Nick Cave: Help Please

[Forrest]

Hey friends. Like the esteemed Dave From Knoxville, I threw that awesome Grinderman disc into my favorite albums of 2007. The thing is, it was really the first time I ever gave Nick Cave a chance, and now I think I'm a fan. I want to grab some of the gems from his back catalog, but the guy has put out a lot of records. Can anybody point me in the right direction, so I can sort out the Nick Cave essentials from the disposables? Keep in mind that aside from Grinderman, I'm not familiar with his body of work at all. Your help would be so heartily appreciated.

Yours,
Forrest from Manhattan

[dave from knoxville]

I will suggest The Boatman's Call, but like Bowie or Neil Young, while the voice is pretty consistent, he reinvents himself pretty regularly.

[Laurie]

"Into My Arms" is a song that makes me cry and cry, not unlike the folks in the video:

[youtube]8owifmb8n2s[/youtube]

And while The Boatman's Call is a great album, I think you might prefer The Birthday Party stuff and albums from before Nick Cave found God. Check out Hits. I know, I know, Greatest Hits are for housewives and little girls, but I can assure you that the title of said comp is a joke. There isn't a bad song on that album, and it's a great place to start.

I do like Nick Cave's post-Jesus stuff, which includes Grinderman (check out toward the bottom of the interview, RE: GOD TALK). I must say that I am partial to Murder Ballads, particularly the song "Stagger Lee," which is really danceable.

[youtube]lneSAju-Xtc[/youtube]

And as long as I'm youtubing it up, here's my favorite Bad Seed, Blixa Bargeld, in a commercial for Germany's equivalent to Home Depot:

[youtube]BjLBytT2pmE[/youtube]

[A.M. Thomas]

The Boatman's Call is good, but Let Love In is my favorite.

Here is a track from Let Love In called "Do You Love Me?":

[youtube]lOiUPl5GjTE[/youtube]

[dave from knoxville]

The Boatman's Call is good, but Let Love In is my favorite.

Here is a track from Let Love In called "Do You Love Me?":

[youtube]lOiUPl5GjTE[/youtube]

At the 30 second mark, Antonio Banderas must have had one HELL of a night.

[Forrest]

Thanks for the insight, guys. This has at least whittled it down to a few releases; I will report back after I've jumped in to them. I may start with the Birthday Present; I've heard it's a little more gut-bucket like Grinderman. Thanks Dave, Lorrey (had to), and NUnderB.

[masterofsparks]

I'm a latecomer as well (and I'm still not entirely sold on him), but I like the last couple of albums - Nocturama and the double set Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus. I would also advise you to avoid No More Shall We Part at all costs.

[Sarah]

"Tupelo" was the first Nick Cave song I ever heard--I fell in love immediately--so I'm fond of The First Born Is Dead for sentimental reasons.  But I'm also partial to Tender Prey (I just learned from Wikipedia that one of my faves, "The Mercy Seat," is considered Cave's signature tune; I had no idea), and the beautifully ghoulish Murder Ballads (I like "The Curse of Millhaven" especially).

It's funny that you bring up Nick Cave.  My local bar reopened recently (calloo callay!) but is without a sound system.  So just yesterday I went down there armed with my little FMU CD case, which held, among others, Mr. Cave's "best of" compilation (I figured a sampling made the most sense).  No one had heard of him (of the ten not-so-obscure CDs I brought, only one artist was familiar to anyone--Jeff Healey, whose Hell to Pay I had thrown in as a sop to the masses), but the owner, who is a pal of mine, really liked him (she also enjoyed Billy Bragg; Jay Reatard, not so much).  I think I'll bring down Murder Ballads next time.

[samir]

whichever album has 'O'Malley's Bar' is a whole heap of awesome.

a lot of people die in that one song.

[Forrest]

Okay, from what I can surmise, I should buy every Nick Cave release in history except for No More Shall We Part. Now all I need is about 300 bucks.

Perhaps I should have just made a poll.

[Sarah]

whichever album has 'O'Malley's Bar' is a whole heap of awesome.

a lot of people die in that one song.

Murder Ballads. 

[Vambo]

Hey friends. Like the esteemed Dave From Knoxville, I threw that awesome Grinderman disc into my favorite albums of 2007. The thing is, it was really the first time I ever gave Nick Cave a chance, and now I think I'm a fan. I want to grab some of the gems from his back catalog, but the guy has put out a lot of records. Can anybody point me in the right direction, so I can sort out the Nick Cave essentials from the disposables? Keep in mind that aside from Grinderman, I'm not familiar with his body of work at all. Your help would be so heartily appreciated.

Yours,
Forrest from Manhattan

Get the Boys Next Door "Door, Door" disc--it's available as a mid-line disc from Mushroom.  You'll hear Cave at his youngest with spectacular post-punk gems like "Night Watchman", "Dive Position", and "Shivers".  "Shivers" is the tune Roland Howard brought to the group after his stint in Young Charlatans.  These are all pop songs...none of the deconstructed mayhem that was the Birthday Party.


Here's the Amazon listing.

As for Bad Seeds stuff, you can't beat Kicking Against The Pricks.

[Laurie]

I don't think "No More Shall We Part" is all that bad. Sure, it's the most Jesus-y of all his discs, but there are some good songs on there. I really like "Hallelujah," especially the chorus.

[Chris L]

Cave's cameo in Wings of Desire is pretty much the highlight of the film:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZsy6Ekkq0M[/youtube]

Also, here's the Birthday Party and Tracy Pew's creepy gyrations live on German tv:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvlS4BwTUQw[/youtube]

[Rainer]

I've got everything up to about Murder Ballads in storage on the other side of the continent, otherwise, I would rip you a sampler.   Grinderman is great, but it is uncharacteristically garage-y for Nick Cave.  Unless I've missed a recording or two, that Ron Asheton guitar is a new flavor for him.

I got into the Birthday Party just before they broke up.  I love songs like Mutiny in Heaven, Swampland, and Sonny's Burning.  Badly channeled William Faulkner, but it makes me happy. 

The Boatman's Call is good, but Let Love In is my favorite.

Yes, that one does stick out.  The book-ended "Do You Love Me"s make it Cave's Tonight's The Night (kinda sorta).