Nick Cave
& The Bad Seeds
|
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Murder Ballads is an album of songs thematically focused on murder delivered through Nick Cave’s brilliant storytelling. Each song is a fable of grisly murder and death told in chilling, violent, and deceptively affectionate ways. It is the most bloody and disturbing album in the history of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Cave’s fascination with rural poverty and filth forms the landscape of these stories. His lyrics paint terrifying images of gothic horror in old, small towns crawling with ghastly characters drunk with bloodlust. Cave’s killers take great delight in their actions, a gleeful fulfillment of destiny. In the expletive-ridden, violently twisted "Stagger Lee", Cave gives his take on the "bad motherfucker" who murders a barkeeper by shooting him in the head four times simply for disrespecting his presence, then forcing another man to perform fellatio on him and killing him before he finishes the job. Elsewhere, "The Curse Of Millhaven" tells the tale of a demented young girl who wreaks bloody havoc across an entire town, while "O’Malley’s Bar" is an over fourteen minute narrative of a particularly cocksure killer who goes on a murder spree in the town bar, pausing to gloat between each killing. The most chilling moments arrive in album opener "Song Of Joy", a stalking, grim, haunting spirit of a song that builds a disturbing atmosphere. "Her throat it
crumbled in my fist The most impressive aspect of Murder Ballads is the manner in which human emotions as a reaction to horror are portrayed. From the tragic sadness of "The Kindness Of Strangers" and "Henry Lee" to the twisted "Stagger Lee", a variety of different shades of death are delivered. It is also interesting how Cave reacts to his own chronicles, such as naming the macabre opener "Song Of Joy", and ending this morbid collection of songs with the deceptively light-hearted "Death Is Not The End". While a fair amount of this album is unsettling, there is enough subtle humor and charm within the material to keep the experience from drifting completely into a lurid abyss. And while not every song manages to produce memorable and penetrating moments, the album as a whole stands as one of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ most compelling, and certainly most unnerving. 3/27/06 Tracklisting: 1. Song Of Joy
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds The Boatman’s Call marks the event of the "mellowing out" of Nick Cave, one of the truly brilliant songwriters/musical visionaries of the past twenty-plus years. Earlier efforts showcased Cave reigning down fire and brimstone upon a world choking on its own decadence, showering humanity with black bile and damning them to a pitiless abyss. Yet here we encounter Cave in a more reflective, somber frame of mind. He hurts, and he wants to tell the tale in the most appropriate way possible. Love has brought the man down to his knees, shaken the very energy that fuels his rage right out of his very being, and left him still in despair and lament. And as has been the case with many a great artist, his pain becomes the gain of his followers. From the first piano chords of opener "Into My Arms", it is quite clear that we are in for a more sedate, brooding experience than has been the case with past works. These are songs of early morning haze, evening introspection and gloomy glances from distant windows. The emotions are heavy, yet delivered through such flowing musical structures that the listen never becomes cumbersome and the album is not suffocated by its own dejection. Cave croons lines like "Outside I sit on the stone steps, with nothing much to do, forlorn and exhausted, baby, by the absence of you" with defeated spirit, never allowing the chance to doubt his sincerity. The realness is clearly evident in each line he delivers. There are no fables here. Only true life events that simply must be immortalized in song. In "Far From Me", Cave begs of his lost lover : "Did you ever care for me? Where you there for me?" before reminding his murderer of beauty "You told me you’d stick by me, Through the thick and through the thin, Those were your very words, My fair-weathered friend.". Sorrow has embraced the man’s soul. Yet, his long-standing bitterness does not suffer from neglect in "Idiot Prayer", which, while being more restrained than past tirades, still manages to reflect in "If Your in Hell, then what can I say, You probably deserved it anyway." Nick suffers here, but in "People Ain’t No Good" he reminds himself that the horror of one is the horror of us all : "It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad, They’d stick by you if they could, But that’s just bullshit, People just ain’t no good." In this grip of despair, Cave, in his effort for something to hold onto, is reaching for spiritual solace. Yet his official stance, if there indeed is one, on this belief is not so clear. He skillfully keeps the listener in a state of wonder as to his true belief (again…if one exists). "There Is A Kingdom" is the clearest statement of faith, with its gospel aura and chorus of "There is a kingdom, There is a king, And He lives without , And He lives within". In "Brompton Oratory", he sings about reading from Luke "Where Christ returns to his loved ones", yet later explains