Night Life

What if Frank Sinatra was from Bikini Bottom?

Every night I feast in complete darkness. Once, I accidentally ate a Puerto Rican kid's ashes. His family were not happy.

10/10 - woeful as fuck makes we wanna get a trad wife and be emotionally absent to her

It's hard for me to sometimes give such low scores to music that sounds so honest. But within the context of this list, where it's supposed to be about albums that are actually crucial to the history of modern music, or about albums that maybe weren't that influential but are notable by themselves, this one for me doesn't come as a member of any of these two categories. Is it good music? Yes. Is it something I had to listen to get something that I wouldn't be able to get from any other album? I hardly think so

The introduction really set the tone by making the album feel more personal. Can't think of a record that starts with one, but I love it here. This is some real tears-in-your-beer kind of music, but I am here for it. Lyrically, it's great, and vocally, it's superb. Ray Price is a hell of a singer, and really conveys those emotions directly into me. Also, holy hell, Willie Nelson on bass and backing vocals? Neat. Favorite tracks: "Night Life", "Sittin' and Thinkin'", "There's No Fool Like a Young Fool"

I'm really digging this classic country. I'm so glad records like this are included in this list. It's a refreshing break from the constant onslaught of 60's-era rock this list is littered with.

The Price is wrong

Oh, boy. People making out to Hee Haw on the cover. Doesn't bode well. But then, Ray invites me to take off my shoes and enjoy his album. Huh. Linkin Park never invited me to take off my shoes - instead, they made me wear uncomfortable surplus army boots. Night Life gets bluesy - no mentions of broken trucks or sad dogs. Well, never mind. Lonely Street hits all of the tropes - damn, Ray. Pick yourself up, take off your shoes, and go enjoy the night life! Even so, there's a Roy Orbison quality to it - kinda like that late nineties country/pop crossover trend (no slide guitar? It's Hootie! Slide guitar? It's Darius Rucker!). Sittin' and Thinkin' - "I got loaded last night on a bottle of gin"? He just comes out and says it - I think this is probably pretty risqué for the time; 15 years later, Jimmy Buffett will make fun of the country music tendency to dance around topics, and he penned "Why don't we get drunk..." as a parody of those songs. Ray doesn't quite get there (he skips the "...and screw" part), but the first step is admitting you have a problem. He still cries for an entire hour each day - so clearly there are some unresolved issues there. Bright lights and blonde haired women - "I'm getting sick and tired of being lit up like a Christmas tree" - wow. Look, Ray, you left your brunette woman at home with a single dim bulb hanging from a chain in the middle of the room. You ain't going back. Just get used to being drunk and hanging out with the easy blonde girls. You chose this life. Take off your shoes, get your crying over with, and do what you gotta do. Overall review - I didn't hate this. Look, I'm not going to be jamming to this while sitting in carpool or docking a pontoon boat, but it is infinitely better than the mid-nineties "been working hard all week, got my good jeans on, I love America" crap that country music turned into. Ray seems like he'd be fun to hang out with - I just gotta make sure I'm "on a work call" for that one hour of crying per day...

I didn’t find any favorites here, but a very classic country sound with lots of steel and slide guitar. Cool find, should know the artist at least.

Shite Life

Whether you like country or not, there are some finely crafted songs on this album delivered by some magnificent musicians and Price, who is an engaging singer with a great voice. There’s an undertone of darkness and restlessness throughout and you can depict the seediness of the nightclubs Price frequents. Frankly, if you’re not enjoying that fiddling and a backing band known as The Cherokee Cowboys; or you aren’t vibing with songs like Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women then I don’t even want to know you.

Fine as background music on this Monday morning before Thanksgiving, but let’s be honest, this sounds like just about every other country record from the late 50’s or early 60’s that you’ve ever heard.

Wonderful old-timey country, reminded me of Patsy Cline and kd lang. A terrific listen for the day.

fine

Very odd framing in he album’s intro bit, leading into a straight forward but very good honky tonk record.

