OISTER - “PRE-DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND” 2xLP

The legendary 1973-74 ‘Teac Tapes’ from deep inside the Dwight Twilley Band vault have been unleashed, never before available in any format, OISTER was the primary name of the Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour duo from the time they met in 1967 until the release of their Top 20 debut “hit” single for “I’m On Fire” in 1975. The two “halves” of the Oister formed a whole, and a tight friendship and performing partnership took flight, and with Dwight’s incredible songs in hand, the two were off an running. Recording at home with one of the first (commercially-available to the public) multi-track Teac home tape machines, the Oister DIY ethic was locked in early, and just exploded with an endless stream of ethereal pop magic, most of which has never been re-recorded by the Dwight Twilley Band, remaining frozen in time. The pair were cranking out an impressive amount of original material and pressing small batches of their own acetate LPs locally in Tulsa to sell to their friends at school, of which, this 2LP collection rounds up 20 of their finest tracks, finally available to the public after over 40 years.

The early, primal years of the Twilley/Seymour Oister-era are sadly undocumented until now, with this 20-track collection, freshly remastered from the original tape for vinyl for the first time anywhere, now on HoZac Archival. These songs seamlessly bridge those heavenly Everly Brothers harmonies with their beloved Anglo Pop bravado, yet keeping the sound undeniably definitive of early American Power Pop. Ghostly echoes slip through some of the delicate tracks like spirits in the night, while others crank up the juice and just ooze out that real, uncut rock’n roll, framing up their successful next incarnation as the Dwight Twilley Band. Featuring liner notes from their friend and original session engineer, Kent Benjamin, and a crisp mastering job, the Oister collection is the impossible missing link between the Sun Records snarl and the melodic prowess of the British Invasion’s finest songsmiths, and now it can finally be yours.

Recommended If You Like: Everly Brothers, Zombies, Richard Twice, Nick Drake, Tom Petty, Big Star, Hollies, Badfinger, Raspberries, Emmit Rhodes, Todd Rundgren, T. Rex