Search - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds :: Kicking Against The Pricks

HAM RADIO A.M. OLDIES---BAD SEED STYLE

K. H. Orton | New York, NY USA | 06/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lord knows what prompted them to cut this, but in the 1986 Post Punk/Alternative/Underground scene, a covers record was unheard of. Furthermore, to feature songs made famous by the likes of Johnny Cash, Gene Pitney &Tom Jones was perversely unfashionable to say the least.



Looked at this way, Kicking Against the Pricks is a big middle finger to fans & especially critics alike. But it was also a genuine ode to the music Cave & The Bad Seeds sincerely loved, which is precisely how they pull this stunt off.



In terms of ballads like "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" & the pure Pop embrace of "Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart", a startling side to Cave is revealed for the 1st time: Nick The Crooner. He genuinely gives his all to "Sleeping Annaleah", while the Bad Seeds provide suitably demented backing.



More than any other recording artist, Johnny Cash has the honor of being paid tribute to the most. This album boasts not 1 but 3 songs cut by the Man In Black. But you have to remember that Cash's resurgence of popularity was more a few years away. At the time, he was far from hip.



The brooding opener, "Muddy Water" is from Cash's 1979 Silver album, an obscure choice that fortunately did not escape Cave's notice. The same goes for Cave's menacing interpretation of the Cash rarity, "The Folksinger". As for "Long Black Veil", while the version here can't hope to compete with The Man In Black's, in terms of mood & atmosphere, it's certainly commendable. If some journalist wanted to coin a genre for these 3 I'd suggest, "Gothic Country".



The Bad Seeds' previous, First Born Is Dead was steeped in John Lee Hooker's influence & Cave launches into "I'm Gonna Kill That Woman" with merciless abandon. Amid the plethora of Hooker covers out there, I'll go so far as to say this is up there along with Them's "Baby Please Don't Go" as being definitive.



Another standout is The Hammer Song which I feel surpasses Alex Harvey's original.



As for the full on Gospel of "Woman At The Well", this was something that just was not done at the time. Then the curtains draw to a close with a gorgeous, haunting rendition of The Seekers' classic, "The Carnival Is Over".



As with all the re-issues in this series the sound is amazing. You can hear every pin drop. In terms of the bonus tracks, Cave's ferocious near a cappella take on Leadbelly's "Black Betty" is essential.



To say this is the Bad Seeds at their least ground breaking would be missing the point. All that's absent is any hint of cynicism or mockery. In many ways this is Cave's most innocent & nostalgic offering since he 1st "released the bats". He would later cut many a fine love song, but at this point in his career anything resembling a traditional ballad was a rare commodity.



Despite all the musical inanities that prevailed in the 80's, what's so remarkable is how this & all of Cave's records hold up so well some 23 years later. They simply don't sound dated. And Kicking is if anything, as much out of step as it is out of time. This is Ham Radio Oldies AM 101...Bad Seed Style.



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