Search - Night :: Night/Long Distance

AVERAGE BAND W/ a COUPLE OF ABOVE AVERAGE SONGS

charlie bear | Big Sky Country | 10/22/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Night was comprised of some hot LA based studio musicians (including Nicky Hopkins) whose lead vocals were handled by Stevie Lange and onetime Mannfred Mann Earth Band lead vocalist Chris Thompson.

For the most part they did not live up to expectations but did land a couple of singles in the Top 20 from their debut LP. The first was the Walter Egan song "Hot Summer Nights" with Lange on the lead. She didn't sound like that other Stevie, more like Ann Wilson, and the Night take certainly does sound more than a little like a Heart wannabee. The other hit "If You Remember Me" was handled by Thompson, whose husky baritone was still very recognizable from "Blinded By The Light" a few years prior.

Beyond the two singles there's only a small scattering of songs that rise slightly above the typical pedestrian LA pop of the era.

Both of the aforementioned Top 20 songs are largely forgotten, never getting any oldie radio play, and to this day have yet to turn up on any other compilation whatsover.

If you're still interested be aware of this:

This double-on-one CD was released by the notorious label RENAISSANCE. They have butchered more re-releases than anyone in the industry and it's truly criminal that they continue to get away with their ineptness.



{A short list of their transgressions include....

1. Horrible sonics

2. Inconsistant db levels

3. Dubbing from scratchy record albums while claiming "remastered" product

4. Dubbing those records at incorrect speeds.... either fast or slow.

5. Screwing up the times

6. Screwing up the credits}



Some of the artists who have been victimized by Renaissance include U.K., LAKE, CHARLIE, and HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS.}



And yes they have wreaked some of their havoc on this release as well.

The credits are fine but everything sounds muddy and was dubbed at old school low levels.

But the biggest gaffe of all was putting "If You Remember Me" at the end of the CD as a secret bonus track.

It's a real indication of how clueless they are at the label choosing to bury the biggest hit that Night had. (#17 Top 40, and Top 10 AC)





>You have been warned: If it says Renaissance on the label....take a pass!

"

A brilliant British (not LA) hard rock album

DV Barrett | London UK | 04/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think I must have listened to a different CD. First of all, "If You Remember Me" IS on this CD, as a bonus (and unlisted) Track 20. (It was originally a single, not on the LP.) The sound quality is great: the CD sounds just like the LPs sounded, which is exactly as it should be: good, loud, solid rock. As for getting the credits wrong, the CD booklet simply reproduces the LP covers. The previous reviewer is clearly attacking the CD company, not this CD, or this band, who he seems to know little or nothing about. He obviously didn't listen to the end, anyway!



To say "Night was comprised of some hot LA studio musicians (including Nicky Hopkins) whose lead vocals were handled by Stevie Lange and onetime Mannfred Mann Earth Band lead vocalist Chris Thompson" and to compare them with "the typical pedestrian LA pop of the era" is just plain silly. The frontline of the band were all British: founder and vocalist Chris Thompson, stunning vocalist Stevie Lange and brilliant guitarist Robbie McIntosh. So, in fact, was keyboard player Nicky Hopkins (the only person to have played with the Beatles, the Stones and the Who). And the great bassist Billy Kristian is from New Zealand. So yup, that's really one LA band!



Night were actually the second phase of a British rock band that had three incarnations. Chris Thompson founded them as a London pub band, Filthy McNasty, with Stevie Lange, McIntosh and Kristian. They went to LA to record an album, but producer Richard Perry insisted on changing some of the band's other personnel. That's when they changed their name to Night. Their second album kept the core members of Thompson, Lange, McIntosh and Kristian but used different sessionmen for keyboards and drums.



The third incarnation of the band, when they returned to London, was called Chris Thompson & The Islands. That's when I was lucky enough to see them, in the famous Half Moon pub in Putney - crowded, hot, sweaty, loud, the perfect venue to be blown away by Stevie Lange's magnificent vocals.



I can understand the comparison with Heart, at least on a couple of tracks, but the whole "LA pop" description is rubbish. A far better comparison is with British post-punk bands of the time like Any Trouble/the Clive Gregson Band and the Joe Jackson Band - i.e. musicians who weren't afraid to play loud, driving, exciting rock music, but could actually play their instruments (and that includes their voices). Night, under whatever name, were a superb live band, and this CD has some outstanding tracks, including "Hot Summer Nights", "If You've Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody", "Shocked", "Love on the Airwaves" and "If You Remember Me". Buy it, turn the volume up, and roast!"

Mostly Non-Descript, and Formula Type Stuff

DL Masters | California | 09/19/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It's true that the core of the group Night were originally from the UK but like a lot of former & part-time Brits they WERE LA based, at least for awhile. And US producer Perry did put a very polished So Cal pop sound on the band. They may have been a real hard rock band at one time but they sure didn't sound much like that here. Maybe Perry wasn't the right producer for them??

And the reviewer from London is wrong in claiming that "If You Remember Me" was not on the LP release. Early editions did not include the track, but after it became a big hit the album was re-released with it on. That's the version that sold some copies in the US. Not very smart of the record label to bury their biggest hit as a secret track at the end........



I also would agree with another reviewer that this record label is atrocious. To their credit, they didn't mess this release up as bad as some others, although the Night CD does sound a bit dull compared to most of today's re-releases."