Dwight Twilley

In his track notes on the 1999 rarities collection Between the Cracks, Vol. 1, Dwight Twilley described "Christmas Love" as "one of two Christmas songs" he had recorded in 1992, which was the first that most Twilley fans heard he had recorded any Christmas songs, and suggested that maybe, at some point, he might make an entire Christmas record. That record appeared five years later, when it contained not only "Christmas Night," but also five other Twilley seasonal originals. (An expanded version issued seven months later added four more.) As the title implied, this was music for a Twilley Christmas, which is to say, fairly characteristic Twilley music with lyrics appropriate to the holiday season. "Rockabilly Christmas Ball" was a typical title and arrangement; "Christmas Night," with its Chuck Berry-by-way-of-T. Rex guitar sound and echoed vocals, might have been done at the same session as Twilley's debut hit, "I'm on Fire," in 1975; and "Christmas with the Martians" sounded like what Billy Lee Riley might come up with if asked to compose a Christmas song. The result was a disc that could be programmed along with Brian Setzer in the Christmas collection. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide