Reviews (page 2 of 8)
I've appreciated this list for exposing me to this sort of album- an old-time classic that I wouldn't otherwise come across. This wasn't world-changing but I enjoyed listening.
4.69
The introduction annoyed me, so I started out not liking this. But after a while I have begrudgingly accepted there are some pretty good songs in there - I could imagine Elvis doing a great job with some of these.
The album is just fine. Low tempo, almost crooning, love songs. Almost an Elvis with a country twang, but not Johnny Cash. Overall decent, no issues with it at all, but nothing that really hit that love.
Heerlijke stem en mooie melodieuze muzie, maar wel super ouderwets en soms echt 'hill-billy' country
It was alright. Most interesting thing was Willie Nelson on bass
I love the voice. Didn’t love most of the songs, but the cover of Willie Nelson’s “Are You Sure” is lovely. I remember that song being in an early episode of LOST and it just sticking with me, so hearing it here again hit me really hard.
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Honestly put me to sleep. I can enjoy sad, crooning music but this dude has no spark. Yawn.
Country is what country is
I mean, I didn’t hate the songs for what they were, but the same I-IV-V progression and walking bass line got real old fast. 38 minutes felt like 108.
7/10 I wonder how it would be different if he made this album about Thekla Thursday nightlife
9/10 = FLAMES!!!!! perfect for me i dont care that its frank sinatra nachos because he reheated and seasoned them with a slide guitar and steel pans(??) always eat up when they talk in songs too so i liked the intro a lot, very of the time but i dont care also i dont think this is very crazyyyyyy country like they're all saying, wish they were all similar tempo to first couple songs
The album cover scared me away from listening to this on a Friday as I was expecting a super-dated Western album. It definitely *is* an old-timey Western album, but inexplicably I didn't hate it! 37 minutes is about as much crooning as I can handle, but this was perfectly fine background music. A bit soothing in its own way. 3.3
Nice album
2.5/5 Favorite Song: Night Life
I'd love to know the selection criteria for this list. I imagine this one got here because someone said, "hey, we need an old-school country crooner. The yanks loved that shit back in the day." This guy is a perfectly servicable old-school country crooner. The thing is, listen to Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson, and you've scratched that itch in a much more satisfying way.
I had to stop halfway through and this is only like 30 minutes.
VORREI ASSISTERE A UNA LIVE PERFORMANCE DI QUESTO ALBUM IN UN LOCALE A RADIATOR SPRINGS CON LA DOLCE COMPAGNIA DI SAETTA MCQUEEN. RESTA CHE L’ALBUM MI HA ROTTO LE PALLE A METÀ. DO 2 PERCHÉ NON È MUSICA BRUTTA. 2/5
Nope
Old school country just does it for me. Totally can see myself I. A honkey tonk listening to music like this
Environmental music, great for hosting drinks at home.
Known as the man who saved country. What a shame that happened and that this was released. Teeth grindingly bad
Interesting voice, a bit crooner overall for me but I think it's kinda cool.
Just such a dull album. Was this really something i _had_ to listen to?
Thought it was Frank Sinatra at first then unexpectedly became country. Not bad though, had a couple saves from this but overall this sound got old pretty quick. It's interesting to hear really early country like this but I just prefer the sound it evolved into once we got into the 80's/90's. 2.5/5
I feel sort of bad for giving this a low score when some of it sounds a bit like Lyle Lovett, who I'd probably give a 5.
I love the Cowboy Ballads version of Country but not this - not enough people being shot or shooting people I guess.
I'm no fan of country music, it's usually bearable at best. This was no different really. I made it all the way through, so it's 2 stars from me.
This album is so aesthetic. It feels like night life at a theater. I love the little intro bit. It just nails its vibe perfectly. Could maybe be a 3 but I’ll give it a 4
Ok but not really my thing, just background noise The intro speech is awful
See review below!
60s country with a slight touch of blues. A bit too country for me - and if I really want that Hank Williams and Johnny Cash are better.
The vibe is great, voice amazing however lots of um reinforced gender roles... Like the whole album is him telling women how they should act rather disparagingly in general. Sure of the time but still the whole album is "that temptress this", "way is that young lady so hot but not wife material", "I've drank too much, time to get my wife back" 1+
Tão gostosinho, tenho umas críticas a algumas letras, porém gostei
очень милый (больше поющих мужчин!) но я не хонки тонк ангел…
generic sad country music
..
Jangly old time country with lots of slide guitar and crooning. I mean if this is your thing, it's not bad. But it's not my thing. 3/5
It's always the ones I am least excited about that surprise me. I was almost going to skip listening, but then the opening track hit me. I do not count the introduction as those do not really do much for me. Somehow the woeful lyrics do not sound as bad with the music behind it all. Ray Prices voice keeps you engaged throughout. It does get a little same-y at points, but again the voice kind makes up for that for me. Biggest Hit - Night Life Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - There's No Fool Like a Young Fool Hidden Gem - The Wild Side of Life
Didn't like this era of country when I was younger. But later, when I started listening to bands like The Flying Burrito Brothers, I realized it came from the great music of folks like Ray Price. This band is phenomenal. Love it.
Как фоновая музыка звучит хорошо, но все песни как одна.
Mid classic country album, not a fan of live albums in general.
Ok but fairly forgettable background music. A bit like 60s lounge music. A bit to slow to dance to at a wedding
4th wall break, then a bunch of mid country western
It was alright. It was pretty mellow music, which for the 60s it fit the crooner sort of vibe, older Western country sound. It was just fine.
Given this is pre Beatles, it’s a pretty good album
Good classic country
Introduction and Theme / Night Life 3.6 Lonely Street 3.2 The Wild Side of Life 3.4 Sittin' and Thinkin' 3.1 The Twenty-Fourth Hour 3.2 A Girl in the Night 3 Pride 3.2 There's No Fool Like a Young Fool 3 If She Could See Me Now 3 Bright Lights and Blond Haired Women 3.3 Are You Sure 3.2 Let Me Talk to You 3.2 Score: 3.2
Okay but not for me
unexpectedly liked this
So many things. This time travels me to the way back when my Dad sang songs like these around the house. Mr Price's vocals remind me of Dean Martin's smooth croons, but the vibrato gets in the way. There is no real country music twang that gives me the ick. And damn, Willie Nelson and Floyd Cramer.
