Customer Reviews

John Peel Sessions

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4 star:		(2)
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Only have heard "HO HO HO" on the local college station, I was relatively unsure of what to expect on this album. I had already owned an album by Nick Cave, LET LOVE IN. This is an incredible collection songs. Every instrument has it's moments to shine, mainly guitar and drums, but each instrument has exceptional work. Nick Cave shows his great experimental song writing skills and his unique voice. Without a doubt, the best thing this band had going for it was it's blend and timing. To the casual listener, this would sound like randomly placed noise, but to musicians it is pure genious. Stand-out tracks are "Deep in the woods," "Big Jesus Trashcan," "(Sometimes) Pleasure Heads Must Burn," and my favourite track, "Figure of Fun." So if you have an appreciation for GOOD punk like early Bauhaus and Joy Division, or love experimental/ avante garde jazz, give any Birthday Party release a spin.

The more that I listen to Nick Cave, the more I strain my imagination as to any other musician who can touch him. No one else rocks so hard. I ran across this CD in a used bin today and have listened to it three times already. "Blistering" is the word for this one. One observation: I swear I hear influences of the Captain's Trout Mask Replica....which is by no means a bad thing.

The first release I heard by the Birthday Party was actually their Peel EP (the old ones with the grey cover) that I picked up while in high school years ago. I really dug it -- at the time, it was possibly the most horrifying thing I'd ever heard -- and I really enjoyed tracks like "Sometimes Pleasure Heads Must Burn," probably my favorite BP song. Anyway, this Peel session brings the EP back, along with a lot of other material. Generally, Peel sessions don't disappoint, and neither does this. Play it loud for someone you love.

It's simply another album of collected songs from the greatest band in the 80's or any time before it, The Birthday Party. And so, simply put, it's an album of fantastic quality and electrifying fun from Nick Cave and his group of rebel musicians that will get your blood bumping and jumping if you are a fan of old, rough and original rock from the creators of such masterpieces as Dead Joe, The Six Strings that Drew Blood, and Sonny's Buring. This album is the greatest collection of The Birthday Party's songs yet to be released.

"Bully Bones" is my favorite BP song of all time, and unless I'm greatly mistaken, it's not available on any of their other studio releases. The way this band combines aggressively pounding rhythms, jarring guitar noises, and inescapably catchy basslines/melodies is best represented here, as far as I'm concerned. And Nick actually doesn't scream! He sings like one of those Jazz guys from the 40's, except really bitter and drunk. The band rides along on a monstrous surf/secret agent man rock riff, the lyrics deal with the consequences of hedonistic decadence in the most cruel and unforgiving manner possible, and the whole thing smashes to it's close in under 3 minutes, without even hinting at a chorus or a chance to catch your breath.
The other songs follow in a similar vein, just not as perfect. The swinging tempos and cacophonous instrument eruptions in songs like "Big Jesus Trash Can," "(Sometimes) Pleasure Heads Must Burn," and "Figure Of Fun" kick up a huge, filthy, dark, ungodly racket that pleases your brain with it's creativity just as much as they beat your eardrums into a messy, unrecognizable pulp. Cave is the only guy who could've ever sang lead for this music, roaring like a deranged serial killer whose victim has just made a narrow escape, bloodstains all over his shirt and face. And if all that's not great enough, the BBC production gives the songs a very raw, live feel while simultaneously keeping the overall sound crisp and mean.
If you're a fan, you should already own this. If not, give it a chance. It might sound like the band's just thrashing about like they've never touched instruments in their lives at first, but the closer you listen, the more their style makes sense. They do know what they're doing. It's just that "what they're doing" is a completely different approach from any band before, from, or after it's time. Anyone that considers themselves a fan of innovative post-punk needs this.

I haven't seen any mention of how "Marry Me, Lie Lie" has Rowland S. Howard on vocals nor any mention of how that track became the birth of These Immortal Souls. I shiver...

An essential item just for the material unavailable elsewhere, the session still has problems. Ironically what a fan might miss could make it an ideal intro to the band. The trouble here as I hear it is the mix- balanced enough, but too thin to carry the bass heavy whomp essential to the band's power on classics like "Junkyard". The drums ting where they should smash, click where they should snap; the bass plucks where it should pound. Aside from this the remaining members are their usual demented selves, though again not quite as unhinged as their other material. For just this reason a new listener might get some sense of the band's m.o. rather than submitting to their toe-tapping bludgeoning without fair warning.
As far as the more cryptic tracks they are great to hear- The revamped rocakabilly version of Pleasure Avalanche is a good time; (sometimes) Pleasureheads Must Burn is a great jazzy stomp, and Marry Me captures the band in their film noir eerie mode. Necessary for a big fan, recommended for any listeners who like woozy dark hilarious howling cacaphony.