the Gods / 2. Language / 3. Naked Flame / 4. Lament for the Numb / 5. P.C. 6. Belle of the Ball / 7. Maybe the Rain / 8. Protection / 9. What Do You Really Want? / 10. Rain on Fire / 11. It Dawned on Me / 12. I Can't Change My Name

Second, the list spawned an earlier exchange where the aforementioned JP couldn't resist correcting Katie [who had expressed disdain for Mitchell Froom's production values (hi Katie!)]:

> Just as a quick reply, I would imagine that only the tracks
> originally on "Lament for the Numb", which were tacked onto the US
> version of Twist would have been produced by Froom. The rest would
> have been Finn productions.
>
> Thus I've a feeling "Don't hold your Breath" was produced by Froom,
> not Finn, as it comes from "Lament", not "Twist". So watch it Katie!

All of this leads [finally] to my question(s). I have been curious about the veracity and reliability of the liner notes to the US version of "Twist" for a long time. I have my doubts about who produced what because the notes just plain don't make sense.

--I have mastered the obvious and by now have figured out that the allusion to a lovely mosaic created by Sharon Finn is a hoax as it does not appear on the US release.

--This error/oversight/just plain stupidity leads to me to believe that although the US liner notes are correct in claiming that the backing vocals on track 3 ("Naked Flame") are indeed by Emma Paki, they are spurious when they claim further down that Finn offspring +1 also provide background vocals for "track 3". Huh? Shouldn't this credit actually be for "PC" (track 5 on the US release)? I assume the second reference to "track 3" is carried over from the NZ release and is an error. Is this true?

--Mitchell Froom is credited with the production of US tracks 4, 6, and 7; the rest belong to Neil Finn. Based on the various DD NZ releases, is this indeed correct?

Trainspotting or simple proofreading--you be the judge.

Colleen

From: Jon-Paul

Hiya,

Thanks Colleen, also, for answering by question, with regards to the track listing of the US Twist. It looks like you've missed out on "Gifted", "Betrayal", and "Umm" from the NZ Twist.

Gifted and Umm are no great loss (Time to put on my asbestos suit), but "Betrayal" is a beautiful, haunting desperate song. I guess you all would have read Mark Pytlik's post to "TitM" about a month ago, "Thoughts of a late night Lurker", we he described how "Twist" is the most "complete" album he's heard in years, the way the songs all fit together, even though many are not "single material". Oh, he has the "NZ import" version BTW .

I just wonder how the US version holds up as a complete work, with "Lament for the Numb", "Belle of the Ball", and "Maybe the Rain" from his previous album substituting those three songs I mentioned above.

And I'll check out my Liner Booklets tonight, and try to have your queries sorted out by tomorrow. Though I can tell you, the cover of "LftN", features a lovely Mosaic of Dave, I guess this is what they're referring to! Which reminds me, coming up sometime soon on NZ's arts program "Sunday" is going to be an interview with Sharon Finn, as she talks about her skills as a mosaicist. I'll probably post any interesting info to the CH list.

Cheers JP

From: Steven M.

Hi Everybody,

> I just wonder how the US version holds up as a complete work, with
> "Lament for the Numb", "Belle of the Ball", and "Maybe the Rain"
> from his previous album substituting those three songs I mentioned
> above.
Not being able to get a DDomestic release of either Lament or Twist, a friend bought it for me. The tapes came from AU and has the, it sounds like anyway, same tracks listed for the US release. Was there the same release here in the States as there were in AU?

I just received, from Pandora's Box the Naked Flame CD single and was very excited. It is a lovely song. Lovely is the only word that I can think of that describes it this early in the a.m., and that falls egregiously short of the mark, sorry. Since it is summer up here in the N. Hemi, my daughter spends a lot of time in her backyard pool, sans ropa, if you get my drift. I thought that it would be a great song to put on the player and tap the repeat button on the CD player. I love it. No bitch here just two comments:

It would be great if there were more tracks on it. Like demos or even a live track or two. After all I hear that he a SUPER live act to see. I am a little disappointed to pay $10 for a single (which they usually are for imports) and find only two songs: 1. Naked Flame radio edit 2. What Do You Want 3. Naked Flame LP version.

