Merry Christmas Eve, everybody! The other day Kevin sent out a playlist e-mail with a reference to “St. Nick” Cave, and it inspired me to hunt down one of old St. Nick’s records for a pseudo-seasonal offering (though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend throwing this record on at your family holiday gatherings; it might give dear old Grandma the vapors).
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“You who already think you know Nick Cave + his Bad Seeds will be quite surprised. The lyrics are quite good + the music adventurous. I’m beginning to sense some similarities between Nick Cave and Tom Waits. Nick just lacks the chic + sings more about suffering. Maybe H.” “An all-star lineup here! Fans of Einsturzende, Gun Club, & Crime [and the City Solution] should check this out even if you’re not too into Nick. Check back cover for more details. ‘Up Jumped the Devil’ is pretty cool. Most of the rest are too mellow for me.” “Well, ‘Deanna’ is really growing on me! This could be H.” “Great record. Best to date definitely.” “‘Mercy Seat’ is pretty intense — although this guy is really heavy against religion, to the point of mocking it. What’s his @*! problem?” [Interesting that Johnny Cash, a very religious man, chose to cover this very song.] “Maybe it got rammed down his throat as a kid.” “[partially ripped sticker]… the most part the songs are in a conventional song structure + the Tom Waits influence is more obvious. This should be in at least M.” “DEANNA!” “Oh yeah?” “Mercy Seat!” |
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This is actually when I first started loving Nick’s songwriting, even though I jumped on board after Birthday Party, just before “From Her To Eternity.” These comments show how Cave was evolving at the time — still chaotic and dark, but the first side of this album is arguably my favorite Cave side, even still.
Agreed – his songwriting is some of the best. Have you ever read his novels? I just saw one of them featured and thought they might be good. http://www.ourstage.com/blog/2011/4/4/writers-rock-our-favorite-authormusicians