Jump to content

Murder Ballads

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Nick Cave album. For the type of song, seemurder ballad.

Murder Ballads
Studio albumby
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released5 February 1996
Recorded1993–1995
Length58:43
LabelMute
Producer
Nick Cave and the Bad Seedschronology
Let Love In
(1994) 		Murder Ballads
(1996) 		The Boatman's Call
(1997)
SinglesfromMurder Ballads
  1. "Where the Wild Roses Grow"
    Released: 2 October 1995
  2. "Henry Lee"
    Released: 26 February 1996

Murder Balladsis the ninth studio album byNick Cave and the Bad Seeds,released in 1996 onMute Records.As its title suggests, the album consists of new and traditionalmurder ballads,a genre of songs that relays the details (and often consequences) ofcrimes of passion.

"Where the Wild Roses Grow",a duet featuring Cave singing withKylie Minogue,was a hit single and received twoARIA Awardsin 1996. Other prominent guest musicians on the album includePJ HarveyandShane MacGowan.

Details

[edit]

Murder Balladswas the band's biggest commercial success to date, most likely helped by the unexpected repeated airplay of the "Where the Wild Roses Grow" video onMTV.MTV even nominated Cave for their "best male artist" award of that year, though this nomination was later withdrawn at Cave's request.[1]Cave later said, "I was kind of aware that people would go and buy theMurder Balladsalbum and listen to it and wonder 'What the fuck have I bought this for?' because the Kylie song wasn't any true indication of what the record was actually like. "[2]

The first song written for the album was "O'Malley's Bar", when the band was recordingHenry's Dream.According to Cave, the idea for theMurder Balladsalbum came from this song: "We couldn't use 'O'Malley's Bar' on any of our other records. So we had to make a record, an environment where the songs could exist."[3]Recordings were done towards the end of theLet Love Insessions, and there was some thought that the early material could be made into a film withJohn Hillcoat.Cave said, "I was going around everywhere with letters of intent, pushing them at everyone I knew, saying 'Do you want to be in this film?'"[3]For the TV documentaryGreat Australian Albumsmembers described their work onMurder Ballads.[4]

Songs

[edit]
  • "Stagger Lee" is based on a traditional song about the African-Americanmurderer of the same name.Cave's version draws most of the lyrics from a 1967 transcription published in the 1976 bookThe Life: The Lore and Folk Poetry of the Black Hustler,while the music itself is updated into areggaesong.[5]
  • "Death Is Not the End" includes vocalistsAnita Lane,Kylie Minogue,PJ Harvey,andShane MacGowan,along with Cave himself and Bad Seeds drummerThomas Wydlerand guitaristBlixa Bargeld.They each sing a verse in thiscoverof aBob Dylansong, the only song in which an actual death does not occur. Cave later described it as, "just kind of a jokey little punctuation mark to the whole thing. There's tongue-in-cheek to that song, even though I think it's quite a beautiful rendition."[3]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA[7]
The Guardian[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
NME7/10[10]
Pitchfork9.2/10[11]
Q[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Select5/5[14]
Spin5/10[15]

Upon release,Murder Balladsreceived widespread critical acclaim. Bill van Parys ofRolling Stonewrote that "never before have manic elements elevated Cave's shtick to art as onMurder Ballads",describing the album as" literate, sultry and tortured "and" the performance of Nick Cave's life. "[13]Tony Scherman ofEntertainment Weeklywarned thatMurder Balladswas "not for the squeamish," calling it "the rare pop record that resonates with the weight of the ages".[7]InThe New York Times,Neil Strauss felt that the album "is about more than storytelling", adding that Cave "meticulously creates a macabre fable and then distills it to a single image of death in much the way a photographer arranges a studio shoot".[16]In a mixed review,Spin's Chris Norris complimented the album's "sordid epics and dark confessionals", but felt that Cave's "rheumyPoe-ish romance "songs were less effective.[15]

In the English music press,Select's Clark Collis remarked thatMurder Ballads"weaves itself together into a meditation on death that is both beautiful and genuinely unnerving."[14]Dave Henderson ofQobserved that "musically, the Bad Seeds touch on tinklingcabaret jazz,country-paced morbidity and every morose station between. "[12]Murder Balladsranked number 16 onMelody Maker's list of 1996's Albums of the Year and number 7 in theNME's 1996 critics' poll.[17][18]

In December 2021, the album was ranked at no. 13 inRolling Stone Australia's "200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time" list.[19]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Nick Cave, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Song of Joy"6:47
2."Stagger Lee"Traditional,Cave5:15
3."Henry Lee"(featuringPJ Harvey)Traditional,Cave3:58
4."Lovely Creature"Blixa Bargeld,Martyn P. Casey,Cave,Mick Harvey,Thomas Wydler4:13
5."Where the Wild Roses Grow"(featuringKylie Minogue)3:57
6."The Curse of Millhaven"6:55
7."The Kindness of Strangers"4:39
8."Crow Jane"Martyn P. Casey, Cave4:14
9."O'Malley's Bar"14:28
10."Death Is Not the End"(featuringAnita Lane,Shane MacGowan,PJ Harvey and Kylie Minogue)Bob Dylan4:26
Total length:58:43