Initial thoughts: Oh, my god. Stop talking. Great voice and strings, but so samey, so sad. I'm cheering for the women out living their best lives.
It's fine I guess. I want to be harsher to it but feel like that's just my bias against country music. Occasionally it was more blues-esque, which I didn't hate, though some songs were bad. If this was in a film soundtrack I wouldn't take notice.
Not my favorite genre but I appreciated the album.
Make me listen to a country music album? If it's this album I'm great with that!
Night Life by Ray Price was a really enjoyable surprise. I lost count of how many times the phrase "honky-tonk" came up while I was listening, so I had to look into it afterwards. It's often described as one of the last great honky-tonk albums before country music shifted towards the smoother Nashville Sound, which makes it quite an interesting record historically. More importantly, it's a genuinely good album. Of all the country and western albums I've listened to during this challenge, this is probably my favourite. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but it's an easy, relaxed listen with plenty of warmth and charm. The songs are well written, Ray Price's voice is excellent throughout, and the whole album has an effortless quality that makes it very easy to return to. It's the sort of record you can happily have playing in the background, but it's also rewarding if you sit down and pay attention. There are no big surprises or dramatic moments, just consistently good songwriting and musicianship from start to finish. It may not reinvent the genre, but it reminds you why this style of country music became so popular in the first place. I'll definitely be listening to it again. Favourite tracks: "Night Life" is a brilliant song and easily the standout for me. Least favourite tracks: There isn't really a weak track here. Every song deserves its place on the album. Album artwork: A fairly standard album cover, but one that perfectly captures the classic country feel of the record.
Good
How sad country this was.
Ridiculously smooth. Just buttery.
This is oddly adorable and pretty bad at the same time.
This was and wasn't an album I enjoyed. If I listened to music like this for too long, I think I would have gotten annoyed. With that being said, his voice helped get me through this album in one piece.
Low 2, I thought about giving it a 1 but I feel like I've grown over the course of this project and this one didn't annoy me enough to justify a 1. I did't especially like it though.
Oei, dit is een ontzettend oud country album! Niet meteen iets waar ik heeeeel gelukkig van word over het algemeen. Wel erg charmant dat hij letterlijk het album rustig gaat introduceren. Heeft wel iets ofzo? Kijk; de zang is echt dikke prima. Heeft een goede zangstem en het album druipt van de sfeer ofzo. Maar dit is gewoon niet helemaal mijn album? ik weet ook niet zo goed wat er aan scheelt, maar ik vind het gewoon al snel een beetje saai. Ik kijk nu al waar ik ben en hoelang ik nog moet en dit is het 3e nummer... Tsja, dit is voor mij gewoon een album met stiekem maar 1 nummer. Geen vervelend nummer, het krijgt ook zeker geen onvoldoende, maar ik haal hier gewoon heel weinig uit. Country, zeker deze hele oude country, is gewoon niet echt mijn genre. Dat moet het dan echt hebben van de charme van de zanger en hoewel Ray een prima zanger is word ik daar nu ook niet echt warm van. Beetje middelmaat dit dus! FAVO: sittin and Thinkin,
7/10
Not my particular jam.
There are times I really want some quality classic country. And I like Ray Price. We listen to entire album of the songs they all start to sound similar.
Honky tonk! I appreciated it, maybe I'll listen to it when I'm down.
I associate country with the more modern twangy stuff. This was different. Vocals not so twangy. Almost more Elvis-y in parts. Still, not my thing. Like, not at all.
I recognized the name but none of the songs were familiar. This was music my grandma would listen to, on the rare occasion she had music playing. I'm not a fan but I'd rather listen to classic honkey tonk than some of the current pop country.
1001 albums to hear before you sleep 164# i guess night life is sleeping. don't understand the appeal to put this on the list, just a really mild country album of mid 60s Kinda see a pattern to not like country albums, which i already knew i'd be going to have a hard time getting into
Very pleasant to listen to
I'm not a fan of country music, but his voice was amazing.
There's something so beautiful in the twangy simplicity of this album. A blast to listen to from start to finish. Odd choice to open with a very direct audience address, but I find it earnestly endearing. Pleasant, accessible, and wastes zero runtime. Top tracks: Night Life, Lonely Street, If She Could See Me Now
Hoo boy, there are so many of these absolute codswallop albums on this Project. They're all done by men with names and complexions that are, if not Ray Price, extremely similar, and they are all thoroughly boring. This one wasn't helped by my, bluntly berserk, choice to listen to it in the gym. That's on me, and I don't think that your friendly local municipal gym is going to be getting many people through the doors with this absolute slab of early country nonsense.
3.5
I had this right to the edge of the three and a half when I listen to this for the '63 dive. This one I'm going to bump it up a little on this listen I think the first half of it is classic it does kind of lose steam at the end. If there was one thing that I didn't like about the album, it's the spoken intro to the album. It makes no sense to me to be on any studio album for any reason (8.15) ★★★★
Very traditional country album. I hate the first track, but the rest is good. 3.5 stars
This is a pretty good classic country album. The cheesy intro song aside, it's pretty solid. Ray can really sing, and he's assembled quite the band here, featuring country music hall-of-famers Floyd Cramer, Buddy Emmons, Johnny Paycheck, and a young bassist named Willie Nelson. 3.5 stars.
A typical country album from the 60s in that it is very boring and hokey. The only interesting thing I could find about this is that if you focus on the singer’s face on the cover it kind of looks like he is getting a double blowie from the dining couple in front. Dining on quite mangled, withered nosh they are. Waiter!
