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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Night Life

Ray Price

1963

Night Life

Album Summary

Night Life is the sixth album by country western singer and guitarist Ray Price, backed by his regular touring band, the Cherokee Cowboys. The album was released in 1963 on the Columbia Records label. The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.78

Votes

5438

Genres

  • Country
Reviews
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Thu May 13 2021
2

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

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Sun Jun 27 2021
2

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

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Wed Sep 22 2021
1

The Price is wrong

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Mon Apr 05 2021
4

This is nice

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Fri Jun 17 2022
5

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"

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Thu Jul 14 2022
5

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.

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Fri Jul 02 2021
4

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.

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Wed Sep 01 2021
4

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.

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Mon Sep 27 2021
4

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

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Wed Sep 22 2021
1

Shite Life

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Wed May 19 2021
5

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

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

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

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Mon Nov 22 2021
5

Loved it, transported to the 60s

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Thu Dec 09 2021
5

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

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Wed Sep 07 2022
5

Damn this is some good shit.

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Wed Sep 07 2022
5

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

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Wed Nov 30 2022
5

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.

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Sun Jan 01 2023
5

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

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Sun Feb 12 2023
5

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.

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Thu Feb 23 2023
5

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

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Wed Mar 22 2023
5

Good old country

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Wed Jul 21 2021
4

Oikein mukavaa countryrallattelua. Ei tätä genreä mielestäni oikein paremmin voi toteuttaa. Laulajan ääni oli miellyttävä, ja vaikka biiseissä ei suurempia erikoisuuksia ollutkaan, toimi kokonaisuus erittäin hienosti. Yleisenä musiikkinautintona antaisin tästä kolmosen, mutta nyt pitää kyllä antaa genressään lähes virheettömästä suorituksesta pieni boonus.

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Fri Jun 11 2021
4

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.

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Tue Apr 06 2021
4

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

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Wed Apr 07 2021
4

Nunca había escuchado antes a este hombre y me ha alegrado la mañana. Disco de country americano y género muy poco tocado por mí, pero gran descubrimiento.

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Wed Mar 31 2021
4

A very fine and soulful country album. 8.1/10

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Tue Apr 06 2021
4

Elvis Costello introduced me to the Nashville sound (Almost Blue) and both cover the dark “sitting and thinking”. Cloying sentimentality of early 60s USA. Magnificent.

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Mon Aug 09 2021
4

Take me to the dance

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Fri Aug 27 2021
4

Nine change of pace

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Wed Sep 08 2021
4

I was fixing a greasy mower while this was on. Could not find a filthier panegyric for this album, I really liked it. Felt like I was transported to the era

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Fri Oct 15 2021
4

Sensuous and bold

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Fri Dec 03 2021
4

good stuff

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Fri Dec 10 2021
4

Good classic hony-tonkish country. I've heard the name Ray Price before, but don't really recall ever hearing any of his music. I threw the album on and started doing some minor research on its history and saw that Willie Nelson is credited on a couple tracks. Then notice that one of them was "Are You Sure", which is a song that I first heard on Lost (yeah, yeah...) and I immediately fell in love with it. It's probably the moment I started really taking a lot of the classic, outlaw type country more seriously and I'd just never realized it had an earlier incarnation. This is just great news! Oh, and the album here is solid. Not much to complain about. 4 stars!

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Thu Dec 16 2021
4

Kind of a concept album. A little bluesy, deep and lonesome songs drenched in barlight, spilled whisky and regret. The tunes still hold up today.

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Wed Dec 22 2021
4

Hyggeligt, jazzet, bluesy country. Vild stemme. Ritti godt

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Sun Jan 02 2022
4

Feeling ill, so I'm listening to this and reading Dickens. Somehow they go together!

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Wed Jan 12 2022
4

Very smooth, "feelsy" album. Would be good for nighttime listening

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Fri Jan 14 2022
4

I thought that I was not a big country fan but it might be more that I’m not a big modern country fan. Ray Price was great and what I would think of as old school country.

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Tue Feb 01 2022
4

Enjoyable. Classic honky tonk music with a bit of a sleepy, sometimes torchy vibe. It takes a few songs to settle into it, then it's pretty great. The only drag on the whole thing honestly is that weird intro, which was really unnecessary. Fave Songs: Pride, If She Could See Me Now, Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women, Sittin' and Thinkin', The Twenty-Fourth Hour, Night Life

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Thu Feb 03 2022
4

Good stuff. I'ma sound old here, but I love the old country and can't stomach new country. It reminds me of 80's hair rock. Only diff is that the lyrics aren't about partying. They're about drinking alone, sitting on tractors they've probably never driven, and supporting white supremacy. The lyrics haven't changed much, but the music has.

