No download card in my album. And it only says "Recorded live at La Luciole, Allençon, France La Carenne, Brest, France Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands Avo Sessions, Basel, Switzerland Gloria Theatre, Cologne, Germany Postbanhof , Berlin, Germany October/November 2010." But this is not specified per song.
Oct. '94 I saw Joe twice on this tour (at The Danforth Music Hall in late '94 and at Massey Hall when he came back in '95) I have an odd relationship with this album. I like some of it but not all of it. I once had a "promo" copy of the CD that only had the 6 songs with vocals. I like the songs "Ever After", "The Man Who Wrote Danny Boy" and "Only The Future". However some of the album leaves me cold. I think he did pretty much the whole album back when I saw him in '94 and '95. It certainly wasn't the fun album that "Laughter & Lust" was. Here, again, was serious Joe. It was better than "Will Power" but still I rank it low in his catalog. I'm glad I still have it as I'm sure it's very hard to find now. Up until just now (thanks to You Tube), I had not heard the album in probably 20 or more years. I'd give it **1/2 stars out of 5 (between fair and good) Another chapter in Joe's discography. Maybe some day I'll dig my CD copy out of storage and play the whole thing again. But based on what I'm sampling now, I don't care for the 4 instrumental "Nocturnes" now any more than I did 25 years ago.
Here's a picture of that "promo" CD for Night Music issued by Virgin. It was only 5 or 6 tracks (none of the "Nocturnes" were on it)
I agree...the Nocturnes are my favorite tracks on the album. And as others have already noted, some of the keyboards on this album sound downright CHEESY...I mean Casio-quality in places, which sounds bizarre on an album from an artist the caliber of JJ. I, as well, wish that he would have stuck with piano more often and reined in the very dated-sounding synths.
All the Nocturnes were transitional pieces to me. Nocturne 1 an intro/stage setting opener that starts with the same musical passage that shows up at the end of the album (the coda of Sea Of Secrets). The beginning makes more sense after hearing it reprised. Opening curtain/closing curtain. Works in the whole but incomplete when thought of as a "song" in it's own right.
Flying I really like this song. I think the opening line is excellent. I love the moving melody here, and the way the music is cutting in and out, and rolling through sections. I don't actually have a problem with the sound of the synths on here. I think Joe was going for a softer tone, I don't know why, but it sounds like he is using pitch and dynamics for the ear grabbing effects, and the synth tones are softer, almost benign, in favour of trying to get the music itself to bear out the feel. Perhaps that was an error, but in reality, for me, although not my favourite sounding Joe album, I think it works for the styling of this album. I feel pretty safe in saying that it is the synth tones that will determine whether one enjoys this album or not, and they don't really bother me at all, which is probably why I like the album. Although a very short tune, I find the compositional quality of this song overrides any shortcomings that the sounds of the keyboards may have.
"Flying" has a great 1st line. Otherwise, this is my least favorite on the record and one of my least favorite in the JJ canon. I hate the sound of this one.
I'm somewhere in between Mark W. and Geee! on "Flying." I don't mind the keyboard sounds too much here, mainly because he doesn't do the sequenced, new-agey thing that bugs me on some of the Nocturnes, though I can also imagine more acoustic instruments working more effectively. Still, this is probably my least favorite of the vocal tracks. In part, as with some of the songs on the previous album, it's because he's arguably too successful at conveying a particular kind of emotion that I don't enjoy experiencing as a listener--in this case, the effect is one of awkwardness. The opening line is the perfect example, in that it almost sounds like a parody of an awkward melody, which fits perfectly with what the lyrics express. The kind of start-stop effect of the musical punctuations throughout the song also add to the sense of creative flailing he describes, until there is a hint of resolution when he gets to the line about (finally) feeling like he's flying. I don't think I'd be especially fond of the track on its own, but it works well enough as a kind of purposely awkward prelude to the more beautiful music soon to begin unfolding.
Ever After This track starts with a little horn overture. It has a semi-reggae thing going on with the keys at the start of the main body of the song, and I think it comes together really nicely. I think the amalgamation of sounds works here. I personally really like this song, and it certainly feels like a high point in the album for me. There is a compelling, underlying sorrow, that seems counterbalanced by a slightly up feel to it or something. I honestly feel like Joe was experimenting with his composition on this album. I think in a lot of ways the feeling I had about Laughter and Lust is justified by the turn of events. This is speculation so bear with me, as someone late to the party and just making observations about what I can see. It seems like Laughter and Lust was where Joe's status at Virgin was going to be decided. I think that is why for some of us it feels slightly forced or something. It isn't that the songs are bad at all. As we just went through that album, and I had to reverse some of my initial statements because I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought based on a closer listen, but it is still obviously much more focused on being a crowd pleasing, more pop oriented album. Well the album failed to do what Virgin wanted.... This album gives me the impression that Joe already knew from prior arrangements with Virgin that he had failed to sell as much as they had wanted him to. So with Night Music, in typical Joe fashion, he is giving the record company a one finger salute by making a somewhat experimental record. Knowing full well that he will be looking for another contract at the end of it.... I may be completely wrong, but that is somewhat how this whole piece of time strikes me. Anyway, I think this is a great song and melody, and had Joe really cared about selling some albums, he could very easily have made this much more commercially appealing.
