Murder Ballads

by Nick Cave, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Overview

In some ways, Murder Ballads is the record Nick Cave was waiting to make his entire career. Death and violence have always haunted his music, even when he wasn't explicitly singing about the subject. On Murder Ballads, he sings about nothing but death in the most gruesome, shocking fashion. Divided between originals and covers, the record is awash in both morbid humor and sobering horror, as the Bad Seeds provide an appropriate backdrop for the carnage, alternating between blues, country, and lounge-jazz. Opening the affair is "Song for Joy," a tale from a father who has witnessed his family's death at the hands of serial killer. It is the most disturbing number on the record, lacking any of the gallows humor that balances out the other songs. Cave's duets with Kylie Minogue ("Where the Wild Roses Grow") and PJ Harvey ("Henry Lee") are intriguing, but the true tours de force of the album are "Stagger Lee" and "O'Malley's Bar." Working from an obscure, vulgar variation on "Stagger Lee," Cave increases the sordidness of the song, making Stagger an utterly irredeemable character. The original "O'Malley's Bar" is even stronger, as he spins a bizarrely funny epic of one man's slaughter of an entire bar. During "O'Malley's Bar," Cave and the Bad Seeds are at the height of their powers and the performances rank among the best they have ever recorded. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/17/2015
Label:	Bmg / Mute
UPC:	5414939710919
Rank:	25768

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds   Primary Artist
Nick Cave   Primary Artist,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Strings,Choir/Chorus,Sound Effects,Organ (Hammond)
Shane MacGowan   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Anita Lane   Primary Artist,Vocals,Sound Effects
Kylie Minogue   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
PJ Harvey   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Tony Cohen   Percussion
Terry Edwards   Horn,Horn,Brass
Helen Mountfort   Cello
Jen Anderson   Violin
Conway Savage   Organ,Piano,Vocals,Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)
James Sclavunos   Bells,Drums,Percussion,Tambourine
Warren Ellis   Violin,Vocals,Accordion,Choir/Chorus
Martyn Casey   Bass,Vocals,Choir/Chorus,Guitar (Bass)
Hugo Race   Guitar
Mick Harvey   Bass,Drums,Organ,Guitar,Vocals,Cymbals,Strings,Percussion,Space Belt,Wind Organ,Guitar (Bass),Organ (Hammond),Guitar (Acoustic),Multi Instruments,Vocals (Background)
Martyn P. Casey   Bass,Choir/Chorus
Dave Graney   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Blixa Bargeld   Guitar,Vocals,Voices,Sound Effects
Ian Johnson   Choir/Chorus
Thomas Wydler   Drums,Vocals,Maracas,Trombone,Percussion,Tambourine,Choir/Chorus
Clare Moore   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Mariella del Conte   Vocals
Brian Hooper   Bass,Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Moron Tabernacle Choir   Choir/Chorus
Sue Simpson   Violin
Kerran Coulter   Viola
Jenny Anderson   Violin
Geri Johnson   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Spencer P. Jones   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Astrid Munday   Vocals,Percussion,Choir/Chorus
Liz Corcoran   Vocals
Katharine Blake   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Rowland S. Howard   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Geraldine Johnston   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Ian Johnston   Choir/Chorus
Shane McGowan   Featured Artist
James Johnston   Guitar,Vocals,Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Tony Cohen   Mixing,Producer
Traditional   Composer,Lyricist
Simon Heyworth   Engineer,Digital Remastering
Bob Dylan   Composer
Bad Seed   Producer,Performer
Kevin Paul   Mixing
Conway Savage   Composer,Producer
James Sclavunos   Composer,Producer
Victor Van Vugt   Producer
Warren Ellis   Arranger
Martyn Casey   Composer
Nick Cave   Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Musician,Producer,String Arrangements
Mick Harvey   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Musician,Producer,String Arrangements
Anita Lane   Producer
Martyn P. Casey   Composer,Producer
Ray Staff   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Blixa Bargeld   Screams,Composer,Producer
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds   Producer,Performer
Thomas Wydler   Composer,Producer
Iain Forsyth   Composer
Jane Pollard   Composer
Mariella del Conte   Producer
Peach Kazen   Archivist
Johnny Milton   Composer
Anne Carruthers   Archivist,Coordination
Gregg Jackmann   Mixing
Kevin Van Bergen   Transfers,Master Tape Restoration
Liz Corcoran   Producer
Katharine Blake   Producer
Johannes Beck   Art Direction
Geraldine Johnston   Producer
Wylder   Composer