LIVE SEEDS

Live Seeds was the first official 'in concert' release by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It was recorded during the Henry’s Dream tour of 1992/93 and drew from an impressive catalogue of seven albums already released by the band.

With such an extensive portfolio of songs, it is not surprising that Live Seeds contains a rich selection of Cave’s work. Reaching back to From Her To Eternity, the 1984 debut by The Bad Seeds, the tour drew from almost a decade’s worth of Cave songs to demonstrate the power and the passion of this potent artist.

The dark charisma of the frontman is fully apparent as he leads the band and audience through his often bleak world, declaiming like a distracted priest or crooning like a wounded lover… sometimes in the same song. The band is road tuned and has a smooth gearbox: they switch moods, paces, and volume levels with ease. The twin guitars of Blixa Bargeld and Mick Harvey can underpin or charge forward when the moment beckons. And talking of underpinning, the rhythm section of Martyn P. Casey (bass) and Thomas Wyler (drums) support and enhance everything going on in the mix; "rock solid" is an overused but apt description. Colour and further sonic richness is added by keyboard player Conway Savage, whose surname belies his deft touch on piano and organ.

The mesmerising impact of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is seen on the cover of this 2022 RSD re-issue. Looming above the crowd like an old testament prophet but crouching towards to his congregation, Cave is clearly connecting; you can see it in the rapt attention focussed on the preacher. It’s a fabulous "in concert" photo by Peter Milne, whose visual documentation of the original tour was included with the first release of Live Seeds as a booklet of sixty photographs. Earlier versions of the album displayed a grid of Milne’s photos on the cover. For this edition those have migrated to the inner gatefold to make way for the dramatic single shot of this release. I have to say I prefer the current image; it evokes the intensity and atmosphere of the music brilliantly.

Cave is a master of transitions, playing the audience like a violin. Take the sequence of side three, the final section of this release. (Side four is etched.) Strummed guitars give "The Weeping Song" a reflective, almost lush texture to the Blixa Bargeld / Nick Cave duet before any sense of vulnerability gets obliterated by the pounding "Jack The Ripper". The intensity doesn’t let up as "The Good Son" rumbles into view, given spiritual heft by the organ part of Conway Savage. The repeated chorus adds a ritualistic element that is enhanced by the tortured intensity of "From Her To Eternity", which follows. Cave wails, the band swings like a wrecking ball; it is a triumph of gothic drama. Then, to close the show, a release. "New Morning", voice and piano, is a waltz-time benediction, a twilight farewell.

You can imagine the audiences who witnessed this tour staggering home wrung out yet completely satiated. Now we have a chance to re-experience the concert with this excellent re-issue, on blood red vinyl.

© Bruce Jenkins—August 2022