Classic Album Review: The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Released in 1997, and following the success of "Murder Ballads", "The Boatman's Call" was a departure from it's predecessor. Ironically, it was far more in keeping with what those who bought the aforementioned "Murder Ballads" on the strength of the "Where The Wild Roses Grow" single would have expected. The raw, violent music found within "Murder Ballads" would have come as a shock to those not either paying attention to the title, or being familiar with Cave's previous work.

By contrast, "The Boatman's Call" is sparse, featuring mostly just keyboards and light drums. The mood, whilst not murderous is still dark and moody. Themes of love, loss and faith dominate, explicitly so. There is no implied meaning, Cave lays it all out in black and white.

The song titles alone tell the story. "Into My Arms", "People Ain't No Good", "Brompton Oratory", "There Is A Kingdom", "(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For?" and "Far From Me".

Despite the downbeat atmosphere the songs are just so strong. "People Ain't No Good" is a plaintive, miserabilist waltz. The music says slow dance, the words say reach for the bottle; "To our love send a dozen white lilies, to our love send a coffin of wood".

"Brompton Oratory," starting with a cheap electronic drum beat and church organ, gives heartbreak a voice with crushingly perfect lyrics; "And I wish that I was made of stone, so that I would not have to see, a beauty impossible to define".

The album's peak, for me, is "(Are You) The One I've Been Waiting For?". A minor chord opening cycles through an uplifting sequence that despite the relatively positive message of the words, still holds a thread of sadness. I can listen to this song over and over again.

The upbeat, in the context of the album, trajectory doesn't continue as the next song points us back down again with "Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere?". The mood and style remains consistent to the end, with the exception of "West Country Girl", (an ode to PJ Harvey), which in style if not lyrics could have come from "Murder Ballads".

In summary, I consider this album to one of Nick Cave's finest, and one of the best from a year that wasn't short of good music; "OK Computer", "Blur", "Time Out Of Mind", "Sound Of Lies", and "Songs From Northern Britain" anyone?

I return to this album frequently to enjoy the warm, comforting bath of melancholia to be found within.

I recommend you do the same.

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Iron Maiden & Killswitch Engage: Live at the O2 Review

One of the glaring gaps in my live music experience was filled on Friday night, after catching Iron Maiden at the O2 in London.
Before the main event though, support was provided by a band I'd happily pay to watch a headline set by, Killswitch Engage.
The Massachusetts natives hit the stage at 1930, tearing into "Strength Of Mind" to a decent reception. Given that everyone was there for Maiden, the arena was far fuller than normal for an opening act, indicative of the quality of the metalcore pioneers.

The power of their performance and material really struck me at the end of the 2nd track "A Bid Farewell" and the beginning of the following song, "Hate By Design". The two guitars of Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel, along with the bass of Mike D'Antonio all locked in on the same riff, doubling and then tripling for a visceral audio punch.
" My Last Serenade" from the seminal "Alive Or Just Breathing" was a mid set highlight, but…

Teenage Fanclub - Live At The Barrowlands

As previously mentioned, there was a certain sadness attached to this run of gigs by Bellshill's finest. My fear was that the imminent departure of Gerry Love would change the atmosphere from one of celebration to regret. Fortunately this was not to be the case. Whilst the atmosphere WAS different from a normal Fannies gig, that had more to do with the set list and personnel on stage.

Billed as 'The Creation Years- Songs From 1994-1997', this was exactly as advertised. What we got was "Grand Prix" and "Songs From Northern Britain", (SFNB), top to tail and in order.

Given that those two albums are the finest work the band produced, there were no complaints from me. What it did highlight was the difference between a live show and an album in terms of sequencing. Whereas most gigs will build to a big finish, "Grand Prix" for example finishes with "Hardcore/Ballad", a mash up of the early raw sound cutting immediately into a heartfelt sol…

A Musical Epiphany: Bruce Springsteen

Have you ever struggled to understand the appeal of an artist?

