Varèse Sarabande Records release Michael Bradford’s debut solo record, The Long Night. Writer/Producer/Musician Bradford has written for and performed with a wide range of artists, including Eurythmics, Kid Rock, Jem, Stevie Nicks, Deep Purple, and Ringo Starr. The themes of The Long Night are all influenced by the night and Bradford explores how some of our biggest challenges confront us in the wee small hours and that If we can hang in there until morning, we won’t go to that dark place. Bradford states that all physicists tell us that time only moves in one direction, and that direction is forward. That’s a real existential problem, since it means we can reflect on our mistakes, but we can never fix them.

While Bradford performs all of the instruments on the album, he turned to some of his musical friends to help with vocals on many of the tracks, including collaborator Jem, who lends her vocals to 'It’s Happening'. Also on the album are Ko Kapches, a street poet from Toronto, rapper Big B, Samantha Stollenwerck, and EDM singer Liz Primo.

When I first listened to The Long Night I thought there were a couple of interesting tracks ('No One But Myself To Blame' and 'The Long Night') but nothing that memorable. So I set it aside and picked it up a few days later for another few blasts through... and I was surprised to discover that a lot of these tracks had lodged themselves into my subconscious. All of a sudden tracks like 'Where Are All My Friends' and 'Until We Meet Again In Paradise' were songs I'd heard years ago... but couldn't quite place. Of course I hadn't heard them before the first play through a few days previously, but that's an indication of how Bradford gets inside your head.

It's a beautiful album - and one that matures the more you listen to it. Well worth picking up.

9

Nick Smithson