Twenty Twenty - Altered (CD) Remastered AOR

Twenty Twenty - Altered (CD) Remastered AOR

  • Sale
  • $14.99

 

  • Produced by Billy Smiley of Whiteheart
  • Both Albums Completely Remastered from Original Sources.
  • Includes Limited Edition Trading Card with Silver Foil #10
  • Both Albums are First Time Ever on CD
  • Superb Art-Rock like STYX or Kansas
  • Altered Includes Cover Song HOLD YOUR HEAD UP from the band ARGENT
  • Super rare-hard to find albums.
  • Original Pressings Demand Serious Dollars and Buyers
  • Originally released in 1987
    If you don't know Twenty Twenty, you'll want to read this in it's entirety because this band just might be the biggest hidden gem of the 80's rock era. Why? Because Twenty Twenty was a surprisingly flashy band, loaded with sure-fire commercial-based sound and a blend of art-rock anthems similar to that of STYX or KANSAS with a dose of straight ahead rock similar to THE CARS, WHITEHEART or even GIANT. 

    Lets just get one thing out of the way... can we?

    These albums were produced by WhiteHeart's Billy Smiley, so expect nothing more than a pristine polished sound. Billy Smiley was/is like the modern day Dave Cobb, Quincy Jones or Rick Rubin. Most of what he touches is pristine flawless pieces of work and these are no exception. Finding either one of their albums, 1985 Self-Titled or their 1987 Altered became a challenge so we were elated that Billy Smiley worked with us directly to get this back out for the first time ever on CD. 
    The band mixed an interesting blend of pomp AOR with cool new wave melodies, all wrapped by a very Eighties arsenal of keyboards, synthesizers, synclavier and electronic drums. This Synth-AOR stadium rock band from the 80's would have been incredible to see opening up for Steve Taylor or Daniel Amos during their peek years or even as an opening act for MUSE or The Killers, with one exception... they might have stolen the show.  They emulated art-rockers such as  Kansas and Styx, as mentioned above, yet oddly enough this band escaped notice from Christian Radio and ultimately Christian bookstores because of one simple fact... the had some rather decent attention on mainstream "Secular" radio and the Christians would have no part of mingling those two worlds "Christian" and "Secular" together. 




    Hold Your Head Up is one amazing rock song made famous by the band ARGENT.  Loaded with prog, art-rock and serious grungy guitars, might be the highlight of the album and will rock your face off. It weaves in and out and then hits you with with repetitive HOLD YOUR HEAD UP, HOLD YOUR HEAD UP, HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH... like motivation, even the saddest human will believe they can conquer the world after one listen to this song.


    Are They Really That Rare?

    Twenty Twenty is a rare album as it is, but Altered – released by Christian label Refuge in 1987 – was evidently scarce even at its first pressing.  

    I recently read an article that simply stated the follow,  "They released their mega rare second album 'Altered' in 1987 (Refuge), and like some other Christian Rock Albums such as Messiah - Going Insane, Malichia - Under the Blade and Emerald - Armed for Battle, it has fallen into the category of must track down at all costs". 


    In the 80's We Bought It Cause It Looked Cool

    Remember when we use to buy albums because of the way the cover art grabbed you?  No, it wasn't 'just you' that did that, we all bought albums that looked cool, hoping that the music was just as good as the cover.

    Well, the cover of Twenty Twenty’s 1985 self-titled debut makes promises. The hair. The lasers. The futuristic band name and when you played it they make good on their uber-’80s promises. Opener on the self-titled “You Are So True” shows off the band’s hi-tech sound big time. Leading with a new wave keyboard line, the song very easily erupts into a definitively ’80s blend of synthesizer melodies and electronic drums. Guitarist Roscoe Meek even adds heroic chugging guitar lines to the mix.  But where this album gets really fun is when keyboardist and Twenty Twenty’s go-to arranger Earnie Chaney let’s loose on synclavier and unleashes rapid-fire synth lines. “Security Code” and “War Games” are paired together at the front end of the album and cloak mentions of Heaven in ’80s concepts of technology. Twenty Twenty's music is hi-tech, and considering it was 1985, there's a lot of electronic percussion a la Simmons and Linn drums, and vocoder blasts throughout. 

    My favorite verse from “Security Code” may be “Alternating and circuit-breaking/ That will never do/ You might think your life’s in sync/ It’s time to troubleshoot” before heading into the chorus that seemingly tells the listener to enter in their security code to the afterlife. On the flip side, “Danger Zone” continues the keyboard mania but not before opening on Meek’s most righteous guitar line on the entire album, a blend of Cheap Trick’s “Mighty Wings” with a dash of Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” The song 'He's Still There', will bring to mind all those good vibes you felt the first time you heard the Allies debut album. 

    Billy Smiley of Whiteheart

    The band was certainly in good company for their debut self-titled Twenty Twenty (1985) on Benson/PowerDisc, recorded in Nashville with marathon engineer Brent King (the so-called “Karate Man” who seems to have worked with everyone from Reba to Keith Urban) and fellow Christian band Whiteheart’s Billy Smiley, making Twenty Twenty seem more and more like a proper synthesizer-led stadium rock band.

    The professionalism of this album and the production put into it will amaze even the pickiest of critics.  Each song sounding nothing like the previous.  All unique and very strong.  There are a few slower Whiteheart like ballads such as Find Your Way Back, which give it just the breath it needs, slowing down only enough for a quick gasp of air before taking off again with She drove up in a red corvette, the lyrics of Material Things with some serious guitar hooks and jams and one of the better guitar solos albeit short. 


    Twenty Twenty - Altered (Originally released in 1987)
    1. Fine Line 3:31
    2. Get Altered 3:30
    3. Can't Run From You 4:06
    4. For Heavens Sake 4:43
    5. Eternity In Every Heart 3:44
    6. Hold Your Head Up 3:48
    7. Caught Up In Heaven 3:49
    8. Find Your Way Back 4:47
    9. Material Things 3:52
    10. The Tears You've Cried 3:19

    Credits
    Lead Vocals – Ron Collins
    Bass Guitar – Gerry McAnelly
    Drums – Greg Herrington
    Guitar – Roscoe Meek
    Keyboards – Earnie Chaney

    Producer – Billy Smiley

    In case you wandered where these guys went, Collins went solo, while Meek ended up as the lead guitarist for fellow Christian act Geoff Moore And The Distance.