| Night and Day II | ||||
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| Studio album by Joe Jackson | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Sony Classical | |||
| Producer | Joe Jackson | |||
| Joe Jackson chronology | ||||
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| Allmusic | [1] |
Night and Day II is a 2000 album by Joe Jackson. It was a revisit of the style of a prior album, Night and Day. The songs are about New York lifestyle, seen by different characters. It featured a new set of songs in the spirit of his most popular previous recording.[2]
While the original Night and Day (1982) took a satirical look at the downfalls of city life via songs like "TV Age", "Cancer" and "Real Men", Night and Day II is a commentary that steps into the dark side of inner city living as seen though the eyes of a cynical New Yorker (Jackson lived in New York at the time) and seemingly never glances up to seek a lighter tone. "Hell of a Town" and "Stranger Than You" (the featured song of the album) display a biting sarcasm of New York City life, along with lyrics from songs like "Just Because":
My hovel needs a barricade
My pants need an alarm
Need some non-alcoholic whiskey
and some Giuliani charm
making a commentary on Rudy Giuliani's mayoralty.
This reflection of the original Night and Day album can be seen in many forms: from the cover (the artwork from 1982's Night and Day features a white background while the photograph from 2000's Night and Day II is a dark nighttime shot taken from within a New York City cab, and shows the World Trade Center just a year before 9/11), to the perceived presentation order of each song's motif (Night and Day feels as if the listener is being taken on a journey, via the song motifs, from daytime to night) while Night and Day II presents a sensation of moving from nighttime to day ("Glamour and Pain" to "Love Got Lost" demonstrates this fully as "Glamour and Pain" deals with a prostitute's lamentations while "Love Got Lost" is mostly placed during Marianne Faithfull's fictitious working day).
The final song of the album, "Stay", might seem to be somewhat disconcerting upon reflection - Jackson left New York to return to England in 2003.
The music is built with contributions from Graham Maby (bass), and Sue Hadjopoulos (percussion). Also featured are the string quartet Ethel, and three guest vocalists: Iranian diva Sussan Deyhim, drag performer Dale De Vere and Baroness "Sacher-Masoch" Marianne Faithfull, who sings vocals on "Love Got Lost".
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