Murder Ballads

Absolutely love this album. Utterly brilliant. Great tunes. Fabulous lyrics, dark, amusing, unusual theme. Like listening to a musical audio book.

Just great from start to (nearly) finish. The only dud was the final Bob Dylan authored track.. Whoda thunk it. I get the tongue-in-cheekness of adding this at the end of an album that is basically all murders. It's just sadly not a great song.
4½

Not bad, but still not a big Nick Cave guy. Does he really need this many albums on the 1001 list?

This will have been the third Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album on my journey. I remember first listening to his near-hit with Kylie Minogue, "Where the Wild Roses Grow", a year and a half ago. Such an unconventional team-up that led to a serene waltz with the organic strings, acoustic guitar, and piano coalescing around this duet as they recount the murder of Elisa Day, from both the perspective of the killer and the victim. It is a genuinely amazing single that gave a taste of what Murder Ballads had in store.

True to its title, this record is a collection of narrative-driven songs that detail various murders... for the most part; I'll put a pin on that for later. Atmosphere is the name of the game here, as the compositions crawl with visceral menace, largely piano-driven as Nick and Conway Savage's tickled those ivory keys, with additional support from the distorted guitars of Blixa Bargeld and Mick Harvey, and the strong rhythmic foundation of Martyn P. Casey, Jim Sclavunos, and Thomas Wylder. It's the perfect backdrop for Nick to brood with specificity in these graphic tales. From the death of a mother and her three daughters in the chilling "Song of Joy", to the New Orleans R&B swagger of "Stagger Lee" as an update on the folk iconography of the murderous pimp Lee Shelton, to another bona fide duet on "Henry Lee" as PJ Harvey effortlessly played the woman who kills her cheating lover, to the wandering haze of "Lovely Creature" with the whooshing organ as a girl is left to die in the desert sands, to the choir accompaniment on the manic shuffle of "The Curse of Millhaven" as the character of Loretta went on a misguided killing spree, to the somber recounting of a crime scene in "The Kindness of Strangers", to the haunting blues of "Crow Jane" as the titular character went from rape victim to mass murderer, nothing is left on the table with each sensationalist story that offered a unique perspective. Probably the most spine-tingling tale came in the 14-minute "O'Malley's Bar", the song that spurred on the creation of this album. An eerie cabaret piece as Nick played a demented man hell-bent on his killing spree, only to stop from ending his life at the very end when his humanity was regained, and he turned himself in to the police. It's the kind of striking songwriting that I would not have expected any less from him.

All that said, I come back to my pin from earlier, as there is but one song on the album where a murder didn't happen. That would be the closer, a cover of Bob Dylan's "Death Is Not the End", where Nick is not only accompanied by Kylie and PJ on the vocals once again, but also his bandmates, Shane McGowan of the Pogues, and singer-songwriter Anita Lane. Sure, it has been described as a tongue-in-cheek inclusion by Nick, but I think there is something potent in the sentiment that for all these lives prematurely ended, there is still more in store for them, be it in the afterlife or in the memories of those we loved. Perhaps it's a bit of a reach to call it intentional, but I certainly felt moved by it as a curtain call.

Murder Ballads is a wonderful album, truly encapsulating what Nick Cave is known for as a singer-songwriter.

not my cupper

I think embracing Nick Cave is largely about buying into his schtick. Listening to this, I buy into it, for a while, and then I get tired of it. Some great moments on here, but it's too much for me for a long album.

6.8

Fav song: The Curse of Milltown

Least fav: O'Malley's Bar Song

I don't appreciate this... I don't mind the stories, but the vocals make this an unpleasant listen. Also R.I.P Biko.

Pretty dark music (melodically- and lyrically-wise) and sometimes it feels like the singer's rhythm is a little off. I think I might like it a bit better (find it tolerable even) if he had better rhythm and better notes (sometimes he feels like he's not completely right with his notes). I'm just imagining the kind of person who would write/sing these songs... and it's kinda hard to enjoy his voice after thinking about that. Seems like a bad version of Ballad of Hollis Brown. If you want ballads, listen to Bob Dylan. It's like nasty, serial killer Ted Bundy mixed with Bob Dylan. Did not like this at all. I got through half of it and figured it was enough

I don't know if I'd say I "enjoyed" this album, but it was interesting at the very least. The whole murder theme is honestly a little offputting as someone without much interest in the macabre, so opening with a track like Song of Joy, which seems to revel in being as grim as possible, gave me a bad impression right off the bat. That immediately being followed up by the unbearably edgy Stagger Lee was probably the nadir of the record. I feel like there must be something going over my head with that song because it's such a crude and unpleasant listen that it somehow feels out of place even on an album as dark as this one. Maybe it's a parody of something, I don't know.

The album does pick up in the middle though, with guest vocals from the likes of PJ Harvey and Kylie Minogue helping to break up the oppressive monotony of Cave's own distinctive singing style. I feel like the songwriting itself got a little more varied and interesting here as well, but I'll be honest I don't feel like listening to the album again to better elaborate how right now.

