The Album Club: "Murder Ballads" by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
 

http://www.trollheart.com/mballads.jpg
On to round four we go, and here's my contribution. Hopefully this will go down better than my previous selections, which would not be hard! Rate, comment, discuss and review here.

The only discussion should be why this is unassailable.

Nothing is unassailable!

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Murder Ballads (1996)


Best Tracks: Song of Joy, Where the Wild Roses Grow, The Curse of Millhaven

Weakest Tracks: O’Malley’s Bar (though hardly weak, just really long)

This is an interesting beginning to round four as I’m sure some of us here are familiar with Nick Cave. While I haven’t heard a full album of his (though that will eventually change), I have heard quite a few of his tracks, including at least two from this album. I can see why he has a devoted fan base, and his Mercy Seat rates as one of my favorite songs of the eighties.

As for this album, it starts off with the haunting Song for Joy. I especially like the chant at the end. This album also features duets with two very different women in PJ Harvey (who I happen to be a big fan of) and Kylie Minogue who, last I checked, was a pop star. Both of the duets are fairly impressive, particularly the one with Minogue in Where the Wild Roses Grow.

It’s typical Nick Cave in many ways as his music tends to be dark. This album is especially haunting. It likely isn’t for those who are into depressing music. For me, I’ve always liked a little mood in my music.

Almost every track is superior here. Even O’Malley’s Bar, which I rated as my weakest track, got points taken only because it was so long, yet Cave weaves a sordid tale much as he did on other tracks.

I would definitely recommend this album for those curious about later Nick Cave. I will almost certainly listen to this album again as well as most of Nick Cave's catalog.



9/10 (the Word has spoken :D)

If there's one thing that's synonymous with Nick Cave's music, it's death. From his first album (The Firstborn is Dead) to his latest (The Skeleton Tree) images of decay and death haunt Cave's discography, but not as a spectre, more as perhaps not a friend, but a companion you know there is no point avoiding: he's gonna be there whether you like it or not. So surely then the natural evolution for the Antipodean scribe of doom was this, an album of songs based on, about or concerning death, or specifically, murder. From the dour “Song of Joy”, with its chilling revelation right at the end to the manic, frenetic and quite hilarious slaughterfest that forms the centrepiece of the album, “O'Malley's Bar”, murder in all its forms is placed under the microscope and examined by Cave with the detached, cold interest of a scientist studying a bacterium. Not my favourite Cave album by a long way, it's definitely in the top ten, and for those getting into his music, a decent gateway album.

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
N/A

2. What did you think of the opening track?
Love it personally, though I can see how some people might find it a little dull with its typical almost sotto voce vocal and what must be seen as somewhat monotonous melody. Great opener though.

3. What did you think of the next track?

One of two traditional songs covered by Cave on this album, it's not my favourite but it's pretty funny I guess. A little numbskull I feel.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)

It's Cave. I love the guy. Must give credit too to Kylie on "Where the Wild Roses Grow".

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)

Absolutely. Very dark and ominous for the most part, and deceptively upbeat when taken alongside the lyric on some other songs.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?

n/a

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?

Love it. Some very different interpretations of murder. In “The Kindness of Strangers”, for example, you have the sad tale of a girl who goes looking for love in a cruel world that repays her desperation with rape and death, while as mentioned in “O'Malley's Bar” you have a guy killing everyone in sight, for no reason, and revealed as a coward in the end, unable to push his convictions to their natural conclusion. And in “Where the Wild Roses Grow” it's a tale of love that ends in betrayal and murder. Sweet.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)

Oh yeah.

9. What did you think of the production?

As ever.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?

Yes, I love all of Cave's work.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?

See above.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?

n/a


13. What would you class as your favourite track(s), if you have any?
“O'Malley's Bar”, “The Kindness of Strangers”, “Where the Wild Roses Grow”, “Death is Not the End”, “Lovely Creature”

14. And the one(s) you liked least?

“Crow Jane”, “Stagger Lee”

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)

n/a

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?

n/a

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?

n/a

18. Did the album end well?

Yes, I like the sort of promise of hope in the song, even if it is a cover.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?

Not really no

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?

