Murder Ballads
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Murder Ballads'' is the ninth studio album by the Australian
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...
, released on 5 February 1996 by
Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, EinstΓΌrze ...
. As its title suggests, the album consists of new and traditional murder ballads, a genre of songs that relays the details (and often consequences) of crimes of passion. " Where the Wild Roses Grow", a duet featuring Cave singing with fellow Australian singer
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
, was a hit single and received two
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
in 1996. Other prominent guest musicians on the album include then-partner
PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...
and
Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...
of
the Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahoneβ€”an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:pΓ³g mo thΓ³in, ''pΓ ...
.


Details

''Murder Ballads'' was the band's biggest commercial success to date, most likely helped by the unexpected repeated airplay of the "Where the Wild Roses Grow" music video on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. MTV even nominated Cave for their "best male artist" award of that year, though this nomination was later withdrawn at Cave's request. Cave later said, "I was kind of aware that people would go and buy the ''Murder Ballads'' album 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." The first song written for the album was "O'Malley's Bar", when the band was recording '' Henry's Dream'' (1992). According to Cave, the idea for the ''Murder Ballads'' album 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." Recordings were done towards the end of the '' Let Love In'' (1994) sessions, and there was some thought that the early material could be made into a film with
John Hillcoat John Hillcoat (born 14 August 1961) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and music video director. His early work includes the 1988 prison film '' Ghosts... of the Civil Dead'', as well as music videos for bands such as Siouxsie and t ...
. 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? For the TV documentary '' Great Australian Albums'' members described their work on ''Murder Ballads''.


Songs

* "Stagger Lee" is based on a traditional song about the African American murderer of the same name. Cave's version draws most of the lyrics from a 1967 transcription published in the 1976 book ''The Life: The Lore and Folk Poetry of the Black Hustler'', while the music itself is updated into a
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
song. * " Death Is Not the End" includes vocalists Anita Lane,
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
,
PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...
, and
Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...
, along with Cave himself and Bad Seeds drummer Thomas Wydler and guitarist Blixa Bargeld. They each sing a verse in this cover of a
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
song, 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."


Critical reception

Upon release, ''Murder Ballads'' received widespread critical acclaim. Bill van Parys of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' wrote that "never before have manic elements elevated Cave's shtick to art as on ''Murder Ballads''", describing the album as "literate, sultry and tortured" and "the performance of Nick Cave's life." Tony Scherman of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' warned that ''Murder Ballads'' was "not for the squeamish," calling it "the rare pop record that resonates with the weight of the ages". In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 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". In a mixed review, ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
''s Chris Norris complimented the album's "sordid epics and dark confessionals", but felt that Cave's "rheumy Poe-ish romance" songs were less effective. In the English music press, '' Select''s Clark Collis remarked that ''Murder Ballads'' "weaves itself together into a meditation on death that is both beautiful and genuinely unnerving." Dave Henderson of '' Q'' observed that "musically, the Bad Seeds touch on tinkling cabaret jazz,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
-paced morbidity and every morose station between." ''Murder Ballads'' ranked number 16 on ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
''s list of 1996's Albums of the Year and number 7 in the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''s 1996 critics' poll. In December 2021, the album was ranked at no. 13 in
Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone Australia'' is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...
's "200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time" list.


Track listing


Personnel

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds *
Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
 β€“ vocals (1–10); piano (1, 5, 8, 9); organ (1, 2, 4, 6, 10);
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
(1); gun shots (2); string arrangement (5) * Blixa Bargeld β€“ guitar (1–8, 10); screams (2); vocals (10) *
Martyn P. Casey Martyn Paul Casey (born 10 July 1960) is an English-born Australian rock bass guitarist. He has been a member of the Triffids, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. Casey plays either his Fender Precision Bass or Fender Jazz Bass. B ...
 β€“ bass (1–5, 7, 8) *
Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...
 β€“ 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 organ (8); space belt (8); percussion (9) * Conway Savage β€“ piano (2–4, 7, 10); backing vocals (5); organ (9) * Jim Sclavunos β€“ drums (2, 8); percussion (4, 10); bells (5); tambourine (6) * Thomas Wydler β€“ maracas (2); drums (3–7, 9, 10); tambourine (8); vocals (10) Guest musicians *
PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...
 β€“ vocals (3, 10) * Terry Edwards β€“ horns (4) * Katharine Blake β€“ additional vocals (4) *
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
 β€“ vocals (5, 10) * Jen Anderson β€“ violin (5) * Sue Simpson β€“ violin (5) * Kerran Coulter β€“ viola (5) * Helen Mountfort β€“ cello (5) *
Hugo Race Hugo Justin Race (born 23 May 1963) is an Australian rock musician and record producer who had been based in Europe from 1989 to 2011. He was a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1983–85), and The Wreckery (1984–89) with Nick Barke ...
 β€“ guitar (6) *
Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...
 β€“ violin (6); accordion (6) * Marielle Del Conte β€“ additional vocals (7) * Anita Lane β€“ crying (7); vocals (10) * Geraldine Johnston β€“ additional vocals (8) * Liz Corcoran β€“ additional vocals (8) *
Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...
 β€“ vocals (10) * Brian Hooper β€“ bass (10) The Moron Tabernacle Choir on "The Curse of Millhaven" * Nick Cave * Martyn P. Casey * Conway Savage * Thomas Wydler *
Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...
* Brian Hooper * Spencer P. Jones *
Dave Graney Dave Graney is an Australian rock musician, singer-songwriter and author. Since 1978, Graney has collaborated with drummer-multi instrumentalist Clare Moore. The pair have fronted or been involved with numerous bands including The Moodists (19 ...
* Katharine Blake * Clare Moore *
Rowland S. Howard Rowland Stuart Howard (24 October 1959 – 30 December 2009) was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party (band), The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career ...
* James Johnston * Ian Johnston * Geraldine Johnston * Astrid Munday


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications

the album has sold close to a million copies worldwide.


References


Sources

* ''The Life: The Lore and Folk Poetry of the Black Hustler'', Wepman, Newman & Binderman, Holloway House, 1976,


External links

*
Nick Cave
at the Stagger Lee Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Murder Ballads 1996 albums Nick Cave albums Mute Records albums Albums produced by Victor Van Vugt Murder ballads