If you're the kind of person who can judge a record by the album cover, then you’re on the money with this one.

Billy Smiley was part of White Heart and contributed to other cool projects, but this one is quite different. More of a 1980s jazz easy listening effort.

It’s all instrumental, lots of keyboards, and none of the sort of guitar riffs we expect from the wrote and sang on so many White Heart songs, and more recently, The Union of Sinners & Saints. Billy also produced a number of important CCM albums for other artists. This album seems to have been a vacation in a different place.

Interesting note on the cover art. I’m not sure, but maybe it went like this…

“What are we doing for the album cover?”

“Don’t worry I’ve got something, we’ll just change it around a bit.”

“Okay…”

Take a look here at Justo Almario's jazz album, also released in 1985 on the same label, Meadowlark Records. Even the back cover is a dead match. The front has a little more variation but not much.

Delta's New Night features contemporary electronic instrumentals by Billy Smiley. Smiley mixes brass, world music-inspired percussion, acoustic guitar, and synth washes on pieces like "Time Will Tell" and "All the Crying Eyes" while "Acapella in F Minor," "Spring in the Heart," and "Reflection" have a simpler, pared-down sound. "Living With a Dream" and "Image" are some of the album's other highlights. While some of the tracks sound a little dated and generic, for the most part New Night delivers suitably mellow new age music.