Search - Jason Allen :: The Twilight Zone

Jason Allen
The Twilight Zone
Genres: Country, Pop

Track Listings (1) - Disc #1
1. I Can't Let You Go 2. Jenny Lee 3. I Can't Hide This Heartache 4. Been There Done That 5. Elvis Tonight 6. You Make My World Go 'Round 7. I Just Called to Say I Love You 8. He's Still Dancin' With Her 9. Lost 10. The Twilight Zone 11. Dance With Me Baby *

CD Details

All Artists: Jason Allen
Title: The Twilight Zone
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Smith Entertainment
Original Release Date: 1/1/2008
Re-Release Date: 8/5/2008
Genres: Country, Pop
Styles: Roadhouse Country, Neotraditional
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 662582710427

Synopsis

Product Description

True to its title, The Twilight Zone represents a turning point of sorts for Jason Allen. This record is a good reflection of who I am as an artist/songwriter, he says. Twilight Zone marks Allen's first time as co-producer; he and partner Tommy Detamore cut the album in three weeks at Detamore's Cherry Ridge Studio outside Flooresville. When I write a song, I always like to imagine what it would sound like with a full production behind it. This time I got to try a few different things to see which way I like it best - it's like having a kid and being able to dress it too. Some songs on Twilight Zone, like: I Can't Let You Go and Elvis Tonight, draw as much from '50s and '60s rock and R&B as much as country. Other songs are deeply personal - Allen wrote: He's Still Dancing With Her; after watching his dad on the dance floor one night, dancing to a song he and Allen's late mother used to dance to. He also called on his father-in-law to help him finish: You Make My World Go Round. I wasn't sure what else there was left to say, Allen says, [but] he got excited when he heard what I had and started coming up with lines, and it just flowed from there. Although he didn't write Twilight Zone's title track, it has a long history with Allen's family nevertheless. A guy by the name of Donald Overstreet wrote it when he was in prison; he was married to my aunt at one time, he says. My dad learned it from him and added his own touch to it; now, fiftysomething years later, here it is. It traveled a long way to get here. Allen's other cover is Stevie Wonder's 1984 smash: I Just Called to Say I Love You; done as a full-bore honky-tonk two-step. I loved the song as a kid, and if you listen to the words, it's a true country song, he says. I just had to do it.

CD Reviews

Allen's Delightful "Twilight Zone"

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 10/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: He's Still Dancing with Her, Elvis Tonight, When I See God

With its cartoonish depiction of the night sky and its puerile looking typeface, based on just the CD cover one could have mistaken this as a kids' album with New Age proclivities. Conversely, though this is a newly recorded country record, it feels like it was made in the bygone era of the 50s where Roy Orbison's retro-rock and Carl Perkins' rockability were the sonic trump cards of the day. Yet far from being designated as archival music, Allen's radio-friendly youthful vocals are what give "Twilight Zone" a contemporary edge. More than just an adept vocalist, this Texas native also co-wrote 10 out of the 12 tracks here. Unlike many singer-songwriters who overindulge in waxing lyrical at the expense of strong melodic tunes, Allen closes such a cleavage most evident in the moving heart wrenching ballad "He's Still Dancing with Her." A narrative song about a lonely man who still visits a tavern every night dancing as if his wife were still alive, this is the type of songs that not only engages the heart but it's a little homily that true love still exists.

Lightening up the mood with a 50s sounding romp is the irresistibly catchy "Elvis Tonight." There's much to boast about "Elvis Tonight," from its retro feel to its thumping steel guitar lines to all the lyrical Elvis references, this is sure to be a Texas dance hall favorite. The title cut "Twilight Zone" has a dreamy swirling quality to it with Allen putting a fresh spin on heartbreak and loneliness. To highlight the breath of lyrical coverage this album tackles, the album closer "When I See God" is do-wop take on a newly penned Gospel number that is reverent yet unforgettable engaging. Taking another lyrical detour is the ultra romantic "You Make My World Go Round." Simple and well-crafted, "You Make My World Go Round" is a slow dance that easily locks love birds together arm in arm right throughout the song.

The most familiar song in this corpus is Allen's cover of Stevie Wonder's uber 1984 hit "I Just Call to Say I Love You." Though Allen tries to transform it into a country shuffle, but still there's very little Allen could do to get out of Wonder's vocal mannerisms. Such is the inevitable result of covering such a well known hit and it's certainly Allen's mea culpa. "Jenny Lou," a duet with Deryl Dodd, brings together two Texans at the outskirts of country music. Though "Jenny Lou" has a likeable melody, but the two men blend so seamlessly that it doesn't make sense for it to be a duet in the first place.

Despite these quibbles, "Twilight Zone" is still a strong record with the pride of place being its strong melodies and easy on the ear production. Unlike some country CDs which are so cluttered with wall of noise that it's hard to enjoy the melodies, here the backings support rather than intrude. With a CD this good, the twilight zone may not be as scary as one would think.

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