Was going to deduct a star for every use of honky-tonk but ran out. Gains a star for the second half of nightlife and the fiddle + slide players
Frankly? Not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Pretty good, actually. Honky Tonk as a genre is much more pleasant than its stupid fucking name would suggest. This isn’t to say that this album is all hits and no misses, but a beautiful voice, country charm, and a generous helping of pedal steel really does a lot. I could deal without some of the more polished-sounding string arrangements, and the album’s attitude toward women, though certainly not an awful attitude, still finds me put off a bit. And it’s also repetitive. REALLY repetitive. But there’s not a lot more that I can say in the way of this album’s worth. I like it plenty! 7.0/10
I was on-board with this from the off. I don’t really like country (and this is very country) but it was easy listening, and he has a real fine voice. However… I really started to feel it by about track 5 or 6. The whole album sounds exactly the same, and I can’t reward that. Every song has the exact same cadence and style, and it turns it into a bit of a slog instead of a nice listen. 2.5 rounded down.
Thought maybe it would be ok. I didn’t mind his vocals too much, but after a couple tracks I had had my fill.
Ah, such a classic country sound, nice to listen on a sunny day on my way to the grinder. However nothing super special about this either, doesn't seem groundbreaking, definitely not in a way Hank Williams is. So probably 2, at most 3 stars.
Right off the bat, this is a contender for Worst Cover Art. I actually like this, for the novelty value if nothing else. Very honky-tonk old US country music, crooning, reminds me of Hank Williams and Guy Mitchell. Once in a while is OK but I don't want too much of this stuff on the list. Also, all these songs are about how he can't trust his girlfriend and how he doesn't like her (or any woman, or anyone, really) going out drinking or whatever. It's a product of its time, for sure, but I do like it, especially the Introduction where he welcomes you to the album and hopes you enjoy it, it was oddly sweet, like him welcoming you into his home.
Nothing extraordinary about this heartbreak country album. Some hits and some misses
One one hand this sounds like very typical 1960’s cowboy country. Heartbreak, longing, drinking, etc…. Every song kind of sounds the same and has a very similar feel. On the other hand, there’s something deeper here. Deeper songwriting lyrically. On certain tracks he swears off drinking, on others he fully admits that he’s “nobody’s friend” when he is, and that he’ll surely do it again. The hallmarks of a man with addiction, who can “stop any time he wants”, and is drawn to the scenes and people that fuel and influence that addiction. He pines for women yet doesn’t approach, instead wondering about their lives, their motives, making up entire scenarios in his mind rather than having a conversation. It’s as my daughter would say “lowkey” brilliant in a way.
Reading the note I came across the phrase 'Hard Country' and I had to laugh a little. This is soft as butter. Ray has a fine voice and there's some nice slide guitar. Fiddle is horrible, basslines are as exciting as watching paint dry and the utterly predictable chord progressions get tiring pretty quickly.
milquetoast americana.
Solid
Maybe stay in, instead?
At the start of the album, Ray Price asks people to let him know if you enjoyed the album. I won’t be getting my letter writing pad out. For an album about night life, the tone is incredibly melancholic. That’s an emotional balance possible to achieve of course- many such cases of great albums about being sad at a supposedly happy place and/or time- but this sounded like a dull rather than an interesting melancholia. If this was night life in 1960s Texas, I’d turn in for the evening.
Having been exposed to very little country music, I was rather intrigued to hear a traditional honky tonk-style album, but that curiosity factor only lasted until about track three. After the unusual but strangely charming spoken-word intro and the bluesy title track, which did have a bit more quality, every other song here is genuinely virtually indistinguishable. Pretty much every one consists of the following elements with barely any variation: swung brushed drums, walking bass lines, pedal steel guitar countermelodies, rhythm guitar chords, the odd piano fill, and stereotypical lamenting country lyrics and vocals. A real snoozefest of an album.
Very stereotypical honky tonk that didn’t leave a huge impression. I did like the overall sound so can’t knock it too much
2/5
Title track is a bit bluesy, but the rest is standard country getting drunk and pining after the woman you lost.
I liked this better than I expected. This really does sound like a night time album, and it’s way more interesting and engaging than many other country albums I’ve heard. My biggest issue is that all the songs sound really same-y, which can make even a 37 minute album drag in the end.
Average crooning, Elvis impersonating, country fare.
Pretty decent songs, well written. Would I have rather this been Marty Robbins? You betcha.
Lovely, sad honky tonk
A collection of sad cowboy songs with a solid band and an outstanding singer. Not a remarkable album by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're hankering for an album in this vein, you would be hard pressed to find anything better. Main call outs are, again, the pipes on Price and a pretty great blues guitarist that they have playing lead fills on some of the songs.
This feels like the old, slow, honky tonk music I’d expect to be playing in the background of a restaurant at an old western tourist town like Rawhide.
Meh
Good for dinner bgm
Liked the more tropical sounding songs, disliked the more country sounding ones. But damn does Ray Price have a beautiful voice.
Ehhh
#990. It's not bad really, just kind of generic. Oh, and here's me complaining for the too manyeth time that once again we have an artist that we already know one or two songs from, but for some reason a different album without said hits was chosen for this book. 3/5: fine
Very good country album from the sixties with that smoky-room, accessible feeling I’ve been chasing This one’s easy listening. Probably my favorite county album I’ve heard yet
This guy steals your grandma 3/5
Well this is just real nice, ain’t it? Price’s voice is lovely and his songs are real pleasant. Glad to hear this; old school country has some real gems I tend to overlook thanks to whatever the genre’s morphed into. This would go hard on the radio in Fallout.
Brought back memory of a louetta Lynn and Conway Twitty concert I once attended. Not sure i wanted to remember that.
Très peu de saveur ici. Apparemment le Ray Price beat est quelque chose?
Très doux très mimi tellement 60s
Pretty good 3.5/5
Ok album to listen in the background. Nice sounding, pleasant.
Fun old timey honky tonk sound. This is a good album but all the songs lowk sound the same.
4/10 Bonus points because Ray Price has a song in Fallout: New Vegas but overall not my type of music.
