Live Seeds

孤高のロック・アーティスト、ニック・ケイヴ&ザ・バッド・シーズの名作を一挙取り扱いスタート!
ニック・ケイヴ&ザ・バッド・シーズによる熱狂ライヴ盤!(1993年作品)本作は1992年～93年にかけて行われたヨーロッパ/オーストラリアでのライヴを収録!

Melody Maker - "...LIVE SEEDS captures the full, red- blooded, blues-smeared, genius-streaked monty of a band 10 years into a career that continues to astonish and intrigue at every turn..." Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...[Nick] Cave has theatricalized his performance...keeping the songs in focus, as abetted by the Bad Seeds...[LIVE SEEDS] breathes authentic brimstone..." Spin - Highly Recommended - "...[Nick Cave] sings the hell out of songs he wavered or growled around before....for the uninitiated, it's a solid introduction to a genius-type..." Spin (11/93, p.133) - Highly Recommended - "...[Nick Cave] sings the hell out of songs he wavered or growled around before....for the uninitiated, it's a solid introduction to a genius-type..." Q (10/93, p.104) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...[Nick] Cave has theatricalized his performance...keeping the songs in focus, as abetted by the Bad Seeds...[LIVE SEEDS] breathes authentic brimstone..." Melody Maker (9/4/93, p.32) - "...LIVE SEEDS captures the full, red- blooded, blues-smeared, genius-streaked monty of a band 10 years into a career that continues to astonish and intrigue at every turn..."

Nick Cave has gone through many changes in his career: from his bellowing mad-singer days in the Birthday Party to blues-inspired-lounge-singer-in-Eternity's-waiting-room. In between, he recorded live shows in 1992 and 1993 for LIVE SEEDS, and it ably sums up the power of Cave's music up to that time. In his solo career, Cave has fallen under the spell of American blues and gospel and Anglo-American mythology, and his interest/obsession shines throughout these inspired performances. "Papa Won't Leave You Henry" is structured like a sea shanty, but the lyrics are about a dark journey of brothels and murder. "Brother My Cup Is Empty" is almost a creepy, bluesy country song (written by Kurt Weil and Bertold Brecht, if you can imagine that). "Tupelo" is another dark blues-drenched tale, and the gospel-inspired closer, "New Morning" finishes on a hopeful note. The Bad Seeds' playing is punchy and driven, with individual players punctuating the singer's tales appropriately. Cave is part weary world traveler, part sodden blues singer, part the demented preacher from NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (where preacher Robert Mitchum had "love" and "hate" tattooed on the knuckles of his hands)--declaring, raving, doing battle with his demons. With Cave, you can never tell who wins.|

Exactly what it says it is, and quite good at that -- some fans consider many of the songs on Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Live Seeds to be superior to their studio equivalent -- a testament to its overall quality. Recorded at various spots on the Henry's Dream tour and originally sold with a small picture book documenting said tour, Live features the same sextet that performed on Dream bringing the noise with commanding authority. Cave himself is unsurprisingly in excelsis, his declamatory and quieter sides both showcased with skill. Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld's guitar exploits, sometimes snarling with fire and other times strumming with deceptive calm, lead the charge from the rest, with the Thomas Wydler and Martyn P. Casey rhythm section ratcheting up the intensity, and Conway Savage's piano and organ work shading everything out. Three of the thirteen songs are from Dream, with the rest drawn from throughout Cave's solo career, including a dramatic version of "From Her to Eternity" that takes the 1987 re-recording as its start and gets an even more punishing makeover. Few cuts differ drastically from the more familiar album versions, but generally everything is crisper, at times much more brusque, perhaps exchanging texture for force. The opening performance of "The Mercy Seat" doesn't achieve the melodramatic power of the Tender Prey performance, but still makes for a fiery start, Cave's lyric of dues-paying via death delivered with the appropriate power. The Dream cuts arguably are the most different from their studio takes, given a more punchy approach all around, especially on "Brother, My Cup Is Empty." Other highlights include the beautiful passion of "The Ship Song," its tearjerking appeal fully intact, and the doom-laden "The Weeping Song," Bargeld and Cave's duet once again a striking fusion of voices. An end-of-the-night singalong take on "New Morning" concludes this striking record, definitely one of Cave's best. ~ Ned Raggett