Dark Night (album)
{{Infobox album
| name = Dark Night
| type = studio
| artist = James Armstrong
| cover = Dark Night (album).jpg
| alt =
| released = 1998
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Blues
| length =
| label = HighTone
| producer =
| prev_title = Sleeping with a Stranger
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Got It Goin' On
| next_year = 2000
}}
Dark Night is an album by the American musician James Armstrong, released in 1998.{{cite news |last1=Hildebrand |first1=Lee |title=Armstrong Lives the Blues |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=4 Oct 1998 |department=Sunday Datebook |page=44}}{{cite news |last1=Guarino |first1=Mark |title=Tyrone Davis, Otis Clay join for night of R&B soul |work=Daily Herald |date=19 Mar 1999 |location=Arlington Heights |department=Time Out |page=4}} Armstrong supported the album with a North American tour.{{cite news |last1=Wolgamott |first1=L. Kent |title=Lincoln's got the blues |work=Lincoln Journal Star |date=5 Mar 1999 |department=Ground Zero |page=3}}
Production
Armstrong recorded the album after recuperating from a home invasion and serious stabbing, which is referenced in the title track.{{cite web |title=James Armstrong Biography by Richard Skelly |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-armstrong-mn0000783716 |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 December 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Trapp |first1=Roger |title=Jazz & Blues |work=The Independent |date=19 Dec 1998 |page=41}} Armstrong lost feeling in his fingers and had to relearn how to play guitar; he also learned slide guitar during his recovery.{{cite news |last1=Marymont |first1=Mark |title='Dark Night' shows change in blues artist's music |work=Springfield News-Leader |date=20 Mar 1999 |page=B8}}{{cite news |last1=Kassulke |first1=Natasha |title=Spotlight: James Armstrong |work=Wisconsin State Journal |date=5 Aug 1999 |department=Rhythm |page=7}} "Lil' James" is about Armstrong's son, who was also injured in the attack.{{cite news |last1=Moton |first1=Tony |title=Dark Night Finds Healing |work=Omaha World-Herald |date=28 Feb 1999 |page=1E}} Michael Ross played lead guitar on the majority of the tracks; Joe Louis Walker and Doug MacLeod played lead guitar on a few tracks.{{cite news |last1=Wallace |first1=Bob |title=Surviving Attack Adds Impact to True Blues Man |work=The Morning Call |date=30 July 1999 |page=D1}} "Bank of Love" is about falling in love with a bank teller.{{cite news |last1=North |first1=Peter |title=Armstrong picks up the pace after lethargic opening |work=Edmonton Journal |date=17 Nov 2000 |page=E3}}
Critical reception
{{music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |title=Dark Night Review by Cub Koda |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-night-mw0000044314 |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 December 2023}}
|rev2 = The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
|rev2score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite book |title=The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=14, 15}}
|rev3 = The Philadelphia Inquirer
|rev3score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Cristiano |first1=Nick |title=Blues |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=10 Jan 1999 |page=F10}}
}}
Jazziz wrote that Armstrong's "vocals and songs are vulnerable, brooding, and brimming with resignation... His hoarse, laconic delivery and falsetto on 'Too Many Misses' and 'Dark Night' are soul-piercing."{{cite magazine |last1=Palmer |first1=Don |title=Answering a Need |magazine=Jazziz |date=Feb 1999 |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=32}} The Toronto Star called the album "a dozen soulful tunes with a light, appealing but emotionally edgy voice a la Otis Redding."{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Geoff |title=Blues Reviews |work=Toronto Star |date=11 Mar 2000 |department=Entertainment |page=1}} The Calgary Herald said that Armstrong's "blues riffs are clean and bold and his singing reveals his deep blues roots."{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Blair S. |title=Armstrong plays on, despite attack |work=Calgary Herald |date=29 Mar 2000 |page=B12}}
The Record concluded: "Serviceable on his debut, Armstrong's vocals take on a new soulful fiber on Dark Night."{{cite news |last1=McGuinness |first1=Jim |title=Back from the Brink and Singing About It |work=The Record |date=21 Apr 2000 |department=Previews |page=14}} The Ottawa Citizen deemed Dark Night "a mixture of anger and depression leavened with the ray of hope that marks all of the best blues music."{{cite news |last1=Provencher |first1=Norman |title=A lighter mood of blues |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=13 Feb 2001 |page=C8}} The Daily Advertiser labeled it "a smooth, understated exercise in tasteful West Coast blues."{{cite news |last1=Pierce |first1=Walter |title=Blues |work=The Daily Advertiser |date=23 Oct 1998 |page=15}} The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that Armstrong "wins you over with the undeniable honesty of his performances."
AllMusic wrote that Michael Ross's "silky leads blend with Armstrong's still very potent singing voice quite sympathetically."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Dark Night
| length1 =
| title2 = Too Many Misses for Me
| length2 =
| title3 = Slender Man Blues
| length3 =
| title4 = Trouble on the Home Front
| length4 =
| title5 = Lil' James
| length5 =
| title6 = Can't Get Off Your Love (Heaven Help Me)
| length6 =
| title7 = Bank of Love
| length7 =
| title8 = What I Would Do (For Your Love)
| length8 =
| title9 = Witchin' Moon
| length9 =
| title10 = Here for the Music
| length10 =
| title11 = Standing in Your Way
| length11 =
| title12 = Just in Case
| length12 =
}}