Great discovery - solid classic country that I likely never would have stumbled across.
Actually really enjoyable, especially as I don't listen to much country music.
i wish this was more lowkey. he’s a bit too showy as a singer for me. i wish he blended more into the instrumental.
Although I like this kind of classic country/blues/honky-tonk, I’ve heard enough of it on this list that this album didn’t stand out in comparison. The intro set up the album as an intimate, heartfelt experience, and although the music was totally pleasant, it didn’t resonate deeply or leave much of an impact. I’d probably have liked this more earlier in the project. 3
Not my thing ig
I loved the small introduction where he talks directly to us. Because of that I will round up my rating to 2.
i LOVED!
Ernest, heartfelt and charming, but dreary as hell. Night Life has that interesting juxtaposition of a happy, uplifting sound and feel, but woeful lyrics once you start listening a little closer.
Depths of a sorrowful and longing soul. Even though it was drinking hardships away, girl done me wrong, young fool, etc. I was surprised by how it was more blues than country. Mostly avoided "the twang" until track 8 "Pride," the "anguished fiddle" in track 9 "There's No Fool Like a Young Fool" or the slapping bass in track 10, 11, and 12. Okay, so it started with a great blues beginning, but drove into country pastures. It's just needed something about his pickup truck. What miseries did Ray experience to create such a heart wrenching compilation?
Zzzzzzzzzz
I like this album lyrics and instruments the Hawaiian and country vibe but sadly I can't get over his voice its not my vibe but great lyrics 7.7/10
Absolutely awful country tripe
I had absolutely no idea who Ray Price was and what type of music I was going to listen to when starting this album. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of 70 easy listening/crooning/county. I cant quite put my finger on what I dont like about it. Ray has a pleasant voice, the songs aren't challenging or unpleasant... I just find it a bit stale and slightly boring. Its just not for me. (1.500)
The song Night Life was the first country song I loved that wasn't outlaw country. Favorite tracks: Night Life, If She Could See Me Now, The Wild Side of Life
1960s country music. released on columbia records, this record eventually got to the #1 spot on the billboard country charts. the "night life" title is true; this is definitely music made less for mornings and more for evenings. 1001 really insists on me listening to more country time and time again, i wish i had more to say about this kind of music but i don't have much. sittin' at the bar, having a drink, thinking about achy-breaky relationships... more of the same. i'll admit that this guy has a very handsome singing voice. between all the other country singers, this guy has a very good voice to listen to. the album production is quite polished. after all this time, it's still not a genre i favor much if at all, but you know, even with me being picky, i can truthfully say that between all the other old country albums in the 1001 collection, this one was a bit more favorable to me compared to some of the others.
Not my cup of tea
This is another album that I could totally tell what it was going to be by its cover. The intro and theme was just that, an introduction. The title track was nice to listen to, not my style of music in the slightest, but it was nice enough. Lonely street had a nice steady backbeat to it which I appreciated. I quite liked the lyrics as well. The wild side of life was actually quite fun to listen to. I didn’t really think too much about Sittin and Thinking, but I thought it was fine. The twenty fourth hour had some gorgeous strings in it! I thought this track was overall quite great. I liked the storytelling of a girl in the night. I liked the drumming in Pride. There’s no fool like a young fool has some great lyrics. I like how a lot of these tracks don’t overstay their welcome. They have some good ideas, present them, and then it’s on to the next. If she could see me now was a great example of this. Bright lights and blonde hair was the opposite of what I thought it would be! Are you sure’s melody actually reminded me of you are my sunshine in a couple places. To end it off, Let me talk to you was fantastic. I think it was the perfect end to this album. Not my style, but 4/5 ⭐️ nonetheless. 171/1089
Not bad
I saw other reviews calling this "pleasant" and that just about sums up my feelings. I enjoyed it for what it was but not something I'd seek out again. The title track is the stand out, got a great bluesy vibe, if that kept up throughout the whole album I think I would have enjoyed it more. 2.75* rounded up to 3*
Started out ok but got quite samey, quite quickly. Nice enough but really bland overall, and one I'll forget about in no time. 2.5/5
Not for me
Surprisingly good
Hmmm... f**k it, let's give 3 stars because the album cover made me do a double take.
Kopfschüttel! Kitsch vom Allerfeinsten!
Didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Not sure I needed to hear it before I die, but glad I did.
Strange choice. Ray price isn’t as important as say robert Johnson. Let alone hank Williams or Dolly Parton or George Jones. Or about 50 others. He’s not unimportant. But not 1000 albums important.
While well aware of Ray's work, the hits, I've never listened to this album. It is a thing of beauty, an extraordinary piece of understated c and w, probably a turning point towards Nashville. It looks both back and forward, good grief it is a template for so much to come. I got about half way through and thought, no I need to reset because of the familiarity of the songs. I tried to get into the place where this is not over familiar. Other than the strings, this is just the boys, Floyd, Willie on bass and playing bass that sounds like Willie, Johnny Paycheck, and they deliver a superb sublime backing. And Ray's voice is just stunning, beautiful, probably only Glen Campbell comes close to him for the evocation of emotion in c and w. I know so much of what comes after this becomes tired, but here in 1963 good gosh a mighty this is an extraordinary piece of music. One of the best ever on this list.
This is the platonic ideal of a weeping-in-your-beer, honky-tonk heartbreak country album. The songwriting is exquisite, the playing tastefully perfect, and his voice is immaculate. Unfortunately, this has become a generic cliche over the last 65 years (although that's not Ray's fault). I would happily listen again. 3.5 stars, rounding up for 'Night Life', which is an amazing song. Willie Nelson could really write a great tune....
This is some sad-ass country music, and I wished I loved it more. My issue is that somehow so many of the songs sound the same. Every song basically has the almost the same tempo and backing guitar strum. Best Songs: Night Life, The Twenty-Fourth Hour, Pride Worst Songs: Are You Sure
Ray Price has an amazing crooner's voice and that helps lift Night Life up, but it's just not enough to save it from a boring tracklist. There are a few highlights, especially the title track, but most of these songs are slow jams to get couples on the honkytonk dance floor. It's fine at first but the slow tempo tends to make Night Life a sleepy chore to get through. I love a good honkytonk record but you need to balance the slow dancers with some rabble-rousers to make it work.