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Mon Feb 21 2022
4

This is a lot of fun. Would make a great movie soundtrack, too, which is my bias reflecting how this style of music is sometimes used in movies I've liked. I so rarely listen consciously to country & western like this, and it's nice to hear that swing beat. Could waltz to a lot of this. He croons perfectly for this style. Nice album.

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Fri Mar 04 2022
4

I really the fact that the album has an intro to put the listener in the mood. It was the best beginning of an album of this genre I've ever heard. I'm a fan of this era and this kind of country/crooner singers. They give a strong impression of their time. It's weird to say, but their music is timelessly outdated and that's the best part of it.

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Wed Mar 09 2022
4

country conceito

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Wed Mar 09 2022
4

eu vo sair desse trem a própria sandy bochechas

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Wed Mar 09 2022
4

Curti, um bom álbum pra ouvir sozinho à noite. 7/10

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Mon Apr 18 2022
4

Just good classic country. A simple beat and melody that just make you happy. Another of what my grandpa would call "attitude adjustment music" type of album. And Willie Nelson played bass and sang on this album too which makes it even cooler.

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Fri Jun 17 2022
4

Sweet and charming country music.

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Fri Jul 08 2022
4

Swag....

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Fri Jul 08 2022
4

Some great downtrodden, melancholy country songs. Lapsteel guitar features prominently and when Ray Price really breaks out his majestic voice it’s sure to impress

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Fri Jul 08 2022
4

Swaaaaaaag

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Fri Jul 15 2022
4

A very enjoyable experience and nice classic swing and vocals. Certainly you need to be in a specific mood to enjoy though.

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Mon Sep 05 2022
4

Lush and rich and shadowy, despite the countrypolitan sheen. VIntage in the best sense and Americana-ish (weird, old division) plus Lynchian and this is how cool country could/can be.

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Wed Sep 07 2022
4

Well hi neighbors. I’m so glad to be introduced to this. Started and listened, because the famous name, then hung around for that unbelievable voice, steel guitar, fiddle, piano, strings, bass. Every line perfectly enunciated. (Perfect in its own way). Yessiree all of it right thar.

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Fri Sep 16 2022
4

Hell this is good fun honky tonk!

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Wed Oct 12 2022
4

4.1 - Being a total sucker for lap steel guitar, I loved this record! I also love the songs themed around (not surprisingly) the perils of night life. Ray Price sings with a baritone twang about pursuing “honky-tonk angels” and about keeping company with barflies.

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Sun Oct 23 2022
4

Some more country greats. I really enjoyed "Are You Sure?", though I think I still prefer the Willie Nelson version. I also liked how the album kind of opens with an ad for the album itself. "Hope you like this one! If you like it, buy it and we'll make more like it!" BOLD

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Mon Oct 24 2022
4

Really lovely lounge country songs, sung beautifully with Willie Nelson involved. U great deal to enjoy. Best song is the title track.

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Fri Nov 18 2022
4

Just my kind of background music :D

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Sun Feb 12 2023
4

Really solid country, I love the low-down bar stories, and the lonely guitars. I'm glad the "introduction" trend did not catch on, it feels like a weird commercial where he's required to rep the label and promise the fans that he'll promise cranking out hits. Though there is something funny and charming about it. Favorites are "Night LIfe" and "Sittin' and Thinkin'". Some of these songs are just ridiculously similar to each other, which makes the album wear out prematurely.

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Thu Feb 16 2023
4

Very soothing and nice to listen to when you have to study.

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Thu Mar 09 2023
4

Deftly blends darkness with some countrypolitan-ish sheen and upbeat bounce in the playing. "Honky Tonk Angel" is aces. Title cut is classic, though with many other excellent versions.

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Wed Mar 15 2023
4

Not a country music expert by any means and the album won’t make me start listening to it more, but I appreciate how polished this album is. Clear dreamy vocals, reverb laden lead guitars, plodding bass. This is what I imagine a barn slow dance would sound like. Also appreciate that this is trying to be a concept album at an era where this wasn’t the done thing.

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Fri Mar 17 2023
4

Probably enjoyable after a few listens. Will that ever happen thought?

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Tue Apr 06 2021
3

classic, wouldnt listen on my own though

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Mon May 24 2021
3

Decent album

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Thu May 13 2021
3

lots of honky tonk

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Mon Jul 12 2021
3

Solid country music, but didn't really grab me.

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Mon May 24 2021
3

Not very interesting. Sinatra meets county. It’s just nothing inspiring, and every song is more or less the exact same.

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Mon Jul 19 2021
3

country western singer. Soso.

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Fri Apr 09 2021
3

It's okay music. I'm not a huge fan but it's good for what it is.

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Thu May 13 2021
3

Probably says 'honky' a few too many times.

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Thu Apr 01 2021
3

OK, but I'm not big on the style.

