TWENTY TWENTY : Twenty Twenty (1985) + Altered (1987)

Requested in "REQUEST & FILL CORNER" section...

TWENTY TWENTY was a band from the mid-Eighties CCM field that somehow managed to be appreciated by secular listeners. Around those years there was a change in consideration to Christian acts, as they were musically really good despite the religious themes. But there isn't too much preachiness in their lyrics which is good.

Twenty Twenty's self-titled debut from 1985 was produced by WhiteHeart's Billy Smiley, so expect pristine sound. 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.



Some tracks come out pretty Hi-Tech but with substance. There's a really fine guitar work by Roscoe Meek, especially creating a sustained, clean rythmic riffs, and we have excellent vocalist Ron Collins who released a stupendous AOR solo album in the Nineties.
To my ears, "Twenty Twenty" resulted a successful mix of Styx, Rick Springfield and Allies.

Two yeas after, the band changed their name to 20/Twenty and slighlty their sound as well.



"Altered", appeared in 1987 delivered a more straight AOR style and 'regular' instrumentation. Almost the complete White Heart line up also play here as guests.
The stylings on this new LP are more mature with many tracks bringing to my mind Jay Graydon's Planet 3, that say a mix of poppy AOR with delicate melodies and a touch of West Coast. The Hi-Tech from the debut is still present in a couple of tracks as well as the synth effects, but mostly this second album is a smooth AOR affair.



Both Twenty Twenty - 20/Twenty albums are really hard to find, the second even since its original release back in 1987.
There's some poor vinyl rips floating around (if you have both check them out because some tracks are missing), and I think this pair are, if not the best in the world, far better. Both audio cleaned by myself, including artwork.


Twenty Twenty (1985)
01 - You Are So True
02 - Security Code
03 - War Games
04 - His Fame
05 - Second Mile
06 - Love To Go
07 - He's Still Here
08 - Danger Zone
09 - You Can Know Them All
10 - World Premier

Ron Collins - vocals
Roscoe Meek - guitars
Earnie Chaney - keyboards
Gary MacAnally - bass
Greg Herrington - drums
Mark Gersmehl, John Slick, Billy Smiley - synths
Richard Head - Synclavier Programming
Dennis Holt - Simmons Drums
Gary Lunn - Linn Drum Programming
Marty McCall - Background Vocals


Altered (1987)
01 - Fine Line
02 - Get Altered
03 - Can't Run From You
04 - For Heaven's Sake
05 - Eternity In Every Heart
06 - Hold Your Head Up
07 - Caught Up In Heaven
08 - Find Your Way Back
09 - Material Things
10 - The Tears You've Cried

Ron Collins - lead vocals
Roscoe Meek - guitars
Earnie Chaney - keyboards
Gary McAnelly, Tommy Sims - bass
Greg Herrington - drums
Billy Smiley - synths
Rick Florian - backing vocals




20/Twenty, Twenty Twenty + Altered
.