Perfectly pleasant country please and thank you. Obviously very dated lyrics but you can hear the wide variety of acts that followed this to greater heights.
I really enjoyed this one. Willie on the bass! If only modern country still sounded like this.
The intro sets such a good mood for this album. It’s like having a personal little country set in your living room
This has caught me in the right frame, as I am tapping along to songs and tunes I have never heard before, as a slide and fiddle can do that for me. 1. Lonely Street 2. A Girl In The Night 3.
Wow, what an enjoyable experience that was. I love this album and I've never heard of it before. Ray's voice is so crisp and easy to listen to and the backing band is the perfect compliment. I get chills every time that steel guitar starts playing and the fiddle so expertly included. This is not his best album, but it's way up there. I'll give it an 8/10 and I'm definitely going to try and find this album for record player.
Dosada živa, kao nije to loše, ali brate tko to može slušati u komadu. 2/5, 3/10
east texas, honky-tonk, moody concept album about the night life. makes me think of a small town that has winded down, buzzing street lamps, an old gas station
Man today’s album would’ve gone so hard at The Ol’ Tulsa Saloon! After the intro and first song I was cautiously optimistic - the introduction caught me off guard, and the slow guitar solo in the first real song was surprisingly interesting…but the rest of the songs did nothing for me. A 3.5/10 for me today
Decent enough, but won't be revisiting this one.
An incredible range of topics on here, from drinkin' to bein' lonely to drinkin' because you're lonely
This album decides to explain itself with a spoken word intro, but there's not much worth explaining throughout its short runtime. It manages to succesfully create that nocturnal atmosphere a couple of times, but the concept is quickly abandoned and all that's left is a pretty standard set of country tunes that does little to make itself stand out. It's not bad, but I doubt I'll come back to it any time soon. I really enjoyed the title track, at least.
"me and the Cherokee cowboys are knocking on your record player once more..." Well, you didn't have to🤔
Can you imagine being the couple on the cover? You’re out for a fun, romantic night on the town, and some maudlin cowboy turns up to tell you how lonely he is and why all women who go to bars are slags. There is a certain old-timey charm to it, but I wouldn’t want to actually sample Ray Price’s Night Life.
We meet again, Country Music. At least it's the only subgenre of Country I find remotely interesting. Unfortunately, my interest quickly trailed off because of the boring music, simple minded lyrics, and generic singing. At least it's not modern day Nazi Country music. Can we call it a truce, Country Fans, and agree to a two-star rating? Favorite Track: "Introduction And Theme/Night Life".
I love classic country and I enjoyed this enough to listen to old school country for the whole rest of the day! I don't think it was anything mind blowing about this specific record but I love the era and I love the songwriting. Plus you can't hate anything with as much stellar pedal steel as this.
I mean it isn’t bad it’s just unmodern. 4/10
L'intro est top Le fait qu'il annonce que c'est pas spécialement ce qu'ils font d'habitude est top Il a l'air hyper sincère c'est beau
Ça commençait très bien avec l'intro style concept album, mais après c’est juste un album des années 60... Playlist pick : Night Life
Gotta love the old country crooners. His voice, especially on the back half of this album, is just mellifluous. That is one crazy vibrato he's got going on. Enjoy the earnestness.
I think what i love most about 1001 album generator is to see all of these vastly different album covers. They dont take so much space in spotify and usually its minimized so you hardly ever notice them. The first track is an introduction, which is interesting. Not your usual most recognizable track. But basically crony type of music.
That's the typ of music I imagine is played in Hawaii all the time
Pleasant country album. Didn't knock my socks off.
This is very close to a classic – a single, perfect mood established immediately and not broken for close to forty minutes. These old Nashville Sound guys sure knew what they were doing. Best track: “Night Life”
Entertaining early cowboy music.
This was actually quite good. Old timey country-ish listen.
Its a cool album but maybe sounds too oldies for me.
Yet another selection that could have been excluded. It felt like a blues meets country vibe Ray has going. He's got a nice voice but it's not all that compelling and there's nothing cutting edge for 1963 that separates this album from the pack. The songs are all nice, a tad heavy on slide guitar and violin/fiddle, but they're all nearly the same sound and tempo. It got boring fast. Nothing really stood out. I enjoyed parts of it, but got tired of nearly every song before it was over. Highlight was easily the title song. 3 stars, but closer to 2.5. It just lacked imagination and variety.
Ray Price’s voice is really nice but the songs were very repetitive and the instrumental music sounded like SpongeBob
This album was ok.
interesting old timey sound but no sinatra, 3/5
🥃
This dude parties hard and sad
If we're going in on this sort of thing, I'll take Tom Waits
Just seeing the album cover and listening to this album teleported me to a specific time and place. I can smell the cigarette smoke, hear the audience clap, and see couples huddled over candlelit tables inside a little music club. Really enjoyed this one.
Bury me in this Honky Tonk Just a bonus that Willie Nelson is in the backup band.
teardrop seasoned budweiser
Favorite Song: The Wild Side of Life
Meh. Do not care for country. It's better than new modern pop country though.
Raylla on levylle varmaan joku Hinta. Jos olisin hirvaskankaalla, huutokauppahuijarin huutokaupassa, ja tämä levy olisi siellä myynnissä, en huutaisi. Vaikka itse Mäkkaiveri-Markku olisi tuunannut levystä linnunpöntön.
Ei ollu ehkä freesein albumi, mielenkiintosta lyriikkaa ollu ns. vanhoina hyvinä aikoina. Näitäkin levyjä ja artisteja tuntuu olevan läjäpäin, Elvistä edeltäviä tai lainaavia kantri/rock, mitä ikinä. Tulipahan kuunneltua, ei ärsyttäny, mutta tuskin tarvii enempää.
