Night Life
Ray Price
1963
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.
WikipediaEvery night I feast in complete darkness. Once, I accidentally ate a Puerto Rican kid's ashes. His family were not happy.
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 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.
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.
Very odd framing in he album’s intro bit, leading into a straight forward but very good honky tonk record.
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
I loved this. Pipe smoking rocking chair evening scotch music. Gonna explore this guy's catalog
Sorta country, sorta lounge and kinda frank sinatra. Pretty darn good!
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.
Like the old country. Almost has an Elvis feel to it. Would definitely try some of his other music.
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.
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.
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.
Cool sounds, familiar from samples, sent me down some fun rabbit holes
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
Feeling ill, so I'm listening to this and reading Dickens. Somehow they go together!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
A very enjoyable experience and nice classic swing and vocals. Certainly you need to be in a specific mood to enjoy though.
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.
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.
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.
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
Really lovely lounge country songs, sung beautifully with Willie Nelson involved. U great deal to enjoy. Best song is the title track.
Not very interesting. Sinatra meets county. It’s just nothing inspiring, and every song is more or less the exact same.
A pleasant listen, but not the kind of genre i'm particularly interested in. I don't have any real complaints though.
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.
-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
Good, traditional country. I can see his influence on later artists like k.d. lang and Lucinda Williams. 3 stars.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
Really interesting. I've never really listened to this genre before. I liked it more than I thought, but not a whole lot
Music my grandma used to listen to while she was baking in the kitchen. Major nostalgia! I love it.
Growing up, a local radio station used to have an hour of music such as this, but a bit less country, every evening. They called that hour Twilight Time, and I used to hate it but my mother would always have it on. Nostalgia may be dreadful, but one cannot deny the yearning for simpler days, days that now seem free of worries (but, in actuality, were anything but).
I have not heard a more generic and standard country blues album. Love the genre and this fits in that genre but there's like nothing unique about it.
Great vibe. Not really familiar with this genre, but It'll get back to this singer. Great voice also !
I love that kind of music. Nothing truly stands out for me after the first song, but it's all about that nostalgic, deeply American atmosphere anyway.
You can just barely hear the beginnings of Willie's brand of outlaw country on the few tracks he's responsible for. Otherwise, it's honky-tonk accompanied by strings. Best track: Night Life
Приятный классический альбом. Хорош, чтобы сидеть вечерком и думать о вечном
Pretty cool classic country album. Will never be my go to, but this was fun.
Cantautor americano de los 60, con buenas melodías, muy agradable de escuchar, pero para los amantes del género
ovo bi bilo dobro slušati u nekom starijem kafiću u noći po ljetu. zapravo čak i sam naziv albuma ukazuje na to.
a lovely, easy listening album! wonderful to have in the background while concentrating on the task at hand. it's pure sixties country! it isn't heavy at all, even when the lyrics are somber. it's rather soothing, actually. i should like to listen to this again!
The louche beginning got my hopes up more than the eventual album met. This is interesting where it gives you a perfect intersection of lounge and country, but often veers into plain bland country that lacks any real hook or innovation. It's not bad. It's just also not great.
Not really a country fan, but I did enjoy this enough to give it a 3, even if I may never choose to listen to it again.
A strange blend of standard country fare with almost Hawaiian-sounding guitar.
An album that I can say is probably a very good album that just isn't for me. Really good voice, decent songs but just doesn't do a lot for me.
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...
If Frank Sinatra had a simplistic and even more depressing sound... he'd do a better job than this guy, but I still like it nonetheless. No amazing tracks, and half of them are pretty boring filler, but there are some cool highlights, and the lyrics are good. He gives an emotional performance, and some of them are even a bit catchy. Favorites: Night Life, Lonely Street, Sittin and Thinkin, Pride, Bright Lights
Enjoyable listen once through of "honkytonk" music. I guess this is just another word for people who liked to drink and dance back in the day?
Ik ga dit nog wel eens op mijn gemakje luisteren. Beetje veel van hetzelfde maar er kan zomaar een pareltje tussen zitten.