"Ever After" has that great trumpet opening it up. The keys don't annoy me on this track or cheese it up. The reggae stereo panning and pulsing bass are very effective. As a fan of Gary Burke, I am pleased to hear him behind the drum kit again. (Oh, how I wish he was for Laughter & Lust!) He provides a a very dynamic drum break. It's not all beating the hell out of the kit, in the least. Listen for those soft cymbal hits (contrasts Dan Hickey's cymbal mayhem from Laughter & Lust Live). A nice vocal fade ends one of my favorite tracks on the record.
This song reminds me of Body and Soul, the way it builds up. I wish he recorded this album with a full band and not like a demo. That would have been a great album. Now it's just a good one.
I have no idea about the relationship between JJ & Virgin at the time. In 1994, we lacked the www. to tell us everything. I searched, but Google came up dry. I can't argue against either point here and believe that @Squealy is likely right on target. However, the 90s is the start of JJ doing more of the musicianship himself in a Prince-ly manner. Perhaps it was more economically rational? Perhaps it was just way easier? Technological advances in keyboards & recording I guess also made it more feasible to DIY.
I think you may have the motivation misplaced. I believe that Joe went to Virgin because he wasn't happy with how A&M had marketed Blaze of Glory, and he wanted to get back high on the charts again. When he gave it all he had with a new label and Laughter and Lust also failed in that regard, that's when he reassessed and went in a different direction for nearly 10 years. Virgin went with it (with budget restrictions) because hey, it was just a 2-record deal and they could sell a decent amount to his core fans. Joe's interview comments over the year tend to confirm something like this. He's always had a lot of creative control in his record deals, so no need to give the middle finger to the record company execs.
That's fair. I'm just trying to make sense of it all to be honest. what you wrote seems very feasible too
I'm finding "Night Music" to be growing on me after having it for 25 years now. This thread has gotten me to re-assess it somewhat. I'm grateful for that.
I realize that Mark set up this Thread to review each Song within each Album, although having listened to the links he provided so far just reminded me that 'Night Music' was best taken in listening to the entire Album, as some Songs(like 'Flying') might not seem like a Good Song on their own, however are fine as part of the Album, but YMMV. I still have not dug out my CD yet, as busy week, although realize I can just stream the entire Album.
I think there are several Joe albums that really require a full listen as an album. I am listening to them as an album, then when I get on here breaking it down, as best as I am able, but I totally agree that this albums requires a listen as an album. I think most folks that are having trouble with the album itself are more deterred by the keyboard sounds, which I can understand, but I sort of like the variance
I absolutely love "Ever After." Every time I listen to it, it reminds me of the very first time I listened, when following a previous album I didn't much like and two intro songs that were only OK, I finally heard something that reminded me of why I was such a big JJ fan in the first place. This song just doesn't sound like it could possibly be made by anyone else, with its combination of reggae (ish?) verse rhythms and 30s Hollywood musical references. It transports me to other times and places without ever being too specific, and it is also catchy as all get-out, with one of his best ever male-female vocal blends. The more "rock" section toward the end is also unmistakably Joe, with the keyboards evoking that "retro futurist" sound he introduced with "No Paseran" (and will revisit again, more fully, later on this same album).
Ever After feels to me like a soft career overview in reverse. The staccato pulses of Steppin Out, the hints of Body & Soul, Laughter & Lust, Blaze Of Glory, Big World; resting on a Look Sharp/I'm The Man starring Burke and Maby climax. Then a resolve to the empty melody of his current situation. Leading us into his temptation of making a deal with the devil for relevance.
Nocturne no.2 Again we have this cinematic, soundtrack type piece, and again I personally like it, but I understand why folks have reservations or a dislike for it. Personally I like the atmosphere it creates. It does have a somewhat new age type of personality, and I am not really a fan of that, but here.... there is something a little extra that works for me. I think when the piano comes in that the track reaches beyond its limitations and shines. It's probably a bit of a shame there isn't more piano, but the compare and contrast thing, works for me, and gives the track an interesting feel and sound.
"Nocturne No. 2" I like this Nocturne very much. The piano is sparse and lovely and has a nice tone. I don't mind the synth sounds when they don't attempt to mimic real instruments.
Definitely not a fan of this one. I think it starts off quite beautifully with the piano backed by its synthesized "glow," but then that lead synth comes in. While I generally agree with Geee! above that synths work better when they don't mimic real instruments, I think this one is exactly the kind that does try to mimic real instruments--in this case, something like a Pan flute (in contrast to something like the Moog sound used for the solo on "Breaking Us in Two," which I don't think is trying to imitate anything). That breathy, Pan flute-y sound is one that I find particularly groan inducing, and I think it was already pretty badly dated by 1994. Obviously this is not an objective complaint--none of us can control the effects that different sounds happen to have on us emotionally. It promises to improve when the piano comes back, but I find that section ruined by the synth harp effects in the background, which reek of a sequencer and add to the clichéd New-Agey quality that I wish he had left out. I think this track is the low point of the album for me, though not bad enough to keep me from greatly enjoying the album as a whole. I just wonder sometimes about what a masterpiece it might have been without some of the (unnecessary, IMHO) New Age trappings.