to his subject that "No God up in the sky….could do the job that you did, Of bringing me to my knees." He is struggling with the supposed almighty power of a god part of his soul yearns to embrace. Things become even more interesting in "Into My Arms", as Cave states "I don’t believe in an interventionist God" and "I don’t believe in the existence of angels". Yet within the same song he hopes for those very angels he doesn’t believe in to illuminate his subjects path so that she may "…walk like Christ in grace and love…". These contradictions reflect the quest of an individual longing for reason and meaning in a world that seeks to tear the heart and soul from its inhabitants at every turn. Musically, this is the Bad Seeds at their most restrained and sparse. Cave’s voice is the centerpiece of this music and each element’s purpose is only to support his delivery. The support, while understated, is not to be stripped of its vitality. The music functions in a highly appropriate manner, sustaining atmosphere and embracing the listener as Cave tells his unhappy tales. The morose aura is welcoming enough that the gloom never becomes a burden. It is not the purpose of this music to sonically challenge in the traditional sense. It seeks to pierce the emotional core of the listener while gently caressing the soul during the event. The Boatman’s Call is not such a major departure for Cave and his Seeds. It would appear as so on the surface, however the essence remains strong. It is, however, a significant growth in key areas. Cave’s lyrics have never been this naked and personal and the music has never been this relaxed. The constant melancholy running through is of a comforting nature, and it has taken over the rage of past expressions. This is an evocative and beautifully developed work that presents an evolvement of striking proportions.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds At this point in his evolution, Nick Cave has entirely discovered and embraced a more solemn and sentimental expression. On No More Shall We Part, Cave does not completely forsake his contempt for the disgusting habits of mankind, yet this rage no longer forms the centerpiece of his work. The origins of this development was witnessed with the previous effort, The Boatman’s Call, yet No More Shall We Part, while occupying a similar affective habitat, is a much broader proposition in emotional, sonic and thematic terms. It’s template is far more vast than the dispersed moroseness and bleak soundscapes of the previous work. These songs are elaborate in structure and fluid in their delivery. The overall effect is warmer and, even in it’s more pensive moments, lively. The lush sonic flow allows the music more room to breathe, while remaining an appropriate foundation for Cave’s poetic expressions. The instrumentation here is granted more space with which to work. The Bad Seeds get to play their hearts out during moments of "Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow" and particularly the closing moments of "Oh My Lord" and "The Sorrowful Wife". Even the more restrained pieces give permission for stronger instrumental presence. Of course, the centerpiece is Cave’s voice, which has never sounded so rich and sincere. He actually sings, with melody, throughout a great deal of this album, delivering emotions in a form not heard to this extent previously. And, of course, it’s his passion that shines through and drives these songs straight through the heart. The gorgeous "Love Letter", "We Came Along This Road" and album closer "Darker With The Day" are splendidly heart wrenching in their beauty. However, it’s in the near epic constructions of "Hallelujah", opener "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side" and the eruptions within "The Sorrowful Wife" and "Oh My Lord" where we can hear Cave really let loose and discover vocal avenues not so deeply explored in the past. No matter what vocal expression the man chooses, he remains highly convincing. His voice is surely one of the most distinctive and powerful to emerge in music history. Lyrically, Cave has moved on from the crippling heartache of The Boatman’s Call, at least enough to allow himself to be moved, negatively or positively, by other surrounding factors. There is still an (un) healthy amount of pain within, yet it does not blind him to affections revealed in "Sweetheart Come" and "Gates To The Garden". He even brings to life his infamous witty sarcasm in "God Is In The House", a piano ballad documenting life in religious small town society. Nick Cave is a storyteller at heart, and each song here tells a tale of some sort. Through these short stories put to song, Cave inspires the listener/reader to not only appreciate the tale itself and its construction, but also to dwell on the messages within, to dig deep into the soul of the words. No More Shall We Part is simply a glorious work of art. This is music going beyond the standard expectations, creating scenes of life and love and fear and hope that possess the power to drop the listener to his/her knees one moment, and the next have him/her blissfully relaxed in the comfort of all things. It is a work to indulge into completely, as it seems difficult to imagine becoming overburdened or restless during the experience. It stands as the act's most complete and convincing artistic statement thus far.
