Golden Records: Murder Ballads by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

This will be my first entry of a series. The goal of the Golden Record Collection is to provide my thoughts on some of my all time favorite albums. Think of it as my own personal pantheon. I'll give an overview of the record and talk about a few of my favorite tracks from it.

The first record entering the pantheon is a fairly recent discovery for me (and all my friends know it, because I won't shut up about the thing). 

Album: Murder Ballads

Artist: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Year: 1996

Label: Mute Records

Nick Cave has always had a flair for both the theatrical and the macabre. He's also a fabulous storyteller. So it's no surprise that critics often speak of this album as the one he always wanted to make. Whether or not that's true, I can't say. What I can say is that it is a fantastic record.

As you might be able to guess, this album is a collection of songs detailing one form of murder or another. Some tracks, such as The Curse of Millhaven or O'Malley's Bar detail violent rampages while tracks like Where the Wild Roses Grow are more intimate tales of a single life taken. The total death count on this album is 65, which is impressive, because there are only ten tracks across which that toll is taken. Though all the tracks are macabre, not all of them are morose. Throughout the album's 58 minute run time, there are expressions of mourning, darkness and sexualized violence along with romance, hope and even humor (bloodstained though they are).

 It's obvious that Cave went to great pains to build themes. The beauty of this record is more than just its storytelling. Each song could certainly stand on its own as an interesting poem, but this album's strength is in its use of its own medium. The music backing the lyrics sets the atmosphere just as much (if not more) than the lyrics themselves, and every track has its own, distinctive atmosphere.

It can safely be said that the album's ballads are split into two distinct categories: songs about the killers and songs about the victims. The atmosphere Cave builds for the killers' ballads entirely depends on the gravity with which he chooses to treat their crimes. The opening track, Song of Joy, tells the story of a tortured wanderer, haunted by the murder of his family (that he may or may not have been the perpetrator of). This is driven by a heavy piano lifted straight from a horror film, a pounding drum line and Cave's own deep, sinister voice. They all come together to create a desolate, disquieting ballad that perfectly befits the tale of woe told by the aimless narrator. In a sharp contrast, the next track over is Cave's take on the blues classic Stagger Lee (or Stack O' Lee, if you're really old school). Where Song of Joy in mournful, Stagger Lee features a distorted electric guitar and saloon style piano punctuating Cave's wild, swearing, exaggerated vocals. The song feels almost humorous in its over-the-top delivery and language (I've never heard a song set in 1932 use the word "motherfucker" so liberally). A step further on the path of insanity is The Curse of Millhaven; a ballad about a pretty young girl who just happens to enjoy murdering her fellow townsfolk by the score. The most upbeat track on the album by far, the story of Lottie is seven minutes of swinging, gleeful, distilled madness that is wildly entertaining for all the same reasons that a show like Dexter is.

When Cave turns his focus on the victims of violence, however, he strikes a much more somber and remorseful tone. The Kindness of Strangers, a tragic tale of a young girl's murder at the hands of a travelling companion, employs a classical piano fit for a funeral parlor. With its weeping violin, acoustic guitar and piano, Where the Wild Roses Grow feels like a lift from the death scene of a major movie. Perhaps the most artfully told tale on the album, the song is a duet in which Cave plays an obsessive but charming psycho looking to murder a thing of beauty, and Kylie Minogue sings for the smitten young woman who falls for him, oblivious as to what she's gotten herself into. The switching of perspectives and the contrast between the foreboding and innocence in the singers' respective voices creates a tragedy worthy of a film itself. The fact that it was the most successful single not just from the album, but of the band's entire career speaks volumes about beauty with which it is presented.

The closing track, one of my favorites, is a hopeful medley of the Bob Dylan tune, Death is not the End. Stars are abound as Kylie Minogue, PJ Harvey and Shane MacGowan all join in to add some much needed catharsis to the end of the record. It serves as sort of a gentle reminder of the possibilities that lie beyond death (if you believe in such a thing). It's a comforting notion to throw at the end of an extremely dark record. Nobody even dies in it!

If more people had heard it, I'm sure this would be a highly divisive record. Many who listen to it will find it too disturbing to tolerate. Others might find it hammy and ridiculous. I personally think it's a fascinating use of rock and roll as a literary medium. This albums is a masterpiece in theming, whether you find the package writ large to be revolting or not. That the album feels so cohesive when so many competing emotions and moods are at play is a testament to the care that was put into crafting it. Murder Ballads is not just a collection of songs about death, but a theatrical experience that rivals even the most deliberate rock operas. It's one of the most unique and colorful records I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, and a worthy addition to my collection of must have albums.

Track List

1. "Song of Joy" – 6:47
2. * "Stagger Lee" – 5:15 
3. * "Henry Lee"  – 3:58
4. "Lovely Creature" – 4:13 
5. * "Where the Wild Roses Grow" – 3:57
6. * "The Curse of Millhaven" – 6:55
7. "The Kindness of Strangers" – 4:39
8. "Crow Jane" – 4:14 
9. "O'Malley's Bar" – 14:28
10. * "Death Is Not the End" – 4:26 

* - Track Picks