Hung together very well I feel.

A solid 9/10 from me.

Of course I know about Nick Cave, but I haven't ever really tried to get into it. The only album that I'm certain I've heard front to back is The Boatman's Call, which I remember leaving me feeling bored to death.

Murder Ballads is of course way more of a "canon" Nick Cave album, so I was interested in hearing if this could soften my view on his music.

Turns out it's not half bad. I certainly liked the general sound of the album and there's some pretty good songwriting on display here.

I can't shake the feeling that Cave is a lot in the same ballpark as Tom Waits. They're both (especially earlier in their careers) affecting these larger than life personalities; telling tales of people from the gutters and back alleys of society. In both cases, it can feel sort of cartoony, but I think Nick Cave puts in enough energy and bite that it feels more interesting than annoyingly contrived.

Still... I suspect I might like something like his newest album better. Something more grounded and heartfelt. A darkness more connected to the real world (the actual death of his son), as opposed to these over-the-top, fictional tales of assorted madmen and scum.

Notably, both Kylie Minogue and PJ Harvey make appearances on the album. I'm a fan of both, so that's neat.

For whatever reason, the song on this album that I seemed to like the most was also the longest (O'Malley's bar).

I voted "liked".

I can definitely recommend the following:
The Good Son
Henry's Dream
Let Love In
No More Shall We Part

I happen to love The Boatman's Call, but yes, it is generally low-key and quite monotonous so I could see how some people might not like it. And you're spot-on with the Waits comparison: I also feel this to be the case, though Waits tends to view things more though a beer glass (for his writing) or through grimy windows, whereas Cave is I feel a bit more detached, a bit more clinical and nihilistic in his lyrics.

When I was thinking what I wanted to write about this record I decided the main point I wanted to get across is why this record was Cave’s to make. Fortunately, in some of the finest writing I’ve ever seen on MB, Trollheart already did that for us. If you haven’t check out this for genre origins

I was surprised Stagger Lee was listed a song TH liked least. I think it’s the go to track if you were making a mix tape back in the day. Also, even before it came up I was going to mention Boatman’s Call as my personal NC record.

Nocturama is the only NC record that chaps my ass and only because he had no business making Babe, I’m on Fire 15 minutes long.

Sorry that I’m rambling off the subject of this record but for those who maybe haven’t yet explored Nick Cave: It’s essential to go through his discography. From the Birthday Party to the Bad Seeds he’s a crucial reason punk redifined rocknroll and he has aged incredibly well. His brilliance never wanes. He’s one of the most important figures in modern music.

This record is an unassailable five star masterpiece.

Wow, thanks man. Much appreciated.
Now vote, you ****er! :laughing:

Ugh, this album was really frustrating. I can't enjoy it. It's just much too bland musically and I've never been a lyrics person. Even then the lyrics on this aren't that great. I could only think about how edgy he must be trying to sound this whole time. There are a couple songs that are good, a couple that are fine, and a couple that are awful, so it overall averages out to a mediocre album. I'll call it a 5/10 and say meh.

It would have helped if Teenage Snuff Film was released ten years earlier.

Occult, you heard And the Ass Heard the Angel?

The book?

This is one of my favorite albums and probably my favorite Nick Cave album. "The Curse Of Millhaven" alone makes it worth the price of admission and "Song of Joy" is one of the creepiest tracks every recorded.

You'd imagine right.
Yeah but I have a CD where he's narrating it. It's ****ing amazing. Picked it up second hand, had no idea what it was. Well worth a listen. I'll burn a copy for you and upload if you want.

No thanks. I’d rather just read it. Another friend who’s also Irish told me it’s really good.

I really don’t understand how you aren’t familiar with the Birthday Party. When Elph wrote that I thought that’s ridiculous. Why the **** not? Without being too rude about it, dude, correct that.

Just never listened to them. Get the feeling they're more in the punk style of things. I guess it's like listening to Devin Townsend without ever hearing Strapping Young Lad or being a fan of Neil Young but never hearing a Buffalo Springfield album. Shrug. Recs?

