T-BONE BURNETT : PROOF THROUGH THE NIGHT

 

  1. The Murder Weapon
  2. Fatally Beautiful
  3. After All These Years
  4. Baby Fall Down
  5. The Sixties
  6. Stunned
  7. Pressure
  8. Hula Hoop
  9. When The Night Falls
  10. Hefner And Disney
  11. Shut It Tight

Label : Warner Bros.

Release Year : 1983

Review (AllMusic) : Proof Through the Night, T-Bone Burnett's first, and last, full-length release for Warner Bros., is an ambitious take on the state of the union and times, personified by various fallen characters. To some, his persistent morality may come across as being a bit cold or even self-righteous, but further investigation reveals an underlying empathy for the individuals, even if a cynicism for the times in which they live is expressed. And if Burnett may seem tough, don't think he excludes himself from the same scrutiny. In cuts such as "Pressure" and the record's best song, "Shut It Tight," he sees himself as "just an ordinary man," struggling with the same sorts of questions, temptations, and contradictions as, for instance, those of the protagonist in the record's centerpiece, "The Sixties." Musically, he serves his tales of "beautiful, wealthy, young divorcees," fallen women, and victims of times where we "keep all the bad, destroy all the good" on a bed of vibrant, guitar-driven rock & roll and folk, even lacing spoken parables such as "Fatally Beautiful," "The Sixties," and "Hefner and Disney" with subtle hooks and enticing nuances and choruses. Like T-Bone Burnett's other Warner Bros. release, Trap Door, Proof Through the Night is smart, tight, insightful, and unfortunately not yet available on CD. Guests include Pete Townsend, Mick Ronson, Richard Thompson, the Williams Brothers, and Ry Cooder.

Review (Wikipedia) : Proof Through the Night is a 1983 album by T Bone Burnett, produced by Jeff Eyrich. Proof Through the Night was not available on CD for many years, though some tracks (most of them heavily remixed) appeared on the 20/20 career compilation in May 2006. Rhino Handmade issued a CD version of the album on March 27, 2007, which also includes the Trap Door and Beyond The Trap Door EPs. The double CD was issued in a numbered limited edition of 5,000. A cover of the Hank Williams (as Luke the Drifter) song "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw," recorded during an early session for the album, is also included on the CD.