Anyway that's all! Write when you get the chance,

Steve

From: Colleen M.

Hi Jon-Paul & List,

> I just wonder how the US version holds up as a complete work, with
> "Lament for the Numb", "Belle of the Ball", and "Maybe the Rain"
> from his previous album substituting those three songs I mentioned
> above.

Well, having only imprinted the US version, I actually like it very much. I was not so thrilled about "Belle of the Ball" at first, but it's OK with me now. "Lament for the Numb" was kind of a puzzle for a while (I was sure he was singing some kind of nonsense instead of LftN [I guess that's what lyric sheets are for]). I love love love "Maybe the Rain". So maybe we haven't missed out on too much after all ;-). Personally though, my favorite song on Twist is "I Can't Change My Name". Am I the only non-New Zealander with the non-NZ version (and only the non-NZ version?)? Where does that place me exactly on the DD fan scale?

> And I'll check out my Liner Booklets tonight, and try to have your
> queries sorted out by tomorrow. Though I can tell you, the cover of
> "LftN", features a lovely Mosaic of Dave, I guess this is what
> they're referring to!

Then this makes the whole situation that much more crazy. The liner notes refer to a totally different album? Now I have the ultimate example of the least care taken in releasing an overseas album in the US ;-).

Colleen

From: Jon-Paul Hansen

Gidday,

I too was disappointed with the lack of rare / unusual material on "Naked Flame", so I never bought it, until about 3 weeks ago, when I saw it in a bargain bin for NZ $1. And even then I only bought it cause it had a nice cover (and because I feel I should try to have a complete a collection of DD stuff as possible.) Reading those old DD articles gives the impression that there's not too much unreleased studio stuff out there. But live recordings would be nice.

As for the Great CD Cover Screwup- Neither my "Lament" nor my "Twist" mention anything about a Sharon Finn Mosiac..

JP

From: Rob F.

Hi there, all you DD heads out there in 'Netland:

I'm surprised no one else has posted the answer to the riddle about Sharon Finn's mosaic for "Twist." (I know, I know -- I'm looping back to an old thread that most of you have long-since forgotten or ceased to care about. Well, try to bear with me, 'cuz this is a nice little piece of DD trivia...)

Colleen wrote:

> I have mastered the obvious and by now have figured out that the
> allusion to a lovely mosaic created by Sharon Finn is a hoax as it does
> not appear on the US release.
JP replied:

> the cover of "LftN", features a lovely Mosaic of Dave, I guess this
> is what they're referring to!
And later, he added:

> As for the Great CD Cover Screwup- Neither my "Lament" nor my
> "Twist" mention anything about a Sharon Finn Mosiac.
NOW, FOR THE ANSWER TO THIS PUZZLE:

Those of you with the NZ version of "Twist," take out your CD, open the case and look at the tray which holds the actual disc. Look closely -- *inside and through* -- the little circle of plastic teeth which hold the disc in place. You should see a little yellow mosaic eye staring back at you. Furthermore, if you can *separate* this part of the insert tray and temporarily remove it from the outer part (it takes some doing, but it's possible), you will be able to see the *rest* of Sharon's mosaic, which is a beautiful, multi-colored sun face.

My guess is that DD commissioned her to do a mosaic (or asked permission to use an existing one) for the artwork. Perhaps he intended for the insert tray to be *clear* plastic, so the mosaic could be completely visible when you removed the CD. But perhaps Epic/ Sony NZ screwed it up (*complete conjecture* on my part). Also, I assume that for the U.S. release, Sony / Tristar simply didn't have the mosaic printed on the reverse of the paper insert to save money (but forgot to make the necessary corrections to the liner notes!). Unfortunately, those with the American version cannot see what I'm talking about!

(By the way, JP, the liner notes in my Oz version of Twist *do* say "Mosaic by Sharon Finn"). Well ... I warned you that it was trivia, didn't I? 8-}

-Rob

From: Jon-Paul

Good Morning (well, it is here!),

A (final?) word on the Mosaic mystery. Yesterday I had a look at the copies of Twist for sale in local record shops. All the new Twists had CLEAR PLASTIC CD inserts, and the sun mosaic was in full view. The liner notes credited Sharon Finn for the work. My friend Chris in Auckland also confirmed this. He bought his copy at the start of this year, and although his has the mosaic, it doesn't have a see-through insert!