Tracklisting
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds As a follow up to perhaps the finest work of Nick Cave’s career, Nocturama has no aspirations of surpassing or even living up to the brilliance of No More Shall We Part. Nocturama stands as a good to sometimes-great effort that rarely achieves the magnificence gracing its predecessor. It seems as though Cave is possibly struggling with an exhausted hangover from his investment into No More Shall We Part, and approached this effort as a more relaxed, straight-forward and ultimately less engaging project. Of course, in comparison to the music world as a whole, Nocturama stands firm as an outstanding release, but it is clearly obvious by this point that the man is capable of much greater work. This could be identified as the least challenging music in Cave’s discography. There is nothing here that twists the soul, jerks the heart or stimulates the mind quite the same way long-time followers have undoubtedly become accustomed to. Piano-led ballads trade off with energized rock-outs and brooding, contemplative exercises, each containing all of the elements that has shaped the group’s sound on past recordings. The difference here is that the soul of the song is sometimes difficult to detect. Questioning the purpose of a particular song written by Nick Cave and performed by The Bad Seeds is not a habit one easily falls into, however "There Is A Town", "Rock Of Gibraltar" and especially the puzzling sprightliness of "Bring It On" awaken such questions. There is nothing within the core that remains afterwards. The songs pass by without reaching into the listener, and that is disturbing in the context of this particular artist. There’s some exceptional material on display here. "Right Out Of Your Hand" is a touching ballad that utilizes delicacy as a vital instrument. Cave always did seem the most effective when wearing his heart on his sleeve, and works such as this, "Still In Love" and "She Passed By My Window" represent the sentimentality that has become a major function in his recent evolvement. Lead-off track "Wonderful Life" paints a lush soundscape over a brooding pulse, not so much a grasp for the heartstrings as a sedative for the journey. It’s refreshing to hear The Bad Seeds rip things up on the roaring "Dead Man In My Bed", but mixed feelings arise on the nearly fifteen-minute jam "Babe, I’m On Fire". The song spins in cycles while Cave manages to round up everyone from Bill Gates to Walt Whitman for an admittedly highly entertaining outburst of humorous condemnation. In fact, the most challenging aspect of Nocturama is sitting through the duration of this track. Lyrically, it’s brilliant, yet musically it starts to wear a bit thin by the five-minute mark. Nocturama is simply a collection of good Nick Cave songs, with a few missteps sprinkled about. In the "mellowing out" phase of Cave’s evolvement that began with 1997’s The Boatman’s Call, it’s the least enthralling work. The hope is that this is not the beginning of a feared creative decline in the career of a truly phenomenal artist. Again, it’s a solid work, but much too inconsistent in quality and passion for comfort. High standards have been set, and this has surely effected the reception towards this release, but Cave is a genius, and it would be a pity to know that his full potential is not being reached.