See, I got into Cave from The Good Son and Henry's Dream, and went forward (I actually heard "The Ship Song" on a latenight TV show and loved it) and though I bought his previous albums, none of them clicked with me, so I think I'm more a fan of "later" Cave material, maybe.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads

While Tender Prey is probably the peak of Nick Cave's singer-songwriter career for me, Murder Ballads is easily one of the best overall productions of his career if we're talking about arrangement and sound design. You hear it especially on 'Lovely Creature', which waxes and wanes with ethereal female backing vocals over an ominous rumbling riff that makes it an instant standout to me here. I'm not the biggest fan of Nick's overtly spoken word approach as a general rule, but the stories are entertaining in doses and there's some massive chemistry going on with his backing band too.

While there are other records cut from a similar musical cloth to this that I enjoy more and I think are better albums overall (David Sylvian's Secrets Of The Beehive, Devin Townsend's Casualties Of Cool project, Dan Fogelberg's The Innocent Age) this is a great album taken on its own merits and it works very, very hard to elevate its (at times) Lynchian subject matter as much as it can.

10 out of 10

:beer:

Guys could you all remember please to vote? Jans and Ant both gave this album top marks but the "Love" remains at 4, as it was this morning. I know it's a small thing, but my albums have been so universally hated almost since this began, that if this is going to get decent acclaim I'd like to see it reflected in the poll. Also, you're supposed to vote anyway. Thanks.

We take different approaches with music. I’ll admit, it doesn’t matter how hard I try there’s still embarrassing huge holes in my music knowledge. I started listening to the Birthday Party in the 80s, but let’s say I had never heard of them and I saw the name on music banter. Once I googled it and realized how influential those records are I would feel ashamed about it. I would spend a day or two listening to all of it and reading about it. I think your 2017 thing is a cool project but once you get it done I suggest going back and filling in these kinds of gaps. I think it’s cool the way you’ll listen to anything but recognizing my mortality forces me to prioritize. Not dissing you. Different strokes and all... just my two cents.

Once that thread ends I tend to start listening for a while to just stuff I want to, rather than for review. I think by then I'll have earned that break. At some point though I'll give TBP a shot. You never know. I must admit though, I would never ever feel embarrassed about not listening to some band/album/genre: why would I? Can't listen to everything.

I have to admit I haven't heard the Birthday Party either though I have heard of them. I'm ignorant enough not to have known that Nick Cave was even in the band.

Well, not really. I was more into sixties psychedelia when I was a teen plus American Radio wasn't very punk friendly. I had to get stuff like the Dead Kennedys from college radio. I probably heard of the Birthday Party around 1990. All I really knew about them was that they were Australian. Even Nick Cave I only really discovered a few years ago.

And be careful, Elph. Twenty years from now someone might say you wasted it because you didn't want to listen to anything but punk. ;)

Late period Nick Cave IS greatness.

Ballady huh? Try these.

No it isn't. Did you listen to it all? It gets frenetic and angry later. Jesus, give something a chance, why don't you?

And he said I was missing out :laughing:

TMK Cave has never taken part in any ballet. :laughing:
And it's seven ****ing minutes and change. You can't allot that amount of time out of your ilfe? Did you check the other two tracks? "Loverman" punches your face in but yes, it starts slow. Learn to patience huh?

Trolls

I suggest you step away.

I don’t want you to get skewed away from his early stuff.

He does do a lot of ballads and he’s fantastic at it. ****, check the name of the album we’re supposed to be talking about.

I know that. I'm just saying he doesn't only do ballads.

I know you know that.

You said you’re planning on checking out the Birthday Party so once you do we can have a fruitful discussion but it’s bull**** for anyone to assume oh you’ll never get it. Especially someone who doesn’t seem to understand his recent stuff very well.

I gave this one a "meh." There was a time, back in the 80's & early 90's, when I was into Nick Cave. First with The Birthday Party and then with The Bad Seeds. Had several albums, saw him live a couple of times. By the time this album came out I had lost interest. He just seemed to me, as was previously mentioned in this thread, a bit too contrived and cartoonish by that time. I hadn't heard this album in probably 20 years and I actually found it rather tedious to get through.

These days, I prefer his film scores to anything he does with The Bad Seeds or Grinderman.