Personnel

[edit]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

  • Nick Cave– vocals (1–10), piano (1, 5, 8, 9), organ (1, 2, 4, 6, 10), Hammond (1), gun shots (2), string arrangement (5)
  • Blixa Bargeld– guitar (1–8, 10), screams (2), vocals (10)
  • Martyn P. Casey– bass (1–5, 7, 8)
  • Mick Harvey– drums (1), guitar (2, 4, 5, 7, 10), acoustic guitar (3, 5), organ (3), wind organ (4), backing vocals (5), string arrangement (5), bass (6, 9), Hammond (8), space belt (8), percussion (9)
  • Conway Savage– piano (2–4, 7, 10), backing vocals (5), organ (9)
  • Jim Sclavunos– drums (2, 8), percussion (4, 10), bells (5), tambourine (6)
  • Thomas Wydler– maracas (2), drums (3–7, 9, 10), tambourine (8), vocals (10)

Guest musicians

  • PJ Harvey– vocals (3, 10)
  • Terry Edwards– horns (4)
  • Katharine Blake– additional vocals (4)
  • Kylie Minogue– vocals (5, 10)
  • Jen Anderson – violin (5)
  • Sue Simpson – violin (5)
  • Kerran Coulter – viola (5)
  • Helen Mountfort – cello (5)
  • Hugo Race– guitar (6)
  • Warren Ellis– violin (6), accordion (6)
  • Marielle Del Conte – additional vocals (7)
  • Anita Lane– crying (7), vocals (10)
  • Geraldine Johnston – additional vocals (8)
  • Liz Corcoran – additional vocals (8)
  • Shane MacGowan– vocals (10)
  • Brian Hooper – bass (10)

The Moron Tabernacle Choir on "The Curse of Millhaven"

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]

As of 2001the album has sold close to a million copies worldwide.[37]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Nick Cave letter to MTV".nick-cave.com.21 October 1996. Archived fromthe originalon 8 September 2003.Retrieved28 August2010.
  2. ^Dwyer, Michael (July 1998). "Album by Album with Nick Cave".Rolling Stone Australia.No. 550. Sydney, NSW: Tilmond Pty Ltd. p. 41.
  3. ^abcWalker, Clinton (Summer 1995). "Nick Cave Evil's Elder Statesman".Triple JMagazine.No. 1. Sydney, NSW: Gore and Osment. pp. 12–17.
  4. ^"Great Australian Albumsseries 2 (2008) – The Screen Guide ".Screen Australia.Retrieved11 November2022.
  5. ^"20 Years Ago: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Get Morbid With 'Murder Ballads'".19 February 2016.
  6. ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas."Murder Ballads – Nick Cave / Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds".AllMusic.Retrieved31 October2015.
  7. ^abScherman, Tony (8 March 1996)."Murder Ballads".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved31 October2015.
  8. ^Sullivan, Caroline (26 January 1996). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Murder Ballads (Mute)".The Guardian.
  9. ^Ali, Lorraine(17 February 1996)."Bone-Chilling 'Murder Ballads' From Cave".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved31 October2015.
  10. ^Fadele, Dele(3 February 1996)."Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".NME.Archived fromthe originalon 17 August 2000.Retrieved12 November2015.
  11. ^Berman, Stuart (25 May 2011)."Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Let Love In / Murder Ballads / The Boatman's Call / No More Shall We Part".Pitchfork.Retrieved8 July2015.
  12. ^abHenderson, Dave (March 1996). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Murder Ballads".Q.No. 114. p. 93.
  13. ^abVan Parys, Bill (21 March 1996)."Nick Cave: Murder Ballads".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2007.Retrieved8 July2015.
  14. ^abCollis, Clark (March 1996). "The executioner's songs".Select.No. 69. p. 88.
  15. ^abNorris, Chris (March 1996)."Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Murder Ballads".Spin.Vol. 11, no. 12. pp. 111–12.Retrieved31 October2015.
  16. ^Strauss, Neil (2 November 1996)."Rapper and Rocker: Meditations on Death".The New York Times.Section 2, p. 30.Retrieved28 September2016.
  17. ^NME,December 21–28, 1996, pg. 66-67
  18. ^Melody Maker,December 21–28, 1996, pg. 66-67
  19. ^Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time.Rolling Stone Australia,Rolling Stone Australia,06 December 2021. Retrieved 06 December 2021.
  20. ^"Australiancharts.com – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  21. ^"Austriancharts.at – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads"(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  22. ^"Ultratop.be – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  23. ^"Ultratop.be – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads"(in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  24. ^"Dutchcharts.nl – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  25. ^"Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Murder Ballads "(in Finnish).Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  26. ^"Offiziellecharts.de – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads"(in German).GfK Entertainment Charts.Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  27. ^"Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1996. 10. hét"(in Hungarian).MAHASZ.Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  28. ^"Charts.nz – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  29. ^"Norwegiancharts.com – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  30. ^"Swedishcharts.com – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  31. ^"Swisscharts.com – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  32. ^"Official Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  33. ^"Jahreshitparade Alben 1996"(in German). Hung Medien.Retrieved10 July2022.
  34. ^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts"(in German).GfK Entertainment.Retrieved8 September2016.
  35. ^"Årslista Album (inkl samlingar), 1996".Sverigetopplistan(in Swedish).Retrieved10 July2022.
  36. ^"British album certifications – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads".British Phonographic Industry.
  37. ^"Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Return With New Look At Old Themes".billboard.com.Retrieved20 September2018.

Sources

[edit]
  • The Life: The Lore and Folk Poetry of the Black Hustler,Wepman, Newman & Binderman, Holloway House, 1976,ISBN0-87067-367-X
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_Ballads&oldid=1177041576"