A focused set of country takes, but in the honky-tonk style which has never completely won me over. Comparisons to Sinatra are ubiquitous; For my part I'll say that Price doesn't have the affect problem I mentioned. There's solid fiddling on several tunes as well, elevating the music above the level of the rest of the playing.

This is nice

It's fair to say its all a bit samey. Same pace, same chords the same baseline throughout every song It's fine. Decent, but its bit sorta just the same the whole way through, Nothing stands out, so even though it's relatively short, it feels long

This is a nice classic album. Ray fits well in my culture, I love the idea of listening to this at a party with an older audience, all sipping on some beers and talking about the old days... this album would be the ideal background music to capture the moment. Loved it.

The introduction track from this album is sort of a funny footnote in the history of the music industry. I can imagine it being commonplace to have a message for fans right there in the vinyl, but looking back at such a track with a 2025 mindset it is something more expected for a social media outlet. That said, it flows beautifully into the first track and the album was great all around. The more bluesy western country is almost nostalgic for a time I didn't experience, but the themes of desire, sins, heartbreak, and substance abuse are as current as anything today.

Robust, full-throated honky-tonk mostly about failing to fill a hole with booze and women. As perfect a specimen as you’ll ever hear rendered with steel guitar and piano. It literally couldn’t be better.

I didn't expect to like this, but its turns out I love it. Right from the spoken intro over the albums theme music you are taken to a different world. This guy can sing and the lyrics are still relevant today. Yes its country music, but country music before it became the schmaltzy caricature of itself that it is today.

So good I listen to it three times today

LOVE the vibes of this album Perfect title choice

Not really my sound but enjoyed the emotion and production in this album

I could listen to only records like this and be perfectly happy. Truly excellent through and through.

a really great example of itself

Good old honky tonk classics.

classic country style album. Elvis like

Night life Title song was my favorite. Vocals are great. Really smooth country crooning. There’s a low note in the pedal steel solo on nightlife that’s super cool. Johnny paycheck is the best name for a lead guitar player. The songs are all a bit sad and on the night life theme.

Total classic, sittin and thinkin is such a great song, I like the Charlie rich version better. Such an iconic record tho and the playing is top tier.

Cool sounds, familiar from samples, sent me down some fun rabbit holes

Night Life Quite the contrast to Public Enemy. I really like the crooning vocals and slightly jazzy drumming with the bluesy reverb heavy guitars and pedal steel on the title track, and I also like the more obviously Honky Tonk The Wild Side of Life. And those two songs are pretty much the general vibe for the rest of it, with it not deviating too far from either, all tied together with that kind of country-jazz crooning - e sounds a lot like Dean Martin singing on the Rio Bravo soundtrack on Sittin’ and Thinkin’ in particular. Luckily I do like those two song types, I also really like his voice and the downbeat lyrical themes, so overall this was a very pleasant 40 minutes. I’d definitely listen again, but I don’t think it's quite worthy of a 4, so I’ll stick with a solid 3. 😴😴😴 Playlist submission: Night Life

Classy country.

No idea of the kind of night life this guy has but it’s not the same as mine. Some of the lyricism on here is dark and witty

this would go so hard in a jpegmafia mashup

It belongs in a Mojave Desert

The intro made me exclaim 'why is this happening out loud'. Unfortunately, right afterwards the album immediately stops being funny and becomes a very standard affair of boomer country with autopilot instrumentation and lyrics either about moralising or jealousy towards a lost love. Coming off as a real likeable guy, Ray. Maybe it's just that I'm too much of a European youngster, but I genuinely have a hard time picturing people listening to this stuff unironically.

The introduction monologue was so hilariously bereft of confidence that I was started on a good foot. The first track was really great and holds up well. As the album progressed it slowly became apparent that every song would feature identical instrumentation, singing and lyrics. I can see why this didn’t make it on the fallout soundtrack. Rating: 1.5

This is exactly the type of classic country that scratches an itch in me I can't quite explain. This album feels very foundational to the genre, I hear elements of it in country music I enjoy now. Something about the way he sings is so longing and beautiful

10/10

Perfect music for drowning your sorrows and broken heart in a bottle of whiskey. Favorite song is Pride, with the line about the heart saying to stay while pride saying to go. I think most folks can relate to that. Once eh got past the introduction, both unnecessary and tedious to listen to, it was pure perfection as far as true country music goes.

