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LABEL: Sheffield Tunes RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2003 GENRE: Hard Trance
// review by SoyBomb

Everything's alright... here comes the night!

If I had to pick my favourite Scooter album of all time, it would have to be, without a doubt, "The Stadium Techno Experience". And if I had to pick my favourite single from that very album, it would have to be this one. Although "The Night" was the lowest-charting single off the album, I still found it to be the most endearing to the ear. Perhaps the reason behind it only charting at #10 in its native country (Germany) was due to the fact that it was the sixth single in a row to feature a high-pitched vocal chorus; the public must have tired of that formula. (The subsequent single release, "Maria (I Like It Loud)", ditched the high-pitched voice and climbed to #4 on the German charts.) Unfortunately, that trend seems to have re-emerged with Scooter in its new jumpstyle stage; they'd better reinvent themselves soon before they are booted off the charts! Nevertheless, upon its release, "The Night" ended up being rather invigorating to listen to and helped solidify Scooter's more permanent transition into their more anthemic trance/hard dance sound that they have come to be known for.

For starters, the Radio Edit of "The Night" makes the album version sound like a demo. While the version available on the album was relatively bare of any definitive polish (lacking a bridge or even any significant differentiation between the two verses parts and the chorus), the single version makes use of extra rhymes by frontman H.P. Baxxter, a few vocoded vocals, and effective use of piano that coincides with the standard synth sounds they use, and the bassline seems a bit more pronounced too. The chorus is taken from a 1984 song of the same name, originally performed by 80s italo-disco sensation Valerie Dore. I'm quite grateful that Scooter's version is much faster than the original because the italo-disco version was far too slow. I listened to it once and was ready to nod off after a while. Thank goodness for the power of improvement! Overall, the Radio Edit is quite an upbeat little number that will stick in your head upon listening to it. The Club Mix featured on this disc includes a longer introduction and conclusion (for DJs who want to wedge this into their sets) while removing H.P.'s typical nonsensical shouts. The only big difference (and it's a big one) comes at about 2:41 when a sample of H.P. saying "Rumble in the jungle!" is slowed a bit and chopped up for repeated use over top of the song as the verse instrumental part comes in. It's quite the novelty, but I doubt anybody came to the club for that, right?

There are two remixes of "The Night" on this disc as well, neither of which do the song any justice. The Starsplash Remix sounds quite cheap and hastily produced. Interestingly enough, Starsplash also made their own cover of "The Night" on their 2004 album "Back By Popular Demand" and without the inclusion of the Scooter chorus, both versions bear a strong similarity to each other. Hmmm... On the other hand, the Langenhagen Remix is just plain weird. Produced by the fellows who now control the infamous worldwide sensation known as Cascada, it's just an outright oddity. The tune starts with a cellphone ringer version of the chorus, followed by a short phone conversation between H.P. Baxxter and some goon who appears to be "Langenhagen". They end up chopping up a quick soundbite from the conversation and repeat it over a generic bass and kick line. Only at around the 2:03 mark does the real song chorus come in over some pads (just as it did in the original), accompanied by what can't even be described as breakbeats -- they're just goofy beats. This is followed by some H.P. lyrics over a really irritating wavy synth, then they snag a tiny chunk of the high-pitched chorus and use THAT over top of the kick. Then more stupid wavy synth, then it's over (and not a moment too soon). This remix is just plain stupid and I just can't bring myself to enjoy it that much. But that figures -- after all, they think Cascada songs are masterpieces.

The B-Side is perhaps the only other saving grace at this point. Cordyline (named for nothing in particular), gives us some standard hard trance music to listen to before gliding into a mix of pads, distant synths, and some reverbed piano that together create a nice melody. Once the bass kicks in and the synths take a more major role in defining the tune, we have ourselves something quite unique and enjoyable, though the effect unfortunately doesn't last very long, as the outro jumps upon us before you know it. However, the listener can find additional comfort by watching the eerie music video on the CD; see the other members of the group bring corpses back to life in a morgue just by waving their hand over the cadavers' faces! Plus, the female corpses are topless. Instant boobies! There are other pictures on the CD if you're interested.

Like I said before, this single may have been a Top 10 hit in Germany at #10, but it was still more overlooked due to the similar composition style to the three previous singles, all of which had been major hits all over the world. However, it should be noted that every one of these singles is charming in its own way, including "The Night". Give it a listen if you ever find it by chance (or by snooping through iTunes -- they seem to have quite the collection of Scooter material). Just be cautious of cheesy remixes.


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