I figure that seeing as I bought my copy the week it was released, I must have got an early version of the packaging. I also noticed there is a difference in one of the photos in the liner-notes. The photo printed under the P.C. lyrics on the NEW Twists has a very boyish, happy looking Dave, in a black and white t-shirt. However my copy has an old, "deep in thought" looking Dave, in the same t-shirt, but also wearing a corduroy jacket. It looks like both photos were taken from the same session, but perhaps it was decided that a more youthful looking Dobbyn would look better in the reprint.

JP

From: Colleen Matan

Many thanks to Rob for:

> NOW, FOR THE ANSWER TO THIS PUZZLE:

Since things are continuing to dawn on me, I went home and anxiously checked my copy of "Twist". It had never occurred to me before to take the CD casing apart. Guess what? It's not there . Oh the pain of living in the United States.

Colleen

From: Jon-Paul

Hi,

So far I think I've heard of the following Twist variations; - NZ release, no mosaic, no Sharon Finn mention, "Old" Dave (PC lyrics) black insert - NZ release, mosaic, Sharon Finn mentioned, "young" Dave (PC), black insert - NZ release, mosaic, Sharon Finn mentioned, "young" Dave (PC), clear insert - US release, no mosaic, Sharon Finn mentioned, black insert (no Umm, betrayal, gifted)

Has anyone else got a different combination of those various things? And Colleen, is Dave wearing a corduroy jacket in the photo under the P.C. lyrics?

Later JP

From: Rob F.

(AHEM) The venenerable JP wrote:

> someone might like to start up one of their own, or comment on one
> of the articles I've sent out, or mention how "the parrot sketch" ties
> in with the "frustration" theme of Lament for the Numb, or SOMETHING!
YES, PLEASE! SOMETHING ELSE! I AM WELL AND TRULY EMBARRASSED THAT I HELPED CREATE THIS MONSTER, WHICH IS NOW BEING BEATEN LIKE THE PROVERBIAL DEAD HORSE!

FORGIVE ME, DD! FORGIVE ME, LIST!

AS SOON AS I RECEIVE "LftN" and "DD Collection" IN THE MAIL, I WILL WRITE DOWN SOME OF MY REACTIONS. BUT HOPEFULLY, BEFORE THEN, SOMEONE WILL BRING UP SOMETHING ELSE AND SNAP THIS THREAD FOR GOOD!

-Rob

From: Colleen M.

Hi JP,

> I AM WELL AND TRULY EMBARRASSED THAT I HELPED CREATE THIS MONSTER,
> WHICH IS NOW BEING BEATEN LIKE THE PROVERBIAL DEAD HORSE!

With all due respect to Rob, I do believe that I am Dr. Frankenstein in this case as I raised the mosaic question in my list of questions months ago (but Rob did assist by providing the answer to my question, so I think it's case of shared blame). Do you meant to tell me that the obsessive cataloguing of every variation of TWIST is not endlessly entertaining and fascinating to everyone? Frankly, I could happily read about it all day. What else is the Internet for?

I'm off the beach for a few days so I'll be quiet,

Colleen

From: Steven M.

Hi there all,

Haven't posted anything in a while, (don't know if I ever did. :) ) But I couldn't help but drop a line on the Mo' sake, as my daughter would say. Is there anyway to scan the thing and drop it into the web?

I have the 'merican release and it is sadly mosaicly-challenged. But the fern on the front is wonderful. I am sure that it plays nearly as well as the NZ version but I can't say that I would plunk down another $15 for the version that has the mosaic. The music is what I am usually after, except in the case of Split Enz. I just love the True Colors laser etched LP. Which brings me to my question(s):

Was there are vinyl release of Twist? Does it have the mosaic? Does Sharon do this often?

Are we *really* the only fan base DD has? I thought that there was a NZ fan club? If there is no fan club here in the States. I would love to start one! Gotta scoot. I need to read some of the back posts to the CH list.