With as little country music as this list contains, I thought we'd only get fire when we do get it, but this one is more warm than hot. Upon reflection, I'm not mad about that, because this stuff is valid. Wikipedia says someone called this country music's first concept album, but that's not even true, Marty Robbins definitely beat him with Gunfighter Ballads, and I think the true OG was a "Dust Bowl Ballads" by Arlo Guthrie way back whenever. Still, any concept album from the early '60s (predating the "big two" in Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's) gets a point in my book. An album of songs from a man who's weary of the night life, done with the game and the games. I respect it. Guitars and drums sound great on here. There's a few on here that I'll hang onto, but nothing too crazy. Favorite tracks: Night Life, Pride, There's No Fool Like a Young Fool, Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women. Album art: Perfect for accomplishing and tying the concept together. Ray seems to be performing at a club, staring at a young couple about to make the mistakes and play the games that he knows all too well, that he's grown tired of. Very well done. 3.5/5
Great album to listen to at night, reminded me at times of Orville Peck. A nice classic country album
This was decent. Very well produced and performed, it just becomes a bit monotonous. The linkage between honky tonk and jazz is nice. Favorite track: Lonely Street
15th November 2022 Listened in the morning while doing washing up and tidying kitchen. Bake off final in the evening. Slide guitar, quite dark undertones to the beginning but classic country with a crooning voice.
Very nice stuff, very pleasant, but it didn't do much to grab me or hold my attention. I think this could be worth revisiting though; could be more of a mood/vibe thing rather than the album quality itself.
Classic country. Willie Nelson on back-up vocals and bass guitar. And, includes Willie's classic Night Life!
I've never been welcomed to an album quite so politely. This album seems very much from the past, I imagine it did even in '63 when you consider what other music was around with it back then. It's a harmless listen, it fills the background nicely and I find myself humming along to songs I've never heard before. It's pleasant.
Didn't love this one. Started out ok but got old quick. I get it, you like going to the bar.
couldn’t really distinguish between songs as they were all too similar; in instruments, style, lyrics, everything - “Night Life” was the best song
Offenbar ne wichtige Nummer im Country. Aber nicht für mich, bi us proot‘ wi Platt.
Lähti suoralla puhuttelulla kuulijalle. Vähän kuitenkin hajuttomaksi ja mauttomaksi jäi tämä chillailu 1960-luvulta. Ei mitenkään häiritsevää, vaan ihan ok taustamusiikkia, mutta ehkä asteikossa kuitenkin vähän negatiivisen puolelle, kun ei tästä jäänyt mitään käteen.
Interesting start, with a monologue. The music isn't really my thing though at all, like old school American slow swing. Would have given a 1 but that seems harsh cos it's easy to listen to, kinda unique. So, 2/5.
Inoffensive, but very samey all through. I quite liked the introduction idea.
Not my favourite album, And definitely not good to work out too. Found it quite depressing and boring if I’m honest. I’m sure it’s good for lazy Sunday mornings with a coffee when you’re feeling self pity but not for me.
of its time i suppose. the music and instrumentation is mostly just a vehicle for the story so composition is largely ignored. on top of that, the stories were sort of plain and predictable. Ween's golden country greats demonstrates that this genre can be something other than boring but Night Life did not do that for me.
Not bad but not my fave. If I’m going to listen to music like this I’m going to reach for a different album. It’s fine. Don’t love his vibrato.
Old fashioned country. The songs are almost all 3 minutes or under, but due to the pace of the music they feel very long. It doesn't help that the songs mostly sound the same. Not really my thing. Very close to 1 star, but I didn't feel I had to turn off any songs, so 2 stars.
It was rather refreshing to open the album with Ray telling me about the theme and background. It was almost like he was starting a talk at a conference. Unfortunately, this style of country just isn’t my thing. Ray’s theme is dancing songs from their shows around the country. Well, they must have all been slow dances because the pace is sedated. This seems like ideal music for a lazy river ride in the Deep South.
Zzzzzz.... Huh? What's that? What time is it? Shit, I slept through... well, nothing - I'm a teacher on summer break. But good grief, this was dull. A good representation of its style, I suppose, and a style that I like more than some kinds of country music, but too... droning? Monotonous? Dull? I dunno, in my groggy post-nap stupor I'm having trouble coming up with the right words. Willie Nelson, early in his career, played on this album. Willie's a cool dude.
