Game Theory - Real Nighttime (Omnivore Recordings)

As brilliant today as it was back in 1985 on first issue, Real Nighttime is a classic album of its time. It also ranks as a power pop classic, in this writer’s opinion. Power pop being a loaded genre, but how better to describe Scott Miller’s (band leader, guitarist, and principal songwriter) cool music? Twisting, turning, and gyrating tunes with intelligent, highly literate lyrics, sometimes delicate but often erupting with bursts of energy. It’s also an album I have a lot of history with, first released when I was a junior in college and completing my infatuation with Mitch Easter (who produced this) and anyone associated with him. Scott was like the Mitch Easter of the West Coast, sharing Mitch’s songwriting and guitar playing prowess. They were a match made in indie music heaven, and would go on to work together on the band’s remaining albums. Easter plays on this record, along with Michael Quercio (Three O’Clock), and Jozef Becker.

The original CD included covers of The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and Todd Rundgren’s classic “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”, songs that perfectly meshed with Scott’s pop sensibilities. But of course, it was Big Star that was seemingly the greatest influence on both Easter and Miller, and Miller’s cover of “You Can’t Have Me”, culled from Big Star’s Sister Lovers, is pitch perfect. Could you expect any less from a musical perfectionist? And now we have the reissue of this excellent album on a great indie label, Omnivore Recordings. The album includes the Big Star cover, as well as a slew of unreleased and live tracks. The liner notes include an interview with Mitch Easter and contributions from Carl Newman (New Pornographers) and Byron Coley. But over and above all these extras is the music, and that is all that matters here.

How do I describe the moment I first heard this? It was on WMUA, the radio station I worked at for three years, and the album was on constant rotation from the moment of its release and well past the time when most albums would get played regularly. In the summer of 1985, I was music director at the station, and this album consistently made the station’s Top Ten list reported to CMJ. To hear the album now draws out all these memories, all of them happy ones. It was a great time to be a music fan, and those days are my fondest memories, thanks to Game Theory, Let’s Active, REM, the dBs, and other bands of this ilk. The songwriting and playing on this record are stellar, and still sound as fresh today as they did thirty years ago!

There was “24”, my exact age when this was released, and even stranger, Scott was born exactly one day after me in the same year. How is that for serendipity? I love this opening tune, and it defines the whole album. Kind of like setting the scene in true Love fashion. It has a perfectly catchy chorus, sunny harmonies, and Scott’s always great lyrics (and I love that little “Stairway to Heaven” riff at the end). Or how about “Waltz the Hall Always”, the perfect song to skip down the hallway without a care in the world? The funhouse organ is way up front with the guitar and it percolates along at breakneck speed. “Friend of the Family” seems part of a recurring theme found in later releases. We have buzzsaw guitar and Scott’s stream of consciousness flying at you before he sweetens the pot on the chorus. “If and When it Falls Apart” is atypical of Game Theory at this stage, light and slow at first, but building to a slightly discordant bridge. “This city brings me down” could be about any city, but I wonder if it’s about LA. Who knows? Or maybe it’s a symbol for something greater. I also dig the keyboard washes on this track. “Curse of the Frontier Land” is primo Game Theory and except for the singer, this could be Let’s Active. I mean that as the highest compliment, as these are two of my favorite bands of the era. It has the requisite dark and light passages with very nice female backing vocals. And oh, those cool, literate lyrics. Scott was so damned smart in every area of his life, from his work outside music to what he presents here.

“She’ll Be a Verb” is another high point, and should have been an indie hit. It certainly hit my sonic sweet spot. The title track “Real Nighttime” features some of Scott’s high tenor, which I have always liked but which he described as ‘my obnoxious whine’. “You Can’t Have Me” is perfectly constructed, with slide guitar and Scott completely picking up Alex Chilton’s angst from the third Big Star album. “I Turned Her Away” is the final track of the original vinyl release, and has some fine guitar playing from Scott. Some of it sounds like he was channeling Richard Thompson! “Girl With a Guitar” is the first bonus track and was co-written with Michael Quercio. It is one I have heard before, and it’s a sprightly melody. “Any Other Hand” has some lovely guitar picking from Scott, revealing once again what a stellar player he was. “Faithless” was penned by original member Fred Juhos, and is more typical of 80s synth pop. The band also trots out Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 massive hit “Baker Street” in a live setting, and sans the saxophone, it’s an interesting historic footnote but otherwise not compelling. Some of the other bonus tracks are live versions of songs on the album, and the final track is a Queen cover, “Lily of the Valley.” All in all, this is a splendid reissue of a great album that will hopefully find a new audience to discover what a lost gem this band was.