Spins: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats •. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats 10th anniversary expanded 2xLP
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
Self-titled debut 10th anniversary expanded 2xLP
(Stax)
Following Nathaniel Rateliff’s restless career has been a rewarding journey. Clued-in fans from Rateliff’s earliest days have witnessed the Denver-based artist’s growth as a captivating songwriter and his transition from intimate folk to the technicolor variety of soulful R&B now featured in his work with the Night Sweats. In the middle, there was the explosive Night Sweats’ 2015 debut, which expanded his audience to the national level with an energetic party-starter of an album that served as a love letter to Memphis soul and incorporated the Band’s studied Americana. Rateliff’s introspective and relatable lyrics remained at the core of even the catchiest tunes, so the album continues to offer something for the head and the heart as well as the feet.
In the liner notes for this 10th-anniversary vinyl LP reissue, Rateliff notes that his career was so small-time that he departed for work in Oregon with his gifted friend and producer, Richard Swift, thinking it would be the last album of his career. With nothing to lose, he threw himself into a joyful album of revisionist soul grooves that connected with fans around the world and went Gold in the USA. “Instead, it was the start of a new life,” he writes. Rateliff continues to work as a solo artist, releasing albums including 2020’s ruminative And It’s Still Alright. The Night Sweats released their fourth album, South of Here, in 2024, in which Rateliff again exorcised personal trauma in relatable and even upbeat ways.
But now, we travel back by a decade to revel in the invigorating sound that introduced so many to Rateliff as a gritty R&B belter with debts to artists like Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, and the brass-fueled Mar-Keys. The raw energy of gospel clapper “S.O.B.” is undeniable, even on a song about terrifying withdrawal from booze addiction – and even if your mom made you wash your mouth out with soap for singing along. “Look it Here” is a plea from a man who admits his sins against a lover and aches for reconciliation. The contemplative “Wasting Time” features a gentle descending strum that suggests a lullaby version of the Band’s indelible “The Weight.” Rateliff dwells on time spent idling in struggle but expresses gratitude for where he eventually landed. Shuffling stroll “Howling at Nothing” is a fond look back at the good times of carefree revelry and bonds forged with a loved one. The rhythm section of bassist Joseph Pope III and drummer Patrick Meese borrows from the M.G.’s “Time is Tight” and Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose” for the simmering stomp of “I Need Never Get Old,” with a chorus that soars on the wings of uplifting brass fanfare. These songs scratch the surface of a collection that ranges broadly within its soulful confines, and there’s not a dud in the batch.
The album’s second platter offers a newly compiled shadow album of ten raw demos recorded by Rateliff at home with limited equipment. Of his goals for the sound, Rateliff writes, “I wondered what it would sound like if Sam & Dave were in the Band.” That mental template resonates through early versions of eight of the finished album’s 11 tracks, plus three non-album tracks. “A Little More Too” is replete with unpolished magic. Propelled by a brushed-snare shuffle, the subdued but spirited “Late Night Party” appeared fully formed on the 2016 EP A Little Something More From… Rateliff sings the demo in a foggy but inviting late-night voice about sending the kids to bed so he and his beloved can celebrate and reminisce with friends at home. Clouds of pedal steel drift in the background while a sharp and soulful rhythm is established by electric guitar. The ambling “Feelin’ It” is a midtempo, reverb-laden stroll with a relaxed, easygoing vibe, even as Rateliff sings about the impatience of being caught in the wrong place. “You hate the waiting around,” he repeats, echoing the sentiment of “Wasting Time.”
The demos for familiar songs like the stomping “I Need Never Get Old” are recognizable in their formative stages, even if the keys are different or the instrumental hooks aren’t yet in place. The aforementioned song clearly sprang to vivid life in a studio version that leans into the Night Sweats’ expanded lineup, interplay, and sparkling brass. The spare demo of “Wasting Time” reveals origins as a nod to lo-fi introvert Bill Callahan. The stripped-back recording of “Howling at Nothing” accentuates the song’s gospel-infused vocal harmonies and the wiry twang of its guitar solo. It’s a compelling look at an artist who, unknowingly, is on the cusp of success, shaping the building blocks of dreams yet to be realized. (nathanielrateliff.com)
– Jeff Elbel
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