This album was average. I felt myself getting a bit bored as I went through the album. Night Life was good though. 2.5/5 stars.
Country music on an album I did not know. I like the typical sixties sound, but it is not something I would regularly play.
whats this? elvis? frank? it just annoys me somehow, but can´t say it´s really bad
i mean it is country so I don’t like it but honestly it was not the worst thing in the entire world. I didn’t despise it but i just wouldn’t listen to it again.
Never Heard of Ray Price or this album so at first listen my view is he is a cross between Roy Orbison and Jim Reeves and Willie Nelson. So can hear the influence he has had, Like the Willie Nelson written "Nightlife" but the rest is much of a HonkyTonk Muchness. Not one for me I am afraid.
The title track is quite a pleasant surprise, actually. It's a blues-meets-country-and-they-go-to-a-swing-concert type of track, that I quite enjoy. I was hoping the rest of the album would be cut of a similar cloth, but alas! No. ... The rest is run-of-the-mill old style country with cringy lyrics for good measure, and I found myself fast forwarding all the way until the end. *sigh* 2/5
It's definitely something I would never listen to independently so am grateful for being given something different. I was pleasently surprised Willie Nelson was on this as I didn't know he used to be a backing musician. Apart from that fact the album wasn't that interesting to me. Liked the smooth introduction and a few ballads here and there like the title track and Sittin and Thinkin, but nearly fell asleep. I do see it in the backdrop a film set in the 60s or even earlier and would be pleasent in the background of a party.
For the time period, maybe this was pretty good. But very hard to listen to now, and honestly got no enjoyment out of it.
This album lines up with the stereotypes of country music that I was indoctrinated to dislike as a youth. The album has the feel of a honky-tonk meets crooner longue act, which could potentially be enjoyable, if wasn't for the fact that the whole thing is so monotonous and monotoned. For kicks, listen to the first 10 seconds of the tracks 'A Girl in the Night', 'Pride' and 'If She Could See Me Now' respectively, and see if you can figure out which is which. And that's kind of my problem with the whole thing. It's basically the same song, over and over and over again. Heck, the first distinguishing moment I heard in any of these songs didn't come until 1m15s into the 11th track (out of 13). It's like the whole album is just one big song, or that each song is just a shortened version of the whole album. In effect I listened to the whole album 13 times, and that's about 12.5 times more than I ever wish I had.
Zvuči ko da nije bilo dovoljno dobro da završi u falloutu na radiju. Nije da je 2, al nisam se mogo uživit.
I'm already not a huge fan of country music from this era, and this album didn't sway my opinion. I don't think Ray Price did much on this album to define the country genre in the 60s as compared to many of his peers (Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard), and he himself certainly has more country-sounding music out there, so I can only assume this inclusion comes down to him going more country-crooner on this album, which is somewhat unique when compared to most country singers at the time. Not a bad listen, but still not really my thing.
Not a massive country guy but there were some elements that were cool. Wouldn't listen again though.
Not bad but nothing stuck out. Felt like it represented a specific time
Sounds so cliche to me. It has its moments but it’s just too theatrical and exaggerated
Can't decide if this guy is a sad alcoholic or a dick, or both. Didn't listen that closely to the lyrics but those I did hear were not great.
On en peut plus des incapables dans ton genre Ray, et ce n'est certainement pas la présence d'Elvis Costello en tant qu'album suivant que nous allons redresser la barre.
Heureusement qu'il s'agit de Ray Price et non de Ray Charles parce que l'album qui suit est l'œuvre de Costello, et autant vous dire que ce dernier n'aurait pas été tendre avec notre ami timide et recroquevillé sur lui-même. Ray Price s'inscrit dans le genre Bob l'éponge Country à l'instar de Buck Owens et Merde Haggarl ce qui signifie que vous pouvez passer votre chemin. Pour rappel, la Country est objectivement un mauvais style de musique.
Starts off strong with its off-kilter, fourth-wall-breaking intro, but quickly becomes a bit plodding as each track stays firmly within the 60-80 bpm song about heartbreak lane