Write when you get the chance,

Steve

From: Jon-Paul

Hi

There is no Official DD fan club as far as I know. Usually that sort of info is printed on Singles / CD covers, but I've seen nothing like that (nor on DD's WWW pages)! So as far as I can tell, we're it...

And finally, I love the fern on the front of Twist too, and think it was a much better choice for the front cover than the Sun, (as Dave suggested in the Southern Skies article).

Catch ya, JP

From: Linda G.

Hi All

I've been listening to Twist (with mosaic, Sharon-mention, t-shirt- clad Dave, but on Columbia label) today, and it's still growing on me all the time. Wonderful lyrics, they would really stand alone as poetry, even without the music. Does Dave have a thing about soup, by the way (as opposed to kitchens and knees :-))? Following on closely from the "soup of the harbour" (love that!) in Lap of the Gods, comes "the soup of the dead best looks" in Gifted. You just wonder if he has terrible memories of thick green pea soup from boarding school days

BTW, what is the latest on the new album. I've probably not been paying enough attention, but I've no idea when it's expected, or who else is involved with it. Can we assume it will be released overseas again? Thinking about it, what have sales of Twist been like? And finally, sorry to pinch a thread from the CH list, but does Dave get all the credit he deserves in NZ/Aus? Well, that's enough questions for now, I think!

Bye

Linda

From: Jon-Paul

Hi,

According to latest reports, Dave has been writing the album over the past two months. This being the case I'd imagine it could be out for Christmas. I'll keep you all posted.

I'm sure it will get international release. I remember reading somewhere that Grant Thomas (manager) wants to take Dobbyn on a "world" tour- chipping off territories one by one, like Crowded House did. Twist was the springboard, and they're wanting to capitalise on that, and build from it.

I've no idea on total sales of Twist here. But it did make #1, and sell well.

I think Dave is more underrated here than a fan like me likes to believe. In Aussie, they think he's a one - hit wonder (Slice of Heaven). Here, he carries the baggage of those expertly produced glossy love songs to a certain extent. Though, having said that, the Gluepot Gig (see "Twists of Fate" article)- filled up with minimal advertising, and was mostly young 20-somethings! Still, everyone loves those Dudes & DD Smash classics which are the staple of commercial radio down here.

Cheers

JP

From: Jon-Paul

Gidday,

Just thought I'd hop out of my box long enough to send a quickie down the line. On the CH list Lee Rhodes wrote this...

> >Anyway, track 10, Ummm by Dobbyn and Mssrs. Finn.. Is it just my
> >old age (23) or did they leave out the lyrics for this track? Why?

> The reason for omitting said lyrics from the booklet is really quite
> simple. You see, "Umm" (which, coincidentally, is the name of the
> Dave Dobbyn List), is an Instrumental. Next Question please...

Luckily Lee didn't take offence to my cheeky little reply

Anyway, I noticed he, and a few of you when voting, had written Umm with three M's. My Twist spells it with two- I was just wondering if it had been spelt with three on any other releases. I agree with Chris, that it does look cooler with more M's.

Cheers,

JP

PS: Look Rob, No Mosaic.

From: Laura M.

Hi Listies,

I first "met" JP last December when he posted something to the TITM list about a live internet performance from Auckland by Dave Dobbyn. He tried valiantly to help me get hooked up to it, but in the end, I needed an M-Bone connection to a NASA satellite and just gave up. The silver lining to this black cloud story is that he graciously sent me some representative DD tapes (Collection, Twist, and Live), thus beginning an unabated flurry of twisted and devious exchanges. Sadly, I was in hyper-Finn Brothers mode at the time, and no other music could satisfy me. I eventually did give Dave a good listen, and my initial reaction was mixed. I've continued to listen to what I did like, however, and now there are certain bits of Dave Dobbyn songs that float in and out of my head of their own volition.

I know that many of you have referred to Dave's lyrics in your posts, but I'm not quite there yet myself. The words are coming slowly, but it's an artist's music that has to hit me first, followed by the voice, and then I pay attention to the words. If I can't get past the voice, there's usually little hope for the words. With that in mind, I have to write off Collection as a lost listening cause (with the notable exception of Whaling, which is just blissful). The music is okay, but I can't get beyond Dave's voice: on the one hand he sounds like David Bowie during the Young Americans era (which I like), but on the other hand he sounds painfully too much like Billy Joel (sorry, you guys, but I loathe Billy Joel). So for me, the singing I hear on Collection is like fingernails on a chalkboard. The best way I can explain my feelings about Collection is to say that he has yet to find his own voice and is still experimenting with derivative vocal styles.

