''The Night'' is the fifth and final studio album by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

, released in 2000 via

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

. The album expands the band's sound beyond their usual arrangements of previous albums (bass, saxophone and drums), introducing acoustic guitars, organs, strings and female backing vocals. The album peaked at No. 137 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Production

Jerome Deupree Jerome Deupree (born November 9, 1956) is an American musician, based in Massachusetts. He is best known as the original drummer in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early career Deupree started playing drums at the age of six, with the hel ...

, the band's original drummer, who had previously quit due to health problems, rejoined as a guest playing alongside Billy Conway, according to credits listed in the CD booklet, thus making ''The Night'' Morphine's first album recorded as a quartet rather than a trio. Recording sessions for the album were completed shortly before the sudden July 1999 death of bass player and lead singer

Mark Sandman Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

; Conway and saxophonist

Dana Colley Dana Colley (born October 17, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the baritone and tenor saxophonist in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early life Colley was born in Portland, Maine, but he was raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, wh ...

oversaw the final mixing process. The band spent two years working on the album in Sandman's

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

home studio.

Critical reception

The Pitch The Pitch may refer to: * "The Pitch" (''Seinfeld'') * ''The Pitch'' (TV series), an AMC original series * ''The Pitch'' (podcast), an American podcast * ''The Pitch'' (newspaper), a newspaper in Kansas City * A segment in ''The Gruen Transfer ...

'' wrote that "it’s not a romantic exaggeration to say that this album is the trio’s most sensuous, satisfying recording, finally delivering on the diverting-but-two-dimensional original notion of what Sandman termed 'low rock' ... ''The Night'' is the first time in ages a posthumous release has made noise from beyond the grave that doesn’t sound like a cash register." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote that "the tone may be dour due to the singer’s sudden death, but the music is the most fully realized and finely textured Morphine ever mustered." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' called the album "a slow, grinding burlesque that hovers tentatively between testifying to above and wallowing down below."

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Sandman. # "The Night" – 4:50 # "So Many Ways" – 4:01 # "Souvenir" – 4:40 # "Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer" – 5:44 # "Like a Mirror" – 5:26 # "A Good Woman is Hard to Find" – 4:14 # "Rope on Fire" – 5:36 # "I'm Yours, You're Mine" – 3:46 # "The Way We Met" – 2:59 # "Slow Numbers" – 3:58 # "Take Me with You" – 4:54

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. Morphine *

– vocals, 2-string slide bass, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, trombone, tritar *

– baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, piano, backing vocals, * Billy Conway – drums, percussion, backing vocals Additional musicians *

– drums (1–8, 10, 11) *

Jane Scarpantoni Jane Scarpantoni (born 1960)https://www.myheritage.com/names/jane_scarpantoni is a classically trained American cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums. She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-1 ...

– cello (1, 7, 11) *Mike Rivard – double bass (7, 11) *

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

– organ (4, 8) *Billy Beard – hand drum (7) *Brahim Fribgane – oud, frame drum (7) *Joseph Kessler – viola (7, 11) *Carolyn Kaylor – backing vocals (2, 4) *Linda Viens – backing vocals (2, 4) *Ramona Clifton – backing vocals (4) *Margaret Garrett – backing vocals (5) *Tara McManus – backing vocals (5) Technical *

– producer, engineer (Hi-N-Dry) *

– producer, art direction *Brian Dunton – engineer (Hi-N-Dry) *Matthew Ellard – engineer (Hi-N-Dry) *Juan Garcia – engineer (Magic Shop) *Reto Peter – engineer (Magic Shop) *Dave Kay – engineer (Super Sonic) *Toby Mountain – mastering *Robert Fisher – design

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night, The 2000 albums DreamWorks Records albums Morphine (band) albums Albums published posthumously