After listening to the steaming pile of shit yesterday that is The Killers Hot Fuss, this is a much appreciated change of pace. Well-crafted country music, a great voice, slide/steel guitar...this is fantastic. It is kitchen music...it's the music to play in the kitchen when making dinner. Or background music to have when friends are over. But I'm also working with my headphones on and doing menial daily tasks and it's great for that, too. I feel like that comes across as a slam, but it really isn't. This is somewhere between a 4 and a 5 for me...I will say that there's not a lot of diversity here, the songs all seem to have the same tempo and a really similar rhythm. But the recording and the mix is tremendous, you can hear all the instruments independently of each other, especially the bass...and his voice just glides smoothly over everything. I feel like records these days don't sound this good for some reason...sonically, this is so simple and yet so awesome...so I'm gonna end up giving it a 5. And fuck The Killers. What a shit album.

[downtroddenly] yeehaw

This itched a portion of my brain that I did not know needed to be scratched 5/5

"Night Life" is the sixth studio album by country western singer and guitarist Ray Price. The Wiki-listed genres are country and honky tonk. Price was backed in the studio by his regular touring band, the Cherokee Cowboys, which included Willie Nelson (guitar, vocals), Johnny Paycheck (guitars, bass, vocals), Buddy Emmons (pedal-steel guitar) and Floyd Cramer (piano). That's quite the band. Shorty Lavender and Tommy Jackson played the fiddle parts. The album reached #1 in the second week of the US Billboard chart's existence. A critic's review called this album "the last gasp of true honky tonk, the first stab at mainstreaming it into the Nashville sound of the 1960s and country music's first concept album." The album opens with "Introduction and Theme" where Price thanks the audience and the emotion of people that lived in the night life - happiness, sadness and heartbreak. There's subtle music in the background. The first proper song is "Night Life." A pedal-steel guitar at the start with ticking drums. The guitar with piano gives a bluesy vibe in the background. Price's strong baritone declaring "night life is no life but it's my life." The only Price self-penned song on the album is "The Twenty-Fourth Hour" and it's a good one. A fiddle, electric and pedal-steel guitars. A country beat. Vocal harmonies. A pedal-steel guitar solo which blends with the fiddle. He makes it through the first 23 but on the 24-hour he cries. The fiddle opens the upbeat "Pride." The best all worlds: harmonies, a pedal-steel guitar solo and a fiddle solo. "How can he leave her? His heart tells him to stay but his pride says go." Price can take his baritone many places but I didn't expect him going full Elvis Presley and he does that in the closer "Let Me Talk to You" and nails it. It's dreamy with the soft beat and fiddle. He just wants to fall in love again. Ray Price had a tremendous baritone voice. The harmonies on this record are excellent. The pedal-steel guitar, fiddle and guitar-fiddle interplay are some of the best you'll ever hear. Of course, there's melancholy with subjects such as the night life, wild side of life, drinking, cryin' in the 24th hour, lost love, loneliness and being lit up like a Christmas tree. Some have compared this to Frank Sinatra's "In the Wee Small Hours" and I couldn't agree more. Not only is this one the best country albums I've heard, it's one the best overall albums I've heard.

A master class in Country music.

Makes me want to honky-tonk.

Loved it. Willie Nelson on bass and backing vocals if you didn't know, who also wrote the title song.

Nice voice

Solid album of old style C&W. I am not a fan of country in general, but objectively for the purposes of this project, this is some high quality tear in your beer stuff. Ray is singing his heart out and the backing band is tight. Don't sleep on this one.

Virtuosic honky tonk.

Nice and romantic country music.

I was carried away with the honky tonk angels, all the way to lonely street, where in the twenty-fourth hour, I decided this album is worth five fat stars.