Now, Twist is an entirely different critter. I loved the music right off the bat, plus I think Dave found his own voice on this effort. His singing is a lot less mannered and a lot more confident. It Dawned on Me, Protection, and What Do You Really Want? just pull at me -- these three songs are achingly beautiful in melody and feel. In fact, I have to admit that I don't often give the second half of Twist the listening it deserves because no sooner is WDYRW done than I've rewound the tape to the beginning of Lap of the Gods to hear it all over again. Lap of the Gods itself is a great opener -- just the right amount of buoyancy to get my foot tapping and my own voice warmed up to sing along when all of a sudden that groovy bit of guitar comes in at the end. And is PC a rollicking enough romp for anyone else out there? I just really like the feel of the whole recording -- it has an ambience (and occasionally a sound) much like Ron Wood's solo albums (I've Got My Own Album to Do and Now Look) from the mid-70's (talk about obscure recordings, but then again my album collection is teeming with them). I like it when new music I hear has strange and tenuous antecedents in my personal collection, making me reminisce and go back to stuff I haven't listened to in ages -- I think that's what keeps me young! I have always had a yen for raw, capture the moment, lightly produced, made-for-an-artist's-own-liking albums (witness my love of Finn), and Twist is just filled with the stuff. You can literally hear the fun that was had in that studio, and it's simply infectious. Yep, DD hit his stride and captured a new fan with this one, and am eagerly anticipating his next release.

Good Lord! It's nearly 3:00am! Good night, good morning, good day!

Laura

Thank goodness that's over and done with!

From: Chris J.

Two things;

Mention has been made recently regarding DD's popularity and playtime on NZ shores. Spending time out on a wet and windy SPRING!!?! Saturday watching the feature rugby match on TV (Auckland thrashed Otago if anyone’s interested :-) ) I was surprised and delighted to hear Th' Dudes 'Bliss' dubbed over a pre-match highlights package. Further on in the coverage and making reference to Otago's rapid decline in rugby ability over the past season there was another highlights segment with 'Loyal' playing in the background, (obviously a hint for the fans!). I wonder who the DD fan is in the programming dept. of TVNZ?

Oh yeah, the second thing you ask? Well, a wee while ago JP mentioned the uncanningly (is that a word?) prophetic lyrics of DD's 'Rain on Fire' in reference to the recent discovery of life on Mars;

> Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this not foreshadow the recent
> NASA claim that evidence of life has been found, by a team of
> scientists, in a meteorite recovered from Antarctica?

I have heard unconfirmed reports that the strange, repetitive sound in the background on 'Betrayal' is in fact a backtracked sample of actual alien communication received from Voyager in the far reaches of our solar system. The relevance to the song title and lyrics of 'Betrayal' is misleading, although DD does make reference to a 'bogeyman', but evidence is further found in the child who can be heard attempting to communicate with an outwordly being near the end of the song. The fact that the little boys name is Elroy substantiates this further. The truth is out there. Believe it, or not.

CJ :-)

From: John K.

Howdy all,

First let me point out that I am not going to lower myself to the level of certain list maintainers (not referring to anybody in particular) by suggesting that "save me save me" in Whaling is actually "spank me spank me" or anything like that. It seems there are already enough low-lifes contributing to these discussions Anyway, to the point of my rambling.

Humming thru Twist in the weekend it suddenly occurred to me that I don't remember seeing a "twisted face" in the world map (viz The Lap Of The Gods). I have a rather spiffing big map mounted prominently on my wall, but I'll be damned if I can see a face in it. So IS there a face? Is this related to the face on the moon, (which is quite clear down here in the Southern Hemisphere)? Do the two of them wink at each other when nobody is looking? Or is DD just pulling our harpoons? Enquiring minds Want To Know..

So if anyone can spot this myserious face, please point it out for those of us with less imagination and shorter eyesight..

Cheers,

John K.

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