Beware of introductions (including this one). Sure, they fill an organizational need, easing the reader into the reading. But, they are also a framing device, gently herding the audience into the head space where the writer wants them, to see things in a certain light. Ray Price's Night Life begins with an introduction and immediately my guard is up. I don't mind a well-scripted skit or other relevant atmosphere-building, but a direct monologue? That is suspicious. Price tells us that the set of songs was selected to reflect the emotions of those who do much of their living after hours. But do they? Some, like "The Twenty-Fourth Hour," fit this mold. Most of the others, however, are composed of the same, homogeneous heartbreak you'll find populating country songs around the clock. In the introduction, he specifically mentions "happiness" as one of the feelings he'll explore, but save the bouncing bass-lines on songs like "The Wild Side of Life" and "Sittin' and Thinkin'" (the latter's title being a euphemism for the type of introspection one does overnight in the county lockup), I'm hard pressed to remember hearing any "happy" moments. In fact, I'm hard pressed to remember any moments at all. This is a well-produced, well-performed collection of fairly bland music (with the possible exception of the Willie Nelson-penned title track), but as far as Price's claim that it "reflects" any aspect of real life, ante- or post-meridian, I'm afraid I have to call "bullshit" on that. I'm left with the impression that his introduction was a post-production patch job meant to help an ad hoc theme coalesce around these otherwise generic tunes. Personally, I think it backfired. Now the album seems to be more promise than payoff. Grade: C
