Tulsa (Remastered)

Album Review

Tulsa, Dwight Twilley's seventh album — released on a tiny Houston record label just days before his 48th birthday — is as likely to make members of his fan club salivate as it is to keep record company executives from returning calls. As if no time at all has passed, Twilley once again presents his multitracked, heavily echoed vocals over driving rock rhythms and ringing guitars, sounding as urgent as he did on "I'm on Fire" (his other hit) in 1975. Here and there, his lyrics seem to refer to his struggles, especially "It's Hard to Be a Rebel," "The Luck" (some people have all of it), and "Miranda," with its chorus line, "Some things are worth waiting for." The eight-minute "Tulsa," Twilley's tribute to his hometown, is the album's centerpiece, a pull-out-the-stops tour de force that gives you everything Twilley can do in one exhaustive track. He sounds as good as ever, and, as usual, just from listening to his remarkable music, it's hard to understand why he isn't a million-selling star who made five albums like this between 1986 and 1999, instead of none.