After Midnight might be the best Seldom Scene album of the Phil Rosenthal era (1977-1986). It was the third to feature Phil as lead singer and guitarist and while I prefer John Starling as front man for the Scene, I think Phil is a better guitar player. All of the musicians shine on this album, but it’s Mike Auldridge and John Duffey who impress me the most. Mike absolutely nails Benny Goodman’s “Stompin at the Savoy,” redefining it as a dobro instrumental and Duffey’s unconventional mandolin breaks are always a delight. After Midnight is one of the Seldom Scene’s more pop-friendly releases, featuring not one, but two Eric Clapton hits, “Lay Down Sally” and J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight.” Both these songs work surprisingly well in a bluegrass context and they were frequent crowd pleasers in live performance.
Listening to this album now, the track that really hits me is “The Border Incident,” also known as “Spanish is the Loving Tongue.” John Duffey sings lead on this quiet, beautiful song and it’s really nice to hear him sing the verses so softly and then wail out the tenor harmony like no one else could on the chorus. John Duffey was a one-in-a-million singer and personality and I really wish he were still around.
While After Midnight may not quite be in the same league as earlier Seldom Scene classics like Old Train and Act II, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable album and I really enjoyed revisiting it for this review.
One final comment: The original album cover (top left) was a drawing of the band in blue silhouette. For the CD reissue, Sugar Hill used the actual photograph that the illustrator worked from.
AMG Rating: ***My Rating: ***1/2
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