album // Live Seeds
I was a student at Essex University when I bought this album in the summer of 1997. I distinctly recall buying Sonic Youth's Sister either the week before or the week after; suffice it to say it was an epiphanic period in my life, generally but mostly musically. With Live Seeds, this was my first major introduction to Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' back catalogue, choosing this album almost inadvertently - it was one of the only Cave releases available in Colchester's Andy's Records as a Mid Price Mute CD, and served brilliantly as an introduction to his body of work with The Bad Seeds, covering as it does many of their career highlights and live favourites ('The Mercy Seat', 'The Weeping Song', 'From Her To Eternity' etc).
However, when looking at the CD's photo collage front cover, I am always reminded of my disappointment at not having bought this album in its original form - a CD with accompanying book of Peter Milne photos from the 1992 - 93 European and Australian tour which produced this collection. In addition, going back through the albums that preceded this live document was a little uncomfortable when I got round to them in 1998, for the simple reason that many of the songs here are often superior to their studio counterparts, and after repeated listens these versions were by then familiar. An example would be the opener ('The Mercy Seat'), which is much stronger here than on Tender Prey, the arrangement on which fails to convey the same desperation and finality in my opinion. It seemed that in a live context Nick and the Seeds were much stronger, more confident and better able to convey a sense of intensity. The songs from the preceding album, Henry's Dream inherit this most obviously, and I do still prefer the live versions of 'Papa Won't Leave You Henry' or 'Brother My Cup Is Empty' available here.
This album is in many ways better than the proper greatest hits album released in 1998, being infinitely more representative of the band. The collection also includes a notable highlight in its cover version of Nina Simone's mournful 'Plain Gold Ring', which is mysterious and tender while toward the end descending into an unexpectedly cacophanous and joyous noise-fest between Cave's screamed, raw vocals and Blixa Bargeld's chiming, distorted six string. Other highlights include the masterful rendition of 'Tupelo' (from 'The Firstborn Is Dead') which opens with a half-heard and blood-curdling scream from Bargeld.
Throughout this set, the Bad Seeds - Mick Harvey (guitar, xylophone, backing vocals), Blixa Bargeld (guitar, backing vocals), Thomas Wydler (drums), Conway Savage (piano, organ, backing vocals) and Martyn P Casey (bass, backing vocals), augmented by guest backing vocals from Tex Perkins - are precise and tight, while the post-production from Tony Cohen and the band ensures that the instruments and vocals are clear and dense. And it still sounds as good to me now as it did when it first hit my ears.