Here the underlining concern is in the creation of a bleak and suffocating atmosphere, only occasionally broken by Cave’s amazingly dark wit and always-colourful use of language. The form is taken straight from the tradition of the English ballad, with confessional structures, biblical imagery, lurid subject matter and larger than life caricatures all jostling for our attention. It works because Cave doesn’t take it too seriously. Songs like Stagger Lee, The Curse of Millhaven and the epic O’Malley’s Bar seem to take their cue from cabaret, or at their most, musical theatre. It lightens the mood, making the more suffocating moments like Song for Joy - a shocking parable about a young doctor robbed of his family - less soul destroying. The two contrasting elements create a nice blend that takes the listener on an intimate journey into the deepest, darkest depths of despair.

As always, Cave is complimented by his wonderful Bad Seeds, who are here on fine form. The arrangements are atmospherically complex, though never what you would call cluttered; whilst an assortment of varied guest stars (such as PJ Harvey, Kylie Minogue and Shane MacGowan) add to the frenzied, 'don’t give a f-ck' spirit of the album. Cave has done better work than this... but never before, and most likely never again, will we ever see his appetite for horror, bloodshed and death in such an unashamed, and certainly uncensored approach as this. What else is there to say...?


Blackly humorous, yet curiously morbid   October 16, 2003
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

A collection of songs dealing with serial killings, mass murder and random crimes of passion might seem an odd subject for an album and in some ways, you'd be right to think that. But then again, this is Nick Cave.

I find listening to this album to be quite unsettling, but at the same time blackly comic and almost uplifting. I can't think of another artist who could even hope to pull off this quite amazing feat. From the very morbid "Song of Joy" opening, through the exceptionally foul mouthed "Stagger Lee" and finishing on a re-orked version of "Death is not the end," (featuring guest vocals from the likes of Shane McGowan, Kylie Minogue and PJ Harvey) you can't help but be taken aback by it all.

The highlight of the album for me is "Where the Wild Roses grow," which is a duet with Kylie Minogue, (The best song she'll ever do) her voice providing a nice contrast with Cave's own haunting vocals.

This is not Cave's finest work, but it is certainly one of his bravest and though it might not be the first Cd you reach for, it deserves it's place on your shelf alongside all the other Nick Cave albums.


Death never sounded so good   April 30, 2003
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

Personally I think that Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have been the most consistently under appreciated artists of the last decade. Cave has constantly released utterly amazing LPs and yet receives little praise from the record buying public. The fact that he sounds more like a mortician than a pop star belies the fact that he is possibly the finest songwriter to have ever walked the earth. ‘Murder Ballads’ is Cave’s ninth album and his first stab at something resembling a concept LP.

Don’t let the ‘concept album’ tag put you off though. For this is not a series of odd beeps and thuds. It is certainly the best example of poetry set to music of the last decade. Death might sound like a boring premise; but a subject as broad could never be dull in the hands of someone as talented as Cave. From sad tales (‘Kindness of Strangers’) to the macabre ‘Song Of Joy’ to the downright grotesque ‘Stagger Lee’ the listener is treated to the different faces of The Bad Seeds on this ‘Murder Ballads’.

The opener, ‘Song Of Joy’ is quite unlike any song I have ever heard. Not only it is astoundingly atmospheric (sounding not unlike a Godspeed You Black Emperor track), the story is a chilling tale of murder where clues as to whodunit are cleverly woven into the lyrics. Only a thorough knowledge of John Milton’s work will allow the listener to fully understand it (or, like me you can simply read the liner notes). Not all the songs are as cunning at ‘Song Of Joy’ though. Where the opener is complex and clever so ‘Stagger Lee’ is downright gruesome. Instrumentally the track is reminiscent of Cave’s earlier classic ‘Red Right Hand’ but paints a much more monstrous picture. While it is a remarkable aural experience, it doesn’t seem quite the same without the video where Cave pranced around in a pink Take That tee shirt.

The album’s highlight is the incredible ‘O’Malley’s Bar’. The track certainly has the highest body count on the album. Cave plays an unknown rampant local maniac who slaughters the patrons of his local bar. Musically it remains suitably threatening until its climax and as Cave yells lyrics - the listener can be nothing but in awe. Similarly chaotic is ‘The Curse Of Millhaven’. Here Cave plays the part of a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, however ‘Baby One More Time’ this is not. Cave’s character Loretta is, predictably, a deranged young lady who takes pleasure in the decapitation, burning and drowning of the other inhabitants of the town of Millhaven. The track is yet another example of Cave’s uncanny knack of mixing murder with substantial wit.

Somewhere in amongst these maniacal tales come some moments of tenderness. The single ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ probably continues to be Cave’s most well known moment, if only for the inclusion of Kylie Minogue. Similarly ‘Henry Lee’ substitutes Minogue for PJ Harvey, for a slight reworking of the traditional song.

It is hard to qualify ‘Murder Ballads’ as ‘entertainment’ as at times it is very difficult to listen to. Cave adopts the persona of a crazy teenage girl one minute and a homicidal maniac the next, which does make for uncomfortable listening. However, fans of The Bad Seeds or anything slightly off-centre should consider this an essential purchase. I’ve certainly never heard anything like, and I dare say you won’t have either.


Great!!! (If you like that sort of thing)   January 16, 2003
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I actually love this album, but have to say it is an acquired taste. It focuses on, as the title suggests, murders. It is quite morbid and could be described as shocking. The content is sometimes explicit and there is a small amount of bad language....but what do you expect with a title like "The Murder Ballads"? I think this this is a great album and even find myself singing along. If you like Nick Cave, buy it. If you have a slightly warped mind, buy it. If you are rather morbid or have a fascination with murder, buy it. If you have an open mind and are prepared to encounter something new, buy it. On the whole I think everyone should buy it, if for nothing else, than to be impressed that Nick Cave managed, to a) come up with the idea in the first place, b) put the subject matter into lyrics and to music, and c) get away with it.


A dark and beatiful work of genius   January 4, 2002
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I only got this album a week ago, yet i have found myself listening to it non stop since then. This is the first Nick Cave album i have ever bought and i have just fallen in love with it.

On first listen the album seems quite menacing and dark and the more i listened to it the more disturbing i found it. As i listened to Nick Cave's deep and brooding voice graphically describe scores of murderes, juxtopsed with a dark sick humour that accompanies it throughout the album, i often found myself with a smile on my face. This definatly made me stop and think like no other album has done. The album makes you look at things differently, gives you the account of murders through the eyes of the murderer so that you can empathise and even sypathise with them.

Murder Ballads has such power both in lyrics and music that is like listening to poetry. The album is perfectly ended with the Dylan cover of "Death is not the end" which just summes up the whole album. The song manages to blend lyrics such as "when your sad and lonely and you havent got a friend just remember that death is not the end" with an upbeat rhythm and chorus to create an excellant ending to a brilliant album.