I’m a sad lonely cowboy and I simply must croon about it

Fuck it

Found this so relaxing, deep down in the soul. Like the sun shining through the living room window on a Sunday afternoon.

Incredibly easy to listen to. This is a classic country album from before country was just pop with a southern accent.

Only part I did not love is how short the album is! It is obvious how many people were influenced by this sound.

cool

Classic smooth country, not a bad song in the bunch.

Classic and wonderful

Don't let the charity shop cover put you off. I'm new to Price, but took straight away to his voice. It has a purity that reminds me of Patsy Cline and a hangdog guilt that puts me in mind of some of Johnny Cash's catalogue (e.g. Sunday Morning Coming Down). The album is strongly themed, with vignettes featuring a long line of honky tonk women living the "Night Life" hanging out in bars. For the 1960s, the songs aren't actually that judgemental of these women - well, hardly more than Price is of himself for choosing this lifestyle. He asks them "Are You Sure?", but I think he's asking himself the same thing.

Memories

Lovely and short, doesn't bore at any moment nor becomes repetitive or tedious as every song is very discernible and unique

Perfect soundtrack to a sad dance in a Western bar with Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange

just some good old twangy heartbroken country music. A lot of the songs have a similar rhythm and feel but they all tell stories, some a little more bluesy, some a little more bluegrassy. the only knock is that the lyrics can be pretty simplistic (A Girl in the Night), but thats country baby, this is definitely easy listening! This album makes me think of passing through a little stopover town to have a drink at a local dive bar and falling in love with a townie.

Love this album. Ray Price has a lovely voice

Love this vibe

Really good and had never heard of him.

Amazing soft bluesy rock kind of album

I wasn’t sure that this country album would hit the spot for me, and it was a little slow to warm. But as it ended, I wanted to start it again…and I did…and really appreciated what Ray Price delivered.

Honky-tonkin’ heartbreak, drinking’ and depression… Some real classic country from a real master, this album shines a stark light on the Night Life. Each song is a cautionary tale targeting a variety of potential victims of the night life. As Ray suggests in the introduction to this Columbia album, I enjoyed sittin’ back, kickin’ off my shoes and listenin’ to Night Life. Just the perfect accompaniment to an evening of cocktails. Maybe someday I’ll make it to one of those dances…

MY LIIIIIFE

Honestly every one’s a fuckin’ banger.

Honestly very nice. I don’t really listen to this genre of music but it is surprisingly calming.

Good old country

Honky Tonk goes Music Row. A slick slice of the seedier life by a master of singing.

I absolutely love the mood and atmosphere of this album. I often think of music in terms of "day music" and "night music" and this is pretty much THE epitome of night music. Bittersweet and seductive. Romantic but honest. I feel like almost any professional musician would have to identify with that title track. I remember hearing Willie Nelson's version of it first when I was a kid, and I love that version too, but there is something about this version that is so much more haunting. The rest of the album doesn't quite have the same magic as that opening track, but it's still top notch crying-in-your-beer country. The playing, production, and arrangements are all spot on. I especially love that splash of reverb on the vocals. The fact that the songs all adhere to that theme of the trials and tribulations of life in the bar scene is what makes it so great (and believable). A perfectly executed concept album before concept albums were a thing. The intro is a bit goofy, but quaint in an old fashioned way. And goddamn that cover is so cinematic.

I am constantly impressed with early country songwriting. Ray really nails it here. At this rate, I may have to start saying I like country.

Like the old country. Almost has an Elvis feel to it. Would definitely try some of his other music.

Damn this is some good shit.

It's like an Alcoholic's Blues album. Loved it.

Loved it, transported to the 60s

Sorta country, sorta lounge and kinda frank sinatra. Pretty darn good!

