Night Work (Deluxe Edition)

iTunes Review

Prior to Night Work, the NYC quintet had written, tracked and tossed out 18 months of in-the-can recordings that the band felt were mediocre compared to preceding albums. But returning to the drawing board later with better ideas and producer Stuart Price (New Order, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliott, etc.) helped Scissor Sisters redo the album. The title-track confidently opens with sleek ‘80s aplomb, invoking Berlin (the band). “Whole New Way” shifts gears sounding a bit inspired by Culture Club, which may be in part due to some guest vocals by Helen Terry, who sang with Boy George and company back in the day. And of course no Scissor Sisters album would be complete without some dance-floor smashes like “Any Which Way,” which boasts a Studio 54-friendly bass-line and a Kylie Minogue vocal cameo alongside Shears crooning sexy double entendres in a Bee Gees-esque falsetto. Sir Ian McKellen makes a random guest appearance on “Invisible Light,” a neo-disco ballad that begs for fog machines and lasers. Bonus tracks offer tasty remixes of “Fire With Fire” and “Invisible Light.”