Search - Killing Joke :: Night Time (Reis)

Diehard fans will want to have this remaster that's differen

Sambson | North Carolina | 07/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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.]"