First Born Is Dead [Original recording reissued]

Nick Cave, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 11, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1985
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Mute U.S.
• ASIN: B000003Z6G
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,025 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Tupelo

2. Say Goodbye to the Little Girl Tree

3. Train Long-Suffering

4. Black Crow King

5. Knockin' on Joe

6. Wanted Man

7. Blind Lemon Jefferson

8. The Six Strings That Drew Blood

9. Tupelo [Single Version]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suffer the listeners that hath come unto Him, May 4, 2006

By 

yorgos dalman "yorgos dalman" (Holland, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Born Is Dead (Audio CD)

Has an album ever had a more exploding `super nova'-like opening song than Nick Cave's second album "The firstborn is dead"?
"Tupelo" is a Godfearing, thundering preach about a lovelorn town that one could find easily in one of the old-testament books. Or could it even exist as a town-soon-to-die in "The revelation of John"?
Nick howls and whispers, both with the same ease, and the Bad Seeds are everlasting present with backing vocals and an extremely well performed musical sideshow.

After the rage comes the quietness. And this moment of quietness and contemplation comes in the form of "Say goodbye to the little girl tree". Tender, joyful and still as sharp as the guitar strings Blixa Bargeld is tipping on.
But as soon as the last notes have floated away, the Bad Seeds accelerate again, whilst Nick is going "Woohoo-hoo!", impersonating the locomotive that carries the pounding song "Train long-suffering".

"Knockin' on Joe" sets the tone for the following album "Your funeral, my trial", giving the audience the feeling they're listening to something old, older at least, not from 1985 when "Firstborn..." was released, but of something further away in time, yet still, or perhaps therefor: timeless.
Also worth mentionning is the Dylan cover "Wanted man", and Nick Cave simply hits the bull's eye with this one, making it totally his own and giving it a tension that remains unbreakable until the last notes.

This album has no weak spots, only good songs and better ones. And one of the most original outputs here is "The six strings that drew blood". Cool, minimal and understated guitar fiddeling, nonchalant whisteling, mesmerising singing, and a surreal story unfolding with every casually dropped line.

Of the early Bad Seeds albums, this one is by far the most memorable, being a carefully build bridge between the experimental and the lyrical.
Smokey, smoking, mystifying. Music to slowly die by.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album of the 80's..., November 24, 2004

By 

WeezyBoPeep (RUSTIC NORTHERN MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Born Is Dead (Audio CD)

After the punk and righteous hip hop of the early 80's, things started to get a little rough for music, so a lot of people say...they have not listened to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds THE FIRSTBORN IS DEAD. This is the kind of album that could have come out in the 1950's or yesterday, and it would still be great. Actually, it is the timelessness of Cave's music that seems to draw a lot of his fans.

This album is so experiemental that it will blow your mind, but it is by no means silly. The guitar work and musicianship in general is of the highest caliber. You really can't go wrong with a Bad Seeds album, but if you don't own this one and you're a fan, I suggest buying it. It will give you a whole new perspective of where this guy comes from.

It includes a cover of Dylan's "Wanted Man" that makes every other cover of the song sound childish. "The Six Strings that Drew Blood," my personal fav, is a dark western-blues jam that reminds you of a heroin induced vision of a guitar player. "Tupelo," by far the most "hitworthy" song on the album, is amazing also.

In short, I don't recommend this album to just anyone, but to anyone who owns some newer Cave material who is looking to find more. You won't be disappointed...but give it some time to grow on you, because you may be surprised at just how different his older music is...

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid second effort, July 31, 2001

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Born Is Dead (Audio CD)

Although it's not as wild and frenetic as From Her To Eternity, The Firstborn Is Dead is a more focused effort featuring better overall playing from Cave & The Bad Seeds, and stronger songwriting. Drawing particularly on the deep well of American blues and folklore for this album, rather than Goth obsessions, Cave here has an album that is a bit different, lyrically and musically, from anything else in his catalog. Tupelo is incredible, one of his classic tracks, filled with all kinds of surreal imagery, and a commanding performance brings it across. Wanted Man which was written by Bob Dylan and recorded by Johnny Cash, is covered here, and to great effect. It only further signifies the album's theme. Slow, brooding songs like Knockin' On Joe, Blind Lemon Jefferson (the old blues theme again) and The Six Strings That Drew Blood serve to make this album totally excellent, and a masterpiece of dark imagery. When Cave sings on the Black Crow King "I am the King of nothing", you believe him. A decidedly good second effort.