I loved this. Pipe smoking rocking chair evening scotch music. Gonna explore this guy's catalog

I liked a lot of this album. Real classic country swing. It’s nice that this came at a time when the days are getting shorter - a good album for the dark. I will say, Ray Price seems to have a problem with hanging around in bars, my primary source of a good time. Bring on the honky tonk angels I say.

the introduction absolutely tickled me

Absolutely classic Nashville sound. His voice sounds a lot like Elvis’ I think. Some of the songs start to sound the same as this progresses though.

While Country is not my favorite genre, this classic is an old school breezy vibe that I dig. It’s definitely not an everyday mood, but when it hits, it hits hard.

The cover of Ray Price's 1963 album, "Night Life", is pure, iconic early '60s country, setting an expectation the first two tracks immediately subvert. Instead of a steel-guitar twang, we're greeted with a quaint "Introduction and Theme" followed by the surprisingly bluesy shuffle of the title track, "Night Life," and then a similarly moody "Lonely Street." The album truly settles into its rhythm with "Wild Side of Life." While I know the song best through Status Quo's 1970's excellent cover, Price's version establishes the country foundation on the album. The instrumentation, the slide guitar and fiddles, are used with subtlety, and Ray Price's voice avoids the exaggerated vocal affectations often found in the country genre. The true highlight of "Night Life" is undoubtedly "Pride." It's a cracking song and a performance that stands head and shoulders above the rest. From this point on, the song writing and performances generally solidify, raising the album's standard significantly before a slight dip in quality toward the final two tracks. Price himself possesses a strong, appealing voice. The entire album is well-arranged and played, benefiting from Don Law's early '60s production, which sounds classy and clear today. It's a testament to the high-quality musicianship of the era. Despite its overall quality and enjoyment, the album's place on an "essential" list is debatable. While it's a good listen and good fun, its significance isn't immediately clear enough to warrant an automatic spot among the 1001 Albums. Regardless of its legacy status, it remains a surprisingly engaging listen. Four stars. 1. "Introduction and Theme / Night Life" - (3/5) 3. "Night Life" - (3/5) 2. "Lonely Street" (Carl Belew, Kenny Sowder, W.S. Stevenson) - (3/5) 3. "The Wild Side of Life" (Arlie Carter, William Warren) - (4/5) 4. "Sittin' and Thinkin'" (Charlie Rich) - (3/5) 5. "The Twenty-Fourth Hour" (Ray Price) - (3/5) 6. "A Girl in the Night" (Hank Thompson) - (4/5) 7. "Pride" (Wayne P. Walker, Irene Stanton) - (5/5) 8. "There's No Fool Like a Young Fool" (Bette Thomasson) - (4/5) 9. "If She Could See Me Now" (Hank Cochran) - (4/5) 10. "Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women" (Eddie Kirkland) - (4/5) 11. "Are You Sure" (Buddy Emmons, Willie Nelson) - (3/5) 12. "Let Me Talk to You" (Don Stewart Davis, Danny Dill)- (3/5) Total - 46 Average - 3.54 125/1001 66/125 albums reviewed were new to me.

This is the kind of country I can get behind. Really solid tunes, simple and sweet lyrics, and a voice that just won’t quit. Big fan of this one.

I know this isn’t all that country, but I wish modern country music sounded like this. Or at least the newer country music that resembles this sound got more play. I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would, even if the intro was strange and seemed unnecessary.

Il pleut dehors, le vent souffle, et je trouve que cet album correspond totalement à cette ambiance automnale.

Love how this starts out with a corny spoken word intro about how Ray hopes we have a good time listening to his new album, when we all know that this album is meant for being the most heartbroken loser in the bar. Coincidentally, my dad and I were talking about the title song (albeit Willie Nelson's version) earlier today! He prefers Willie's, but I think this one's pretty good too.

Solid honky-tonk country pop. First track is pretty weird, really sets the stage for the album. I enjoyed this. A good album to listen to on a cold winter’s night.

old country music is pretty good :o

Significant hell yeah album

I never thought I would like this. I do. Ray Price has a phenomenal voice. I feel like I'm sitting in a diner in Texas or Nashville as this album is playing. This album has a charm and I will be returning to it for morning coffee.

Pretty great.