CD#195 #TheCharlatans #TellinStories 1997 album that got loads of airplay & probably remains their best known. Full of great tunes, the most consistent yet. First 4 songs (With No Shoes, North Country Boy, Tellin Stories, One To Another) set the bar ridiculously high. But the rest come close (ish).
CD#194 #TheCharlatans #OneToAnother first single from Tellin’ Stories (The Charlatans hate g’s apparently) and it is an absolute blast. Probably their best song, it has classic rock influences, a killer riff, a huge vibe, & could easily be 10 minutes longer. BSides: 2 of us & Reputation not so good.
CD#193 #TheCharlatans 1995 self titled album where they started to peak. I loved this & there were some Brixton Academy gigs around this time (& for the next few albums) that were monumentally good. Highlights: Thinking Things Over, Bullet Comes, Soul Saver, Just lookin’ & the massive Crashin’ In.
CD#192 #TheCharlatans #UpToOurHips 1994. What is the cover about this time? A better album though. They were perfecting their sound. Easy Life & Can’t Get Out Of Bed hint at the glories on the next 3 albums. Production is a bit woolly, and some songs don’t stick. Enjoyed Jesus Hairdo and Patrol.
CD#191 #TheCharlatans #BetweenTenthAndEleventh 1992 don’t judge a book by its cover. But maybe a CD. The sleeve is absolutely appalling & the band sound bereft of ideas. What were they trying to make here is anyone’s guess. ‘Wierdo’ is no classic but bursts out of the speakers compared to the rest.
CD#190 #TheCharlatans #SomeFriendly 1990 debut album indebted to the then ‘Madchester’ sound - Roses, Inspirals etc. It’s lightweight and poppy but has some good tunes. The monster ‘The Only One I Know’ is here, and I love the final two: Sonic & Sprowston Green. Much better was to come from them.
CD#189 #GuyChadwick #LazySloftAndSlow 1997 solo album from the ex House of Love man. I really liked it in 1997. Less so now. It isn’t very adventurous, in fact the album title really does say it all. The best tunes are probably Crystal Love Song and Wasted In Song. But it’s all a bit meh.
#COYS at last, Xavi making the impact he should be making. What a strike!
#COYS we are cursed. A world class save and a world class volley from Brighton players there. I really hope we don’t lose the plot second half.
#COYS a shaky 5 mins followed by a great assist by Xavi, and now we should be 2 up. Come on guys, this is much better.
Wow really ?
Watching #COYS more in hope than expectation. But hang on, surely that’s a penalty? How do we never get those?
Just spent an evening going in and out of London listening to this album. It really is wonderful. But there is a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Avalanche on here that is insanely beautiful. So different from the one on From Her To Eternity. If you read this, do yourself a favour and give it a listen.
CD#188 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #BSidesAndRaritiesPart2 2021, another excellent outtakes and b-sides comp. Tracks 5-11 on the first CD are incredible. The second CD has Skeleten Tree/ Ghosteen outtakes which are gorgeous. My last Nick Cave CD and we are going out with a bang. Listen to Needle Boy.
CD#187 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #SkeletonKey 2016 album released in extraordinary circumstances. At the time you couldn’t get past the grief. Listening now reveals an album of incredible sounds & textures. These are less songs & more meditations. It will go on the ‘big’ stereo tonight. A revelation.
CD#186 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #PushTheSkyAway 2013 - I saw this in London a week before it came out. Wow. What a gig. This was the starting point for the new Bad Seeds sound. This isn’t Blues or Rock. It was something delicate & new and I lapped it up. Jubilee Street - does it get better than that?
CD#185 #NickCaveAndWarrenEllis #WhiteLunar a 2009 2CD that features music from The Proposition, Assasination of Jesse James, The Road & a bunch of documentaries. The first CD has the film scores: simple piano, atmospheric violin & orchestra, some vocals. CD2 is largely quiet. For a chill session.
CD#184 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #DigLazarusDig 2008 album released after the Grinderman side project. It’s a bluesy rocky record and the last of its kind by the Bad Seeds. It’s mostly fantastic, with the run of Hold On To Yourself/Lie Down Here/Jesus Of The Moon/Midnight Man being especially good.
CD#183 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #BSidesAndRarities superb 2005 triple CD collection of stuff from the beginning up to Orpheus. Loads of gems, but will highlight the stuff with Shane from The Pogues, Betty Coltrane, Blixa’s vocals on Wild Roses (🤣) plus some absolute corkers on CD 3. Love it.
CD#182 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #AbattoirBlues #TheLyreOfOrpheus this 2004 double album is where I joined the cult. Immaculate song writing and playing throughout. One of my all time favourites by anyone. TLOO is the gentler album, culminating in the awesome O Children. AB adds the rock and raunch.
CD#181 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #Nocturama the 2003 album gets very little positive press. It’s not bad by any means: Babe I’m On Fire, Bring It On, Dead Man, Wonderful Life, He Wants You, Dead Man .. all good. However the album does sound a bit soft and woolly elsewhere. A bit too close to normal.
CD#181 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #NoMoreShallWePart 2001, 4 years after TBC the songs are also piano based but tend to crescendos with the full band. Perfected in Sorrowful Wife & 15 Feet is also great. Warren’s violin makes an entrance on this album, which overall is quite a long exhausting listen.
CD#180 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #TheBestOf superb 1998 compilation of some of the highs so far. Really shows the breadth and quality of NC’s songs and the band’s excellent playing. The last two songs are Where The Wild Roses Grow with Kylie, & the mental noise fest From Her To Eternity. Says it all.
CD#179 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #TheBoatmansCall a year after Murder Ballads - another handbrake turn. Quiet, reflective piano songs of love & loss. The songs are really strong, really beautiful. Nowhere, Into My Arms, Kingdom, People Ain’t No Good, & Are You The One are up there with his best.
CD#178 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #MurderBallads I saw Nick and Kylie perform Wild Roses at ‘95 Feile Festival in Cork. It was electric. The album that followed in 1996 contained that hit & a bunch of other songs about death. It’s good, if a little inconsistent. Stagger Lee the other big highlight.
CD#177 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #LetLoveIn 1994 album sees them absolutely at the top of their game. Faultless, and endlessly replayable. Some scary lyrics in here (the last song 😮) plus some songs that are incredibly evocative (Red Right Hand, Thirsty Dog & the incredible title track). Masterpiece.
CD#176 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #HenrysDream this 1992 album marks the point from which I know Cave very well. What an album, every song a winner. Apparently it was a nightmare to record and the band hate it. What do they know 😂. No highlights (or they all are). Bar room gospel never sounded better.
CD#175 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #TheGoodSon 1990 album recorded in Brazil. Is this even the same band? Much more uplifting, with strings, timpani, gospel.. some of these songs are timeless: Weeping, Hammer, Ship, the title track and Witness is a gas. Really fabulous album.
CD#174 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #TenderPrey 1988 album that opens with one of their most famous tracks, the ferocious The Mercy Seat. It’s an outlier, as the rest of the record shows an increasing mastery of more subtle textures. Deanna, Devil, Alice and City of Refuge are obvious other highlights.
CD#173 #NickCaveAndTheBadSeeds #YourFuneralMyTrial 1986 album that marks a change in direction from deep blues to a more gothy sad rock. The title track is gorgeous. The Carny is beguilingly strange. But I don’t think this album stands tall in their back catalogue.