In the case of Bruce Springsteen I was in this camp until August 2002. I appreciated that he was a significant figure in music, and enjoyed some of his hits, "Born To Run" and "Thunder Road" in particular. "Born To Run" and "Greatest Hits" were the only albums of his I owned, and found the almost religious fervour of his most passionate devotees baffling.

All that changed in early August 2002 when on the basis of many positive reviews at the time I bought his just released, (9/11 addressing & E-Street Band reuniting), album "The Rising". I was walking the dog, listening on headphones, and had found the first 10 tracks, enjoyable, if not spectacular. Track 11,"Mary's Place", changed all that. The old time gospel hall feel with it's saxophone licks caught my attention. I wasn't prepared for what happened at 3:34 on "...drop the needle and pray...…

Neil Young - Songs For Judy - Album Review

Whilst Shakey's new output has been patchy to say the least over the last few years, the Neil Young Archives keep dispensing the goodness. After "Hitchhiker" last year we've already had "Roxy: Tonight's The Night Live" in 2018. Now we get a 23 track, 22 song single disc of solo live Neil with a difference.

A mono soundboard mix recorded on cassette and then transferred to reel-to reel for posterity from a 1976 U.S. tour by photographer/guitar tech Joel Bernstein. In conjunction with his friend Cameron Crowe, (yes, that Cameron Crowe) they compiled the best versions that comprise this release.

It is a real treat. The track listing is superb with plenty of lesser known gems alongside the staples. "White Line", which didn't finally appear on record until 1990's superb "Ragged Glory".

"Human Highway" which Neil introduces with a comment about the abortive attempts to get it recorded.

"Give Me Strength" which surf…

Def Leppard - Live In Glasgow

Musical trends come and go, but when you've sold as many albums as Def Leppard you are to a certain extent immune from the shifting sands of the taste makers.

Never a band beloved by the music press, the rock legends have always relied on their craft to find them the fans, rather than the hype machine.

Having last seen them as one of 40'000 at their homecoming gig in Sheffield on 6th June 1993, I was looking forward to seeing if they still had 'it'.

The answer is a resounding yes. From the minute Phil Collen emerged into a red spotlight to play the opening riff to "Women" it was clear that this was going to be good. The band sounded fantastic, the guitars squealing, Joe Elliot's voice still husky and the layered harmonies hitting the spot.

This tour was billed as "Hysteria 2018" and was the first time other than their 2013 Las Vegas residency that they'd played the 25 million selling album in full. This was not false advertising.

"Women&q…

Best Of 2018 - Redux Springsteen On Broadway Review

A short series of posts looking at the albums that either arrived too late, or I discovered through other peoples 'best of' lists, that I feel warrant discussion in the 'Best Of 2018'.

Next up,

Springsteen On Broadway

This double CD came along in December as the complete soundtrack to the Netflix recording of the Broadway show.

I had managed to avoid any spoilers about the show, other than picking up the general vibe that it was good. It was therefore a surprise that it was unlike any other Springsteen album, indeed a show and not a concert. More monologue than songs it is nonetheless a fascinating document and a must listen/watch for any music fan.

Using some of the material from his autobiography to take us on a journey through his life in word and song with sincerity and good humour, this is an enjoyable ride. Are any of the versions of songs here the definitive versions? Not really, but that is not the point. The unique format is the selling point. If you want classic …

In Defence Of....."Outlaw Pete"

On a recent episode of the Set Lusting Bruce podcast, host Jesse Jackson along with guests Chris Bloom and Tim Arnold ranked their five top opening tracks from Bruce Springsteen albums. Whilst the show was as enjoyable as ever I couldn't help but note the universal disdain for the epic opener from 2009's "Working On A Dream", "Outlaw Pete". A response was required, so here we go....

Let's deal with the elephant in the room first, KISS. As a Brit KISS were never the big deal here that they were in the US. In fact before doing some research for this post, the only KISS song I'd ever heard was "Crazy, Crazy Nights". The similarity of the melody line from "Outlaw Pete" and "I Was Made For Loving You" was therefore not something that had ever bothered me as I'd not heard the KISS track until about 10 minutes ago!

I'm not going to try a claim there is no similarity, or to pass judgement on whether it was intentional or …

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