Also good background music
THis is probably my favorite of the albums we have had for this era of music. I found it to be really lively and clean. It did the whole "crooning" thing perfectly. Favorite tracks: A Girl in the Night Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women
The Night Life Ain't No Good Life 1001 Albums Generator 300 (5/27/2026) Night Life is a very lonely album. Ray Price's baritone voice and the orchestration, along with the slide guitar, exudes exactly the kind of late night vibe that he was going for. Unfortunately, there's not much here in terms of the substance of the music, and nothing really grabs at my attention or sticks in my brain long. A pleasant listening experience, but there aren't many songs I see myself coming back to. 2/5. Favs: Night Life The Twenty-Fourth Hour If She Could See Me Now Least Fav: Introduction and Theme
5/10 It sounds so dated now, it is hard for me to judge it. I don't particularly like it - it is so very C&W, but like all C&W, it reminds me of my Grandad, and that I like.
Music to listen to while drinking away your sorrows at a bar.
Honestly this was so pleasant and a great use of 40 minutes. That being said, damn it's simple and repetitive. Some nice pipes and decent storytelling, and not a lot else to write home about Fave tracks: - Night Life - The Twenty-Fourth Hour - There's No Fool Like A Young Fool - Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women
01) Introduction and Theme - 1,0 02) Night Life - 7,5 03) Lonely Street - 7,0 04) The Wild Side of Life - 6,5 05) Sittin' and Thinkin' - 6,5 06) The Twenty-Fourth Hour - 6,5 07) A Girl in the Night - 6,5 08) Pride - 6,5 09) There's No Fool Like a Young Fool - 6,5 10) If She Could See Me Now - 6,5 11) Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women - 6,5 12) Are You Sure - 6,0 13) Let Me Talk to You - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,15 (62/100) Current ranking: 691/923
M gusto, me hace acordar a elvis en algunas canciones cuando suena alguna medio blues. Un álbum muy tranquilo medio country que m
Awful country music. The stylistic similarity to Elvis Presley doesn't make it any better. He made some terrible music too. 2/6
An 8/10. Honestly, I thought this was really good, especially since I had never listened to it before. I even added a few songs to my cooking playlist haha, that says a lot. A really good album
I can dig some sad country music, but I couldn’t latch on to any of this one.
Un buen disco de Country antiguo, con producción típica de los '60s. La voz de Price es lo que más destaca de todo el trabajo, ya que las composiciones son bastante estándar y las letras para nada rupturistas. Creo que me llama la atención saber qué era lo que dominaba el panorama musical estadounidense antes de la inevitable llegada de The Beatles. Si bien es un buen LP, que emana tristeza y desencanto del artista y el mundo del entretenimiento; en su totalidad no llega a ser mejor que trabajos anteriores de artistas (que en mi opinión son mejores al momento de interpretar) como los Everly Brothers o el mismísimo Roy Orbison. Pistas destacadas Lonely Street The Wide Side of Life Sittin' and Thinkin' Pride There's no Fool like a Young Fool Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women
Ray Price or Len Houmous. I know who I’d choose to play and my grandsons baptism. 2.4 2/13 Night Life
My beer has been successfully cried in.
I always thought “Night Life” was an R&B song. That and “Honkey Tonk Angels” were the highlights of this fairly pedestrian album. I added the title track to my playlist.
this one has a cute introduction. wiki article describes this as honky tonk which is a genre ive only heard in name. the walking bassline and violin are super cute together highlights: none. i liked listening to it, but its old country blues, which i dont feel too strongly about.
2.5/5. Some very standard Honkey Tonk ballads of heartbreak. There is nothing offensively bad about it, but also there’s so many artists and albums that do this sound way better that you could be listening to instead. I left this one not really feeling much of anything, it’s the album equivalent to unseasoned chicken and rice.
Ray Price – Night Life (1963) After an undeservedly long listening session, this was great, but to me, it wasn’t the revolutionary project they say it is. The performance itself was great, but it really would have done it for me if it had just stuck to its country roots instead of trying so hard to be pop. A decent 3/5.
Album #94, Ray Price, Night Life, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I think I gave k.d. lang’s Shadowland a fairly rough review a couple of weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure what I disliked so much about that record, but I remember saying that I hoped there’d be a better representation of honky tonk on the list. I wasn’t waiting very long to find it. This is just a really conceptually sound record. It’s a pretty standard honky tonk country affair on paper, but because it’s so thematically focused, it really holds itself together. All the songs revolve around loneliness, drinking, heartbreak, and staying out all night. It’s just exceptionally well curated. The real star of the show is Ray Price’s voice. He has the perfect voice for this genre. I genuinely wouldn’t change a note. It’s soulful, mournful, warm, deep and versatile all at once. He’s backed by a brilliant band as well, including Willie Nelson on bass, who also provides some really beautiful backing vocals. Their harmonies together are honestly some of the highlights of the whole album. I just loved the atmosphere and mood of the whole thing. I listened to it first thing in the morning while playing with my toddler on the floor, which probably isn’t the ideal setting for this kind of music. This is definitely more of a late night, tears in your beers kind of record. But even in that setting, it still completely worked for me. Really, really enjoyed it. I feel like I’m absolutely swimming in country and honky tonk music on this list at the moment, but this was a really welcome listen today. That being said, I would absolutely love a change of pace now. Give me some filthy, dirty electronica album next. Something nasty. That’s what I’m hoping for.
Cute
😐 Thankfully, the album was brief, but it felt like one long song—in which case, it’s longer than 'Atom Heart Mother (Suite).
This was some pretty middle-of-the-road old school American country. I’d never heard of Ray Price before. I’m content with listening to him once and probably never again in the future.
mixing was strange for the first couple of songs, but i liked his voice. not sure how i felt about the fourth wall break in the beginning of the album. 3/5
It’s fine
This ranks right up there with bluegrass and opera as what the feds will blast outside my house to get me to scream “MAKE IT STOP!” and end the standoff.