Tracklisting
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds God Is In The House documents a live performance by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds at Le Transbordeur Lyon, France in June of 2001, during the No More Shall We Part tour. In addition, a documentary on the recording sessions for No More Shall We Part, along with promotional videos for No More... songs "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side", "Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow" and "Love Letter". The concert features an appropriate balance of material spanning their entire discography. It’s interesting to observe Cave and the Bad Seeds switch from earlier songs of ferocious, bizarre, and chilling nature to piano-led ballads of more recent work. Anyone who has witnessed a live showing of the group can attest to the sheer power of both approaches and the incredible presence and energy Cave and the Seeds establish and deliver. On this disc, these aspects are captured and presented about as convincingly as could be hoped for. Highlights of this particular set arise during the thunderous build of "The Mercy Seat", Cave’s excellent vocal mannerisms and physical gestures in "Saint Huck" , and the weeping devil in tones of violin from Warren Ellis, who is always fantastic in not just his contributions to songs, but his sinister yet charming stage presence as well. The recording sessions segment is interesting in that it gives the viewer a glimpse into the world of creating a Bad Seeds album (and in this case, one of their best of all time), from the frustrations of dealing with uncooperative technology and repetition to the satisfaction expressed when everything falls into place. The videos are appealing in that they successfully merge imagery with song concept, in particular "Love Letter", which switches from Cave alone with piano to shots of vacant rooms, parking lots, and nighttime city streets, effectively portraying an emptiness of loneliness. In all, God Is In The House is a very well done DVD showcasing different aspects of creative processes by one of the most exceptional musical artists of the past twenty-plus years. 3/15/06 Tracklisting: Live at "Le Transbordeur" Lyon, France, 8th June 2001 1. Do You Love Me? Documentary 15. No More Shall We Part The Recording Sessions Promotional Videos 16. As I Sat Sadly By Her Side
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Any concerns regarding Nick Cave having exhausted his well of inspiration or creativity are erased forthwith by Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus. This double disc release finds Cave and the Bad Seeds sounding re-energized after the decent yet ultimately drab Nocturama, an album that, combined with the departure of longtime guitarist Blixa Bargeld, suggested an unpromising future. However, the group has returned with their most ambitious work ever, producing two discs of some of the most brilliant music of their career. The two discs are characterized by a particular approach. Abattoir Blues features material of a darker, sinister, and sometimes even thunderous nature. Tracks such as "Hiding All Away", "Fable Of The Brown Ape", "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" and "Get Ready For Love" hark back to earlier, more raucous compositions, bringing back a bit of the fire-and-brimstone that has been largely absent on the previous three efforts. Elsewhere, the rich maturity and assurance of more recent albums arrives in "Messiah Ward", "Let The Bells Ring", the title track, and even the first album single "Nature Boy". The second disc, The Lyre Of Orpheus, is made up of songs of a gentler, smoother, and aromatic essence, save perhaps for the title track and "Supernaturally", which may have been a better fit for the first disc. Songs like "Breathless" and "Babe, You Turn Me On" are probably the most sugary tunes Cave has ever written, while "O Children" and "Easy Money" address issues of the human condition in a relaxed yet brooding manner. Neither of these discs contain the minimalist structuralism of Nocturama or The Boatman’s Call. The music is alive and vibrant, even during the mellower tracks, as the instrumentalists have been granted a broader spectrum in which to operate, allowing the music to pulse with a fluid and organic energy. "Take this
deafening thunder down As per usual, it is Cave’s lyrical wit that is the lifeblood of these songs. A master of vocal characterization in appropriation of expressing lyrical themes, Cave’s dark croon evokes the sinister and the affectionate in a range of fluctuation that recognizes very few peers. Familiar topics of religion and love are addressed in cynical, humorous, and prophetic parables wherein the existence of humanity is equally venerated and repelled. The evangelical irony of songs like "Get Ready For Love" is further realized by the presence of the London Community Gospel Choir, who accompany Cave throughout the album. The brilliance of this is discovered in not only the manner of utilization, but in how the choir emphasizes specific words or lines, often shadowing Cave’s singing as to offset his typical moroseness with shades of illumination. In some ways, Abattoir Blues... is a return to form of sorts for Cave and the Bad Seeds. The work is successful in maintaining the emotional maturity and debonaire of recent work while also returning to some of the morbidity and thunder of earlier fare. A work such as this is precisely what Nick Cave needed following a largely disappointing album and the loss of the Bad Seed’s most recognizable and popular member in Blixa Bargeld. It is a vast effort of considerable depth, musically, conceptually, and emotionally, offering some of the best music the group has ever produced. Tracklisting: Abattoir Blues 1. Get Ready For Love The Lyre Of Orpheus 1. The Lyre Of Orpheus Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Discography From Her To Eternity (Mute, 1984) |
