Night & Day

Joe Jackson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002GE1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,591 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #94 in Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > New Wave

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Having already come close to beating Graham Parker, Elvis Costello, and Louis Jordan at their own games, Joe Jackson made a play for becoming the Cole Porter of his generation with this 1982 collection. Actually that's a bit of a cheap shot, especially considering what a refreshingly innovative album this was. Jackson truly hit his stride with a memorable set that combines new technology and classic songwriting. From the infectious "Chinatown" to the hits "Stepping Out" and "Breaking Us in Two," the album is a showcase for killer hooks wrapped up in shiny keyboards and Latin-tinged percussion. Small wonder that Jackson waited two decades to attempt a sequel. --Bill Forman

Product Description

Universal Deluxe 2 CD edition. Includes the remastered original album on disc one, while the bonus disc features demo's, live tracks and songs he contributed to various films. Beautifully packaged with extensive liner notes. 2003. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Completely botched overpriced reissue of classic album, August 18, 2003

By 

David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night & Day (Dlx) (Dig) (Audio CD)

First off, let me make something clear: The original Night & Day album is a classic, worthy of 5 stars on its own. The review here--more to the point the 2 star rating--is for this particular "deluxe" reissue.

For the "deluxe" series of reissues, started by Universal a few years ago, a formerly single CD album is expanded to two CDs, with the second CD typically filled out some combination of outtakes, b-sides, live tracks or other material that was recorded in the same time-frame as the album. So far, so good. Some of these deluxe reissues has been great, some less so.

This one falls distinctly into the latter catagory. Why? The second CD of bonus material is simply a mugging. The contents of the second CD are as follows: 1) The vocal tracks from the Joe Jackson soundtrack to Mike's Murder; 2) The second side of the 2 LP (2CD) Live 1980/86 set; and 3) demo versions of six of the songs from the album. The Mike's Murder tracks are OK, and it's nice that they are finally available somewhere on CD, but they really don't belong here...they belong on a reissue of the Mike's Murder soundtrack. The second side of 1980/86 is just a waste of time. These tracks were easily available on CD for many years as part of 1980/86. Any serious fan--and anyone buying this expensive set is presumably a serious fan--already has this material.

OK, that brings us to what, for many people, is the real hook: The six demo tracks. I wish I could say that they're great, or that they at least shed some light on the finished album, or that they really bare repeated listening in any way. But they don't. They are too close to the final album versions to be particularly interesting, and all are inferior to the completed album versions. Listen once, then file away.

So in the end, the second CD consists of inessential froth, material available elsewhere, and material that should have been made available elsewhere. It's sucker bait for the hardcore fan. Many of whom will probably bite, but few of whom will be happy they did.

Unless you're a completist, save your money and buy the single CD version instead.

dap

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cancer., March 20, 2000

By 

Jason Stein (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night & Day (Audio CD)

I know that Joe Jackson fans will say that his first cd is his best, but I'd like to review Night and Day. I think that Look Sharp is very very good, but Night and Day has more maturity and finesse to it than does the punk attitude of Look Sharp. Joe Jackson is an amazing musician when you look over his entire catalog of work. I have all of his cds except 1987's Will Power which is out of print. The thing that makes Night and Day so good is the songs. Hits like "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us In Two" are here and great album cuts like "Chinatown", "Into Another World", "Cancer", "Real Men" and "A Slow Song" round out the cd. A solid work with poignant lyrics and classy rhythms. This is a must have for any rock collector. So is Look Sharp (1979). If anyone is wondering whether Joe will return to pop music, you are not alone.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for album, 2 stars for unimaginative bonus tracks, May 22, 2004

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night & Day (Dlx) (Dig) (Audio CD)

The Deluxe Editions from haven't really impressed me all that much. With the exception of Elton John's SACD hybrid "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", most of them have had bonus tracks that could have been added to a single disc reissue at a better price. "Night and Day" is no exception. One of Joe Jackson's seminal, best and most popular albums, the 24 bit remastere sounds terrific. The liner notes are a marked improvement over many of the others in the same series although it appears that most of the info and interviews were drawn from older material.

The problem I have is the bonus tracks. While I appreciate having the demos for much of "Night and Day", there isn't a huge or marked difference between them and the finished product. Occasionally the songs will be in slightly different time signatures with a quicker pulse but they resemble the final versions very closely. I could see reissuing "Night and Day" with the demos but A&M took the lazy way out there with the rest of the bonus tracks.

The second disc (aside from the demos) consists of the songs from the underrated "Mike's Murder" and an entire side of "Live 1980-86". While I appreciate having the "Mike's Murder" tracks, why not include the entire album (including the instrumental material) and, perhaps, material that didn't make the album that might have been recorded vs. having live tracks from a CD that most Joe Jackson fans already own? If you're going to reissue the album, include live tracks from the same year as "Night and Day" that didn't make the album. The reason this wasn't done is because A&M wanted to take the simple, inexpensive way out. It's a pity as this had so much more potential.

Still, the sound on "Night and Day" itself is terrific. If you want all of "Mike's Murder" it's available on the "Joe Jackson Collection" an import that has most of his hits spread over two discs and "Mike's Murder" on a third bonus disc. All three discs are also remastered in 32 bit which means they sound warmer and with slightly better clarity than this CD.