While I appreciate the steel guitar and fiddle, honky tonk is not a genre I listen to often. The songs started to blend. BB Kings version of Night Life fits better with music taste.
I just could not get into this. I'm sure it's fine if you like this style of music, but it put me to sleep - multiple times
All around seems pretty generic to me, far from the most interesting country album I've ever heard. Honestly I really feel like I have nothing to say about this album or contribute to the discourse in any way because I just found it that uninteresting. I definitely didn't hate it but it just completely failed to hold my attention in any meaningful way. Maybe other people who appreciate this kind of thing would be able to see that it's actually something special, but as far as I'm concerned I wouldn't even entertain calling this essential listening.
Actually a solid listen, would definitely listen to more as background music.
Enjoyed this more than I expected to.
Every song is about looking at or being looked at by women. 5/10
It’s a four for the culture. Not my type of music, but great tunes
Early 1960s twang. Kind of sweet.
This album is supposedly a tight 37 minutes but it felt endless. Every song after the intro sounds identical. This is supposed to be one of the best 1001 albums? I’m so upset one spot was wasted on this monotonous honky-tonk crooning.
Ray is loving his life
2.5
A bit old school for my taste but pleasant enough
No. 401/1001 Introduction and Theme NR Night Life 3/5 Lonely Street 3/5 The Wild Side of Life 3/5 Sittin' and Thinkin' 2/5 The Twenty-Fourth Hour 3/5 A Girl in the Night 3/5 Pride 3/5 There's No Fool Like a Young Fool 3/5 If She Could See Me Now 3/5 Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women 3/5 Are You Sure 2/5 Let Me Talk to You 3/5 Average: 2,83 Not much to say about this one. Compared to contemporary artist he was a bit stuck in the past.
so tragic. so solid.
A reasonably enjoyable country album.
Perfectly pleasant, if bland, country!
Ray Price spins out his yarns in honky-tonk country style. His voice is gorgeous and I love the idea of having an introduction at the beginning of the album, connecting with his audience and thanking them for supporting his music. It's not my style and I doubt I'll listen to the album again, but the tales were engaging and it was an interesting album from an artist I was unaware of. A low 3 stars.
a lovely album for the time.
K-Rose San Andreas Radio
This album features a spoken introduction from Mr Ray Price himself promising “songs of happiness, sadness, heartbreak.” To be honest, this is mainly about the latter two emotions featuring late night honky tonks, lonesome streets and ending up in jail because you drank a whole bottle of gin. Again. Musically, this has its roots in the Western Swing sound with fiddles handing off to gorgeous sounding pedal steel guitars and back again, with solid double bass and drums keeping the tempo going. Ray Price has a mighty fine singing voice holding everything together. Going back to the intro, Ray urges fans to get in touch and let the band know if you enjoyed the record. Well, I certainly did! Honky Tonk-tastic!
Muy buen blue y poco conocido
Приємний різновид кантрі. Дуже чілово і насправді більш естрадно, особливо у вокалі, ніж класичне кантрі. Я собі альбом зберіг, Мені здається, що у нього є потенціал, щоб іноді на фон ввечері включати. Не знаю, чи на другий раз в мене не зміниться думка. Зараз це 3.5.
Нічого не очікував, але загалом навіть сподобалось. Таке кантрі я можу слухати і назва добре відповідає цій музиці - щось таке вечірнє, розслаблене.
Presumably historically significant but as a listening experience it's fairly dull 2.5*
Just some lovely easy listening
Never heard of Ray Price Never heard Night Life This had me interested from the first spin. Not traditionally a country fan, but the vocals and arrangement just hit. Lyrics are a bit repetitive, but this was a great listen .
I’m fairly indifferent to this album. It wasn’t remarkable; but it wasn’t terrible either.
The Good: Finally an album about what we do at night! The Bad: Finding out that our parents find out what we do at night… The Ugly: Well, the getting caught part… When the intro portion to this album started, I was all like “hey, that’s the song which BB King and Willie Nelson recorded together!!!” and then someone stats talking over it… Was this a bad album? No Is this something that I am placing on my frequent rotation? No I have to say that Mr Price at times was confusing the hell out of me, as he sounds a little too close to The King—Not BB, the Elvis kind… It’s all nice and such, but also too, I don’t know, repetitive? Anyway, I will give the album 3* and leave it at that...
Almost every song starts the exact same way. Then the song sounds the same as the previous song. It’s not actively bad, but the staggering lack of variety in the song structure means that you can listen to three tracks and get pretty much the same experience.
Crooner country! Really pleasant.
Decent twang infused white people pop from the early 60s. Doesn't go as deep on any end as I would've liked, but still enjoyable.
This is just not my kind of thing at all. Honky Tonk music that feels part lecture and part sad drunk guy music
Me encantó :D
Frank Sinatra + Hank Williams. Sometimes, the sum of the parts do not equal the parts individually, but the parts still make a pretty good album.
Country is at its best when it’s least like country, and that’s where this album starts. It gets worse as it goes on, but at least it never got unlistenable
actually loved every minute of this
Started out pretty sweet but plateaued immediately. The first song made me have high hopes but the rest was unremarkable
Sad crooner stuff. Not crazy about it for the most part. Check out Mark Lanegan’s rendition of “Lonely Street”, though.
Dude's got a nice voice, but I don't think this music is relevant to anyone under eighty years old.
Rubbish
This is #day625 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to the second country record in a row. This one does have its moments, though. I kind of don't mind the jazz-leaning touches (at least compared to some of the more straight-ahead country on this list), and there's a nice Saturday night feel to it. Still, it's country. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day626.
