SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS – LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST

GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS
LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST
BIG STIR RECORDS

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.

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