Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1980


Nightporter

Buy Nightporter now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

|name=Nightporter

|cover=File:Japan Nightporter.jpg

|alt=

|caption=7-inch single cover

|type=single

|artist=Japan

|album=

|B-side=

|released=

|recorded=August September 1980

|studio= AIR

|venue=

|genre=

|length=

|label=Virgin

|writer=David Sylvian

|producer=John Punter

|prev_title=Life in Tokyo

|prev_year=1982

|next_title=All Tomorrow's Parties

|next_year=1983

}}

'"Nightporter"' is a song by English new wave band Japan. The song originally featured on the band's fourth album 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' in 1980. However, it was then remixed by Steve Nye and released as a single in November 1982. The single peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.

Inspiration and composition



The title of the song takes its inspiration from the 1974 film 'The Night Porter'. This influence can also be seen on the 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' album cover, with its inspiration taken from the character played by Dirk Bogarde in the film. "Nightporter" is also influenced by French composer Erik Satie, specifically his piano compositions 'Gymnopdies', with David Sylvian stating "I was influenced an awful lot by Satie, but I've milked him dry after 'Nightporter'". The song has also been described as "a direct descendant of 'Obscure Alternatives' "The Tenant" and 'Quiet Life's "Despair"".

The song "marked the first real example of Sylvian using first person narrative to convey a sense of longing and regret to his audience". The song is a ballad, with a "rather minimalistic arrangement [that] is dominated by piano". AllMusic reviewer Ned Raggett describes the song as "a slow-paced semi-waltz with Barbieri's piano taking the lead throughout with wonderful results". The piano part was actually played by both Barbieri and Sylvian in tandem, with the former stating that "I think it was just a case of one of us playing the chordal and bass parts and the other playing the top lines".

Sylvian's vocals and the piano are accompanied by a string bass and an oboe, both of which were played by session musicians Barry Guy and Andrew Cauthery, respectively, with a keyboard coming in towards the end, also by Barbieri. Guy has since said that he "remember[s] nothing about the session, other than they had great barnets".

Release and reception



The single was released in November 1982, a month before the band split. Originally Virgin Records had planned to release the unreleased song "Some Kind of Fool" from the 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' recording sessions as a single, but it was replaced by "Nightporter". The 7-inch single has a cover of "Ain't That Peculiar" as its B-side, which also originally featured on 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids'. However, this version of the song is an alternate version that first appeared on the 1980 various artists compilation album 'Cash Cows'. A 7-inch promo single 'DJ Edit' of "Nightporter" was also released and it was used for the soundtrack to the music video. The 12-inch single features a different B-side, "Methods of Dance", which was taken from 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids'. A six-song EP was also released, only in Japan, in December 1982.

John Shearlaw was disparaging in his review for 'Record Mirror', writing that "David Sylvian reaches out for the ultimate concept with a desperately dreary remix of a 'stage favourite' from the 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' album. Watch the tinkling piano and whining voice climb up the charts... and cry". However, in 'Melody Maker', the reviewer was more positive, describing "Nightporter" as "an arresting and unexpected single in the wake of their 'Tin Drum' LP. Shaped round some elegant piano and with Dave Sylvians vocals returning to the impressive emotional depths of Ghosts, this should give the bands critics a little food for thought".

Track listings



'7": Virgin / VS 554 (UK)'

# "Nightporter" (1982 Remix) 5:01

# "Ain't That Peculiar" 4:49

'7": Virgin / VDJ 554 (UK, Promo)'

# "Nightporter" 3:35

# "Ain't That Peculiar" 4:49

'12": Virgin / VS 554-12 (UK)'

# "Nightporter" (1982 Extended Remix) 6:48

# "Methods of Dance" 6:53

'EP: Virgin / VIP-4181 (Japan)'

# "Nightporter" (Remix) 5:02

# "Ghosts" 3:52

# "The Art of Parties" (Version) 5:33

# "The Experience of Swimming" 4:02

# "Life Without Buildings" 6:39

# "The Width of a Room" 3:14

Personnel



'On "Nightporter":'

* David Sylvian vocals, piano

* Richard Barbieri keyboards, piano

* Andrew Cauthery oboe

* Barry Guy string bass

* Mick Karn, Ann Odell string bass and oboe arrangement

'On "Ain't That Peculiar":'

* David Sylvian vocals, keyboards

* Richard Barbieri keyboards

* Mick Karn fretless bass, recorder

* Steve Jansen drums, African drums, keyboards

* Rob Dean guitar, E-bow

'On "Methods of Dance":'

* David Sylvian vocals, keyboards

* Richard Barbieri keyboards

* Mick Karn fretless bass, saxophone

* Steve Jansen drums, percussion, keyboard percussion

* Rob Dean guitar

* Cyo backing vocals

'Technical'

* David Sylvian cover concept

* Yuka Fujii cover photography

* Ken Ansell hand lettering

Charts



References



Category:1980 songs

Category:1982 singles

Category:Songs written by David Sylvian

Category:Japan (band) songs

Category:Virgin Records singles

Buy Nightporter now from Amazon

<-- Return to songs from 1980



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1074679707.