Night Time (Reis) [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Killing Joke | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 5, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Caroline
• ASIN: B000VWWSCA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,831 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2008 digitally remastered and expanded edition of this classic album by British Post-Punk legends featuring nine bonus tracks. With frontman Jaz Coleman's intense persona and the band's edgy yet atmospheric wall of sound, Killing Joke always stood out amongst their contemporaries. Night Time was originally released in 1985 and features the hits 'Love Like Blood' and 'Eighties'. Bonus tracks include four tracks from a Kid Jensen Session, the non-album tracks 'A New Day' and 'The Madding Crowd' plus mixes of 'Blue Feather', 'Love Like Blood' and 'Kings And Queens'. Virgin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diehard fans will want to have this remaster that's different enough., July 1, 2008

By 

Sambson (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Time (Reis) (Audio CD)

Alright I'm listening to the bonus tracks as I write this, mainly in response to people who're claiming there's no point in adding them. The Kid Jensen version of "Eighties" is auditorily and structurally entirely different than the album version. On the KJ version the guitars only sound double tracked, rather than the album quadruple track, the guitar effect is much milder with a completely different pan ratio; on top of it being a different mix, and not having made it to the mastering process. And folks; I've only addressed the guitar sound. The KJ version is shorter because it is an entirely different recording of the song. He doesn't sing the ending the same (even laughing on the transition back after the guitar solo, where he sings a rather long 'Ahhhhhhh' on the official version), and the band end it cold rather than the fadeout we're used to hearing. The drum, bass and backing vocals are sonically completely different than the album version; with drums sounding like he's not even playing a snare (only toms & cymbals), the backing vocals are ethereal and spaced out, rather than pronounced distinct voices and the bass is so thin you'd think he was playing one of those crappy Kramer basses that were so ubiquitous in the '80s' (no pun intended). There's also the odd sample when all the instruments come in after the guitar intro, that could either be a percussion sample from the drums or the keyboard. The KJ version is way more like a great demo than a professional recording; perhaps why this wasn't the album session, No? Not to mention that you're getting several previously unreleased tracks (New Culture, All Play Rebel), several obscure B-sides (Blue Feather, A New Day & The Madding Crowd) as well as the alternate mixes (Eighties, Love Like Blood, Kings And Queens). Those of you who expected 37:24 of groundbreaking material that would turn NIGHT TIME into a miraculously different album will be disappointed. Those who're bigger fans of their chaotic raw material won't like the remaster anymore than the original release. Anyone who's just using NIGHT TIME as a divider between their Echo & The Bunnymen and Midnight Oil collections doesn't need to purchase this either. But people who're serious Killing Joke fans, that enjoy their commercial side, as much as their extremities, will want to have this remaster. Five stars for the product (style is a personal taste issue). [PS - Love Like Blood Gestalt Mix is much less lush, with a crisp and crunchy maximum gating effect all over it, keyboards mixed to the back, as well as dubby dropouts at the 2:00 mark, the 3:00 where they drop the entire first half of the chorus, and the 4:10 vocal dropout till the end. And for the record, Geordie's Dub of Kings And Queens is actually longer than the original; has a different intro (more like what you'd hear them play live, than the pitched down drums of the original) and plenty of hot new flanging phase on the guitar choruses, more prominent keyboards (which echo out the ending rather than a cold drum ending) and a post-guitar solo dub dropout. Different enough to own.]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Album of the 80s, April 5, 2011

By 

Dave (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Time (Reis) (Audio CD)

When I first heard Eighties on the new wave radio station way back when this came out I was hooked. I rushed out and bought this album and later got all their domestic and import releases I could get my hands on. This band was totally unique and played with an intensity that no other band could match. It wasn't punk (some of their earlier stuff is moreso), it wasn't heavy metal (some of their later stuff comes closer to this category), it wasn't new wave (they'd do that in the next couple albums and it almost destroyed the group), it was just plain cool. This album creates a creepy goose bump inducing vibe throughout. Its a brilliant combination of Geordie's crunching guitar (a completely different sound than anything else going on at the time), some really haunting keyboards in the background and Jaz Coleman's unique doom and gloom yet intelligent and thought provoking approach to vocals. The bass and drums are rock solid. They're not trying to play as fast and loud as they can, they keep it spare with a very cool and spooky effect. There have been other artists who try to create a sort of horror movie gloomy vibe with their music (mostly goth and metal and most of it cartoonish a la Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper) but this is the best that's ever been made and totally unique. Night Time was my favorite as a teenager when it came out and almost 30 years later, I'm a middle aged guy with a kid and a mortgage and I still get a huge thrill out of putting on the headphones and cranking up songs like Darkness Before Dawn, Love Like Blood and Kings and Queens. You can't blame Nirvana for ripping off Eighties, its one of the great rock songs of all time. This version is cleaned up and with a ton of extras, just a great bargain. Way ahead of its time and it has never aged at all (unlike virtually all music from the 80s), Night Time is one of the 5 best rock albums of all time in my book. Even the album cover still looks great all these years later.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative and Primal!, May 9, 2010

By 

Nadine (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Time (Reis) (Audio CD)

This album contains some of the most powerful and mesmerizing music that I have ever experienced. Killing Joke were/are so influential, unique and fit into a category all of their own. They are the sound of our throbbing, tribal heart, the soul of the warrior and the cry of the masses. Paul Ferguson drummed this group into the ethers, and I will always be grateful for the conviction and potent vigor that they imbued their music with. It never ceases to animate my spirit and strengthen me. It hearkens back to an atavistic beat of the collective human soul. These bards are timeless! Thank you a million times over, Killing Joke!