Following on from my review of Hello Darlin’, here we take a look at Fifteen Years Ago, Conway Twitty’s second album of 1970.
The album opens strongly, with the upbeat Hey! Baby. The mood shifts quickly into a typical Conway Twitty album then, with the title track. There is plenty of love, heartbreak and regret; the hallmarks of country music.
Back Street Affair is treated with a satisfying mixture of bounce and Conway’s trademark sentimentality. My preferred version of this song was recorded by the short-lived recording partnership of Roy Drusky and Priscilla Mitchell. It works so well as a duet. However, Conway gives a strong and balanced vocal performance backed by a full instrumental arrangement.
Sand Covered Angels is a departure for Conway. Known primarily for love songs, this time he sings the Sammi Smith penned song about love for one’s children. The type of gentleness required for this song is not something I would necessarily expect of Conway Twitty. He does romantic love so well, with yearning and passion aplenty in his vocal style. But the softness and controlled warmth he brings to this understated performance is quite breathtaking. It is a definite highlight for me.
At all times, the arrangements are first-rate. Produced by Owen Bradley, they could hardly be any less. The mood created by the instrumentation and the backing vocals alongside Twitty’s performances combine to create very satisfying tracks.
The liner notes are by Conway’s longtime duet partner, Loretta Lynn – although they wouldn’t release any material together until the year following this release. In it, she describes her admiration of Twitty as an artist and her belief in his country music journey.
Track Listing
- Hey! Baby
- Fifteen Years Ago
- Back Street Affair
- I Can’t Believe That You’ve Stopped Loving Me
- Slowly
- Sand Covered Angels
- She Can Only See The Good In Me
- I’ll Come Running
- Darling Days
- A Little Girl Cried
- Wild Mountain Rose
In Conclusion
If Fifteen Years Ago represents even a portion of Conway Twitty’s own feelings at this time, it seems to illustrate a feeling of contrition and immersion in family life. He reunited with his wife Mickey in late 1970 following their divorce earlier that year. They already had children together. We could assume, if art reflects life, that many of these tracks perhaps resonated with the position of his personal life at the time.
Fifteen Years Ago features all the elements and moods one would expect from a country album.