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Wed Apr 21 2021
3

Very old-fashioned, although a surprising amount of drunkenness

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Mon Apr 05 2021
3

What if Frank Sinatra was from Bikini Bottom?

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Mon Apr 05 2021
3

A pleasant listen, but not the kind of genre i'm particularly interested in. I don't have any real complaints though.

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Mon Apr 05 2021
3

Very nice sounds but I don't think I'd listen again

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Thu May 13 2021
3

As stated in the 1001 albums book: "Night Life is Nashville's answer to Sinatra's In The Wee Small Hours". Succinct and spot on description.

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Fri Jul 09 2021
3

-Apparently this is like Honky Tonk Country -To me it just sounds like Christmas music that wasn't written about Christmas -Except it turns out that "Bright Lights and Blinds Haired Women" does talk about Christmas -Enjoyed while it was on, but no desire to listen again

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Fri Jul 09 2021
3

perfect for getting drunk alone at your apartment.

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Fri Jul 23 2021
3

Okay Ray It's nice but fades into background rather easily

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Fri Jul 23 2021
3

Good, traditional country. I can see his influence on later artists like k.d. lang and Lucinda Williams. 3 stars.

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Thu Jul 29 2021
3

This was a welcomed listen and I was into it until about the third song when I realized that they all sound roughly the same and rely heavily on his voice. However, this album opened up a door that I didn't know existed. RP is prolific and has recorded a TON and even had Willie Nelson in his band. Anyway, this may not have been the best album to start with, but he's been added to my list of musicians to explore a little further.

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Thu Aug 12 2021
3

Could've done without the intro, but the rest of the album was decent. I guess they didn't know what people wanted back in the 60s, but the music is good.

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Thu Aug 19 2021
3

So classic, but quite myogenetic. I had never heard Honky Tonk Angles in full, and it's a bit much. Different times and all that, but it's hard to fully enoy.

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Wed Sep 08 2021
3

This is fine. Love his voice.

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Wed Sep 22 2021
3

Found this strangely endearing and enjoyable over all ….. hard to dislike any of it. Lyrically it’s actually really good too - feels like a country Sinatra and I enjoyed the fact it had a theme running through it

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Wed Sep 22 2021
3

Definitely of its time, but nice, welll written tunes

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Wed Sep 22 2021
3

Enjoyable.

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Thu Sep 30 2021
3

would make for a nice listen with a cigar on my porch, sitting on a rocking chair. except I don't smoke, don't have a porch or a chair. 3/5

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Thu Oct 07 2021
3

Pretty decent traditional country album. It seemed like ray price had the old traditional lyrics and songwriting but his guitar playing and melodies sounded a bit what the 70s and 80s turned into. I enjoyed it and didn’t find it too old and slow as some country albums are. 6.2/10

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Tue Nov 02 2021
3

This really old country stuff is alright. It's dated as hell in 2021 but compared to what modern popular country sounds like.... it's definitely not a genre I give a shit about, but yeah this runs rings around whatever passes for cool these days in those circles. short and sweet, it's unpretentious, it just does its thing and does it well. didn't exactly knock me out of my chair but there's still nothing to really complain about. 3/5.

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Thu Nov 11 2021
3

Well this is certainly outside of my wheelhouse :) I was completely amused by the "introduction" - how he welcomes the listeners to the Columbia product (RAY YOU CORPORATE SHILL). Yow - they loved to drench his voice in cavernous reverb. So I'm not a country fan but I didn't completely dislike it, it's more a slow american western blues. I was a bit tired of the pedal-steel (no slight to the playing whatsoever; I know how difficult it is) as it really defines the sound. I liked to think of it as a soundtrack to a slow-moving 60s movie . Probably won't listen again but it's good to get an education on this classic American musician (also: Willie Nelson plays bass!) 6/10 3 stars

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Wed Nov 17 2021
3

Very old school

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Thu Nov 18 2021
3

Not really a lot to say on it - it was fine.

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Fri Nov 19 2021
3

Nice discovery and change of pace.

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Fri Nov 19 2021
3

I dig it

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Wed Dec 15 2021
3

5/10

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Sun Dec 19 2021
3

Ray Price and Night Life are new to me, although there was at least one track ("The Wild Side of Life") that I have heard by other artists. Night Life is full of gentle, almost sleepy, country swing. The album seems to be presented as an invitation for people to go out and enjoy the night life, and dancing. The music is pretty good, but the lyics share prominently chauvanistic view of women as a temptation that men cannot resist. I can't seem to overlook the lyrics in favor of the underlying music from these talented musicians.

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Wed Dec 22 2021
3

ok

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Sun Jan 02 2022
3

3.5/5. Some nice tracks here and there, but it’s very one note

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