I can't give a review of this album without touching on The Curse of Millhaven and O'Malley's Bar. With this being my first Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds record I've listened to in full, I feel like I got a better idea of what Cave is all about and his sense of humour after listening to these. I do find the macabre subject matter more palatable when it's played as obviously farcical as it is in these tracks. While the lyrics are clever and engaging here, I think Curse did a much better job of not outstaying its welcome; 15 minutes is a tough ask when the music itself is as repetitive and static as it is in O'Malley's Bar. Then again, repetitive seems to be just how this band does things.

Favourite tracks: Where the Wild Roses Grow, Curse of Millhaven

*Cool world building
*Dark mood- unique sound but probably won't listen again

A creepy, weird, awesome concept album. I’ve always been intrigued by Nick Cave, but this was my first time listening.

Cave at his diabolical best. Tales of bad people doing bad things, with a soundtrack to match. Impeccable guest spots from Kylie and PJ Harvey (as well as Shane MacGowan and the whole Bad Seeds on the final track). The sprawling O’Malley’s Bar does drag a bit towards the end of its nearly 15 minutes, but that is a minor quibble on a magnificent album. It’s loud, its brash, it’s a bit silly, and it leaves you feeling just a bit dirty. Mission accomplished.

In Scotland when we say something is murder we're saying it is crap. e.g. That film we watched last night was murder. These are all Murder Ballads but these Ballads are not all Murder.

I was deep in my Nick Cave fandom when this album came out. So much so that I was almost in denial that it was the first thing by him that disappointed me a bit.

There are plenty great moments. Song of Joy is a brilliant concoction with the full power of the Bad Seeds allied to a fine creepy tale with a classic unreliable narrator.

Stagger Lee unearths an interim horror version of this venerable lyric to amusing effect. It's a white boy joining the dots between 90s Gangsta rap and the real life Stag O Lee Shelton who was a 19th century peacocking pimp who served time for shooting Billy Lyons dead. By the time he was released there were already versions of the song where he was executed for the crime but went to hell and murdered the devil because he was such a bad motherfucker. If this interests you I recommend Cecil Brown's incredible book Stagolee Shot Billy which charts the song's storied history and context.

The album, for me, as a whole struggles under the weight of its concept. Too many of these songs feel like a grim academic exercise in fulfilling the stated brief of providing a suitable setting for O'Malley's Bar, a song that doesn't really warrant the effort and could have been consigned to a CD single extra.

On the other hand I have a soft spot for the album because it is the last ride of their producer Tony Cohen and therefore the last outting for that big crowded layered Bad Seeds sound.

How much heroin went into the creation of this album?

The album title is definitely accurate

Es ist ein düsteres, faszinierendes Konzeptalbum, das mit morbidem Charme und erzählerischer Wucht überzeugt. Jeder Song erzählt eine eigene, blutgetränkte Geschichte – mal schaurig, mal poetisch. Besonders herausragend ist das Duett „Where the Wild Roses Grow“ mit Kylie Minogue: eine verstörend schöne Ballade über Liebe und Tod, die unter die Haut geht. Die stilistische Vielfalt – von zarten Melodien bis zu apokalyptischem Lärm – sorgt für Abwechslung, auch wenn nicht jeder Track gleich stark zündet. Ein makaber-schönes Meisterwerk für Freunde des Abgründigen.

A great album. I first became aware of Nick Cave with the song "Where the Wild Roses Grow." I was also familiar with the duet with PJ Harvey in "Henry Lee." I had heard the album, but didn't appreciate it. That has now changed. The album is one of my favorites. 5/5

Jeg er veldig glad i Nick Cave, og hadde til og med en t-skjorte det sto "Murder Ballads" på. Men selve albumet har aldri vært blant mine gjengangere i Cave-katalogen. For meg blir det litt Tim Burton-aktig, en slags påtatt estetikk som er litt for tivoli-aktig for min del.

Det er høydepunkt på plata, og den starter sterkt. De to tradlåtene "Stagger Lee" og "Henry Lee" funker veldig bra og funker tekstmessig fordi det er ekte murder ballads, resten blir litt fan fiction. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" har heller aldri vært noe for meg, men jeg skjønner at det er hiten fra plata.

Syns også det er gøy med Dylan-coveren på slutten, med det mest brokete pubkoret med solister som har fått boltre seg i et studio noensinne. Det er ikke mye å hente fra plata den kommer fra, Down in the Groove, så det er nok like greit at Cave valgte "Death is Not the End" og ikke "Ugliest Girl in the World". Jeg lurer på om Cave hørte plata til Dylan og ble like skuffet som så mange ble, og fant ut at det var mulig å gjøre "Death is not the End" bedre i alle fall. Han klarte det i alle fall.

That's enough Nick Cave thanks.

Bonus point for Kylie bringing the sexy back on "Where the Wild Roses Grow"

An album entirely just about murder stories is bound to be entertaining. It also just fits Nick Cave’s energy and he shouldn’t sing about anything else

izvrsno, izvrsno! bilo koji album koji ima pjesme 'stagger lee' i 'henry lee', koje znam otprije, ne može ne biti jako dobar, ali i ostatak je albuma gotovo uvijek na toj razini... još kad sam čuo šejna na zadnjoj pjesmi... ma divota sve u svemu