This came out in 2000 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If you’re looking for a disc that’ll stand your hair on end and send shivers down your backbone, look no further than this fifth and final studio CD from Boston indie-rock jazzbos Morphine.
Part of its spooky allure comes from the fact these 11 tracks were completed shortly before visionary singer/bassist Mark Sandman died onstage of a heart attack last summer. Plenty of ghostly, portentous lyrics such as “Leave your world, come to me / I’m closer to you than I seem” and “You want to disappear, I got the manual right here,” only add to the creep factor. But what truly sets your spine tingling is the tragically beautiful music of The Night. Easily their most evolved, accomplished and accessible work, this disc finds Morphine taking their “low-rock” sound to new heights, incorporating guitar, cello piano and trombone into their minimalist lineup of two-string bass, sax and drums. The expanded musical palette adds new layers of depth and texture, allowing the band to smooth out the edges and round the corners of their angular, skronky style without sacrificing an iota of its throbbing, bluesy power or downtown jazz hipness. A sad, chilling yet wonderfully satisfying album from stem to stern, The Night’s only drawback is that there won’t be a followup.