Well, I don't know if it is a totally great read from begining to end because it's writers or should I say journalists which Nick Cave seems to hate most of them so maybe good, bad and ugly read would be more appropriate. To kick this off as well, the last few years has been the most disappointing time to be a fan of his, with Grinderman debut, the Bad Seeds' Dig Lazarus album which should have been Grinderman too just with Mick Harvey filling in on guitar and few other extras, the silly dead rabbit book, the next Grinderman. I have enjoyed the soundtracks more: The Road, The Assassination of Jesse James and the last totally great thing he's done The Proposition which of course he was more involved with writing the screenplay plus the music. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis' The White Lunar, double CD compilation is the best release in that time by far because you don't have to listen to his now shit lyrics. The last great album would have to be the Bad Seeds' Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus from 2004. Don't get me wrong he's done bad albums before or one's I didn't think much off like 1996's Murder Ballads, 1990's The Good Son and 1985's The First Born is Dead are not great maybe one or two songs are great but not as whole albums. His 2007 to 2010 projects are his first run of pretty weak work, it makes me realise just how good his music before was.
So this is the latest in a long line of books about Cave and this will be my very last blog post about him until he does something at least good, I will not say great because I think it impossible at the moment and I'm sick of bagging him out too. Anyway I was reviewing a book about him here. The best interviews are the two by Phil Sutciffe for Mojo magazine in 2008 and 2004. The worst are two for NME and Q magazines which I won't name their names. It's funny the choices Mat Snow the editor made because I know I've read better stuff than in this book about Cave. There is only one interview for The Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party each, a few more for his drug fucked years in the 80's, only four from his cross-over years in the the 90's which you have to ask why? And the rest are from 2000's which starts on page 108 and the book is 240 pages long. I think I could have put togther a better book with Cave interviews but maybe I'm being way too negative. It's worth reading it just for the unedited Phil Sutcliffe interviews but there are others which are great like the full Debbie Kruger interview which is wicked.
What happens in this because it goes chronological even though I just said those last two interviews are the best, it seems growing older he's done his best to turn his life into just an office job with his wife and kids at home, just totally getting rid of any kind of chaos eg: the 90's and 80's. Like say did you know his first two sons Luke and Jethro where only born just ten days apart in two different countries and off-course by two totally different women. As well he was still on the drink and drugs until just 2001 but he's been sober and clean since then. I love those few albums for early to mid 2000's but after the Aussie Western movie he's lost his way a little really. Also that you find out that the writing of that film started at the No More Shall we Part album sessions too so it's even easier to group that time period together.
Anyway this book I would rate 3 stars or three out of five, it's just OK like most of his recent work to be nice about it, it's just OK. I guess we will see what Cave does next, He's writing the next Bad Seeds album now or if he can write another masterpiece before 85 which is the age he'll probably make it to according to this book.
Just to finish off here's him back in the good old days singing Bob Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door, the picture is a bit jumpy but sound is pretty good. It's from around the mid-80's so its amazing it's been uploaded to youtube at all.
The top image is the book cover and the middle photo is for the mid-90's by Polly Borland.
Stay tuned for more soon...
Thanks for the kind (most of them, anyway) words, Mr Duck. Out of interest, can you recall which are the stories you would have included had you edited this anthology? If ever we do an expanded edition, it would be great to fill in those gaps.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Mat Snow (mat.snow@virgin.net)