Love and Rockets - My Dark Twin (2023)

MY DARK TWIN is a companion to the band’s 1996 album Sweet F.A. The 22 track double CD release contains 8 previously unreleased versions, and 6 unreleased songs from the Sweet F.A. sessions, and 18 of the 22 tracks are on CD for the very first time. The band began recording the follow-up to Hot Trip To Heaven at San Francisco’s Coast Recorders with Andy Taub at the helm. These initial sessions proved fruitful and produced many quality recordings. Despite the great tracks, it was determined by all that the essential spark just wasn’t there. Rick Rubin suggested a new studio and a new producer. Producer John Fryer came on board and took Andy Taub’s recordings to Chipping Norton studios and deconstructed them, adding an “English” edge to the Coast recordings. The band also recorded some additional, but ultimately unused tracks at Chipping Norton including an improvisation of Mink DeVille’s “Spanish Stroll”. The band brought these tracks back to California and due to lack of funds, were offered full use of Rick Rubin’s possibly haunted 1919 Laurel Canyon mansion to stay and rehearse in and ideally come up with more material that American Recordings felt was needed in order to complete the record. What was recorded at Rubin’s place was done so onto Kevin Haskins’ portable DAT machine, and thankfully he took them home with him every night, as a massive fire broke out while they were there. They lost all of their gear, some of their demo recordings, and nearly their lives as well.