Heard Before? Nope. Notes: - the awkward and ridiculous intro narration got me instantly. - production very typical of its time, with strong stereo separation, muddy drums, weird low end and vocals so loud they peak. the studio must have just bought a big expensive plate reverb, because they use it on EVERYTHING. i choose to find this all charming rather than irritating. - arrangements are simple and effective. they unequivocally sound like a dance band hustled from the nearest honky-tonk into the studio to capitalize on recent success. - for better and worse, an extremely narrow songwriting formula. but with certain genre conventions i feel if you are going to lean in, you may as well fall in. - songs and album are the perfect length. Verdict: I've never wanted a Nudie suit more than I do right at this moment. Listen Again? Maybe? Or maybe I'll listen to yet another of the many very similar country albums of the era. I love this, but it's not exactly a singular achievement.
Good
Langweilig
Tatsächlich ganz angenehm, aber extrem homogen, um nicht zu sagen monoton.
4.6/5 to me. Its not a 5/5 only because i think some song are very similar, especially in metric, but excellent album, really love it.
Not too long ago had to listen to Buck Owens. Not great but at least more relevant than this. Spongebob also didn’t help
I think there are better examples of country albums from the timeframe that could be included. This just seems like the same song over and over. It is well executed, except for the weird intro, but is not for me.
Yeah, this is cool. Lounge lizard country. Crooner country. A story. A tale.
🎸🤠👢🐮😭
This is a great album. Beautiful songs, beautiful steel guitar, and Ray Price has a beautiful voice. A lovely cozy listen.
intersting I liked it
i don't really know why this is on here. aside from two songs, "the wild side of life" and "are you sure", this album is a total snooze fest. every song is the same meter, mostly the same instrumentation, same key, same 2:25 in length. it's the epitome of easy listening music, which is the epitome of music that bores the ever living shit out of me. save for the two songs i mention above, this would be a 0 star album for me.
I already know one Ray Price song. So it’s kinda like I know them all.
Interesting but not really one for me. I'm willing to believe it's influential or historically important, but not the type of country I enjoy
Introduction and theme - na Night life - 4 Lonely street - 3 The wild side of life - 3 Sittin' and thinkin' - 3 The twenty-fourth hour - 3 A girl in the night - 3 Pride - 3 There's no fool like a young fool - 3 If she could see me now - 3 Bright lights and blonde haired women - 3 Are you sure - 3 Let me talk to you - 3
Dude had a great voice. Band was pretty good too.
I am not sure I have ever had someone be so kind as to invite me into their record before. I sure did appreciate it. A nice straightforward old timey country album (which is the only country I can take). Not sure essential but enjoyabe nonetheless.
Loved this! Amazing oldies album!
Don’t know why white poeple stopped making this type of country, songs that where short and sweet. I enjoyed this more than I though this would give me the energy of like live playing in bar, bar is almost empty type of thing
Country
Not too much to say here. Its just a decent country record. Its not really my prefered type of country but its ok. A little too melodramatic or performative. It doesnt feel super natural i guess. But I think thats what its going for. This is a shoe you see late night in a lounge or something like it. The concept isnt bad. Its just not my thing I guess. Not all that into the singing or instrumentals. Don't hate it either. Its just OK. My favorite song is bright lights and blonde haired women. Iy gives off the most energy and i appreciate that in such a mellow and sleepy production. I wasn't let down or disappointed just not all that enamored with it either. Just OK in the end
Great classic country sound that was ideal for a night time drive. The pedal steel oozes out. However, the lack of variety in the songwriting and obsession with judging the woes of country women gets a little tiresome by the time you get to the 2nd half.
I appreciate a good drinking tune, but these were just meh.
My first real dive into Ray Price. Amazing voice, big and piercing. Title track is an all-time great honky-tonk anthem. "Lonely Street" is a master class in the plodding, heavy-footed honky-tonk rhythm.
This was great, true country and honky tonkin' and a bit of a concept album. High 3s
Galan
No va
Not really mindblowing, but some nice country.
Ok, it's a country album. I like listening to 2-3 songs. But after that it simply is boring.
Better than Coldplay
Look, this was slightly more charming than it had any right to be - mostly for the presentation. Otherwise it was crookin' country, with terrible patronising and cheesy references. Which means I still can't bear to give it more than 2. But well done for tryin'.
This was some pretty slow crooning to country backing tracks. The opening monologue didn't feel me with hope. It was like listening to what I assume they put on in American bars at 4am when only the really serious drunks are still there nursing their 4th bud light questioning their life choices. For some reason one of the songs later on sounded like it was suggesting all those people were lame. I dunno, I wasn't listening enough by then. There was a track lonely street, which reminded me of the track broken down angel by Nazareth. Reminding me of that is the best thing that this album gave me.
Music goes here to die.
Love me some old country music
The
I don’t think crooner country is a very good genre. Something about the two styles just clashes in a way that isn’t interesting or something greater than the two parts. The musicians were good on this album, and Ray Price has a nice enough voice, but it didn’t sway me. I did enjoy getting a personal greeting at the top of the album though. I do like the idea of the artists talking you through the intent of the music before you hear it. Maybe that is the importance of this album.
Found it whiny with a sad sack, poor me vibe. Odd how this works with many country artists but this album just grated on my nerves. Just didn’t relate to Ray Price’s the “aw shucks”, we sure are humble sell.
Don't think I've ever had an album introduce itself before. I did not enjoy this album. I've never been a fan of "crooner" style music, and you mix that with country - another genre I only enjoy very specific parts of - and you've got an album that's just not for me.
not bad
Even too much country for me
Classy and pleasant but I feel a bit sleepy 2.5
I listened to this on the Autobahn ane it just wasn't a vibe
Amazing
Do yourself a favour and switch this to mono if you can, the stereo version is a pain The steel guitar is fantastic and it's always great to see a Nudie suit Very nice voice but overall feels dated considering Elvis had been around for a good while
My first thought was this sounds like Willie Nelson. So I wasn't surprised to learn that he played on it. It's ok but a bit dull and repetitive. I think this is one of those albums that i don't really like but appreciate it's influence.
I really like the aesthetic of the title track. it gives me fallout vibes. So even though I haven't heard this before it strikes a chord with my love for the lonely lounge/bar aesthetic I really like this but I wouldn't say it is revolutionary or culturally ground breaking.