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Kicking Against the Pricks

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Kicking Against the Pricks
Studio album by
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released18 August 1986 (1986-08-18)
Length45:28
LabelMute
Producer
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds chronology
The Firstborn Is Dead
(1985) 		Kicking Against the Pricks
(1986) 		Your Funeral... My Trial
(1986)
Singles from Kicking Against the Pricks
  1. "The Singer"
    Released: 16 June 1986
  2. "Running Scared" / "Black Betty"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork8.2/10[2]
Q[3]
Record Collector[4]
Record Mirror4+1⁄2/5[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Sounds[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[8]
Uncut[9]

Kicking Against the Pricks is the third studio album released by the Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. First released in 1986, the album is a collection of Cave's interpretations of songs by other artists. The title is a reference to a biblical quote from the King James Version of the Christian Bible, Acts 26, verse 14.

The album marked the Bad Seeds debut of drummer Thomas Wydler, expanding the Bad Seeds line-up to Cave (vocals and keyboards), Wydler, bassist Barry Adamson, and guitarists Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld.

Cave would later downplay the importance of the record, but said it helped the band develop musically:

It allowed us to discover different elements, to actually make and perform a variety of different sorts of music successfully. I think that helped subsequent records tremendously.[10]

Remarking on the song selection, Cave said:

They were all done for different reasons. Basically a list of songs were made and we tried to play them. We tried songs by the Loved Ones and the Saints and all sorts of people that never got on the record. Some songs were tributes, like the Tom Jones song ["Sleeping Annaleah"]; other songs we didn't think the song was ever done particularly well in the first place. Some songs had just kind of haunted my childhood, like "The Carnival Is Over", which I always loved.[11]

The strings were arranged by Harvey and played by the Berliner Kaffeehausmusik Ensemble. "The Hammer Song" is not to be confused with the song of the same name from the Bad Seeds' sixth studio album The Good Son (1990).

Andrea 'Enthal in Spin described the album as '[it] has moments, but overall it's a dready, self-indulgent blob'.[12]

The album was remastered and reissued on 27 April 2009 as a collector's edition CD/DVD set. The CD features the original 12-song vinyl LP's track listing, while "Black Betty" and "Running Scared" are featured as bonus audio tracks on the accompanying DVD.

Recordings of seven of these songs, performed by the original artists, were later issued on the Original Seeds compilation CDs.

Track listing

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Vinyl version

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Muddy Water"Phil Rosenthal5:15
2."I'm Gonna Kill That Woman"John Lee Hooker3:44
3."Sleeping Annaleah"
3:18
4."Long Black Veil"
3:46
5."Hey Joe"Billy Roberts3:56
6."The Singer"
3:09
7."All Tomorrow's Parties"Lou Reed5:52
8."By the Time I Get to Phoenix"Jimmy Webb3:39
9."The Hammer Song"Alex Harvey3:50
10."Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart"
3:44
11."Jesus Met the Woman at the Well"Traditional, arranged by the Alabama Singers2:00
12."The Carnival Is Over"Tom Springfield3:16
Total length:45:28

CD version

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Muddy Water"Phil Rosenthal5:15
2."I'm Gonna Kill That Woman"John Lee Hooker3:44
3."Sleeping Annaleah"
3:18
4."Long Black Veil"
3:46
5."Hey Joe"Billy Roberts3:56
6."The Singer"
3:09
7."Black Betty"Leadbelly2:33
8."Running Scared"
2:06
9."All Tomorrow's Parties"Lou Reed5:52
10."By the Time I Get to Phoenix"Jimmy Webb3:39
11."The Hammer Song"Alex Harvey3:50
12."Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart"
3:44
13."Jesus Met the Woman at the Well"Traditional, arranged by the Alabama Singers2:00
14."The Carnival Is Over"Tom Springfield3:16
Total length:50:07

Track listing errors

[edit]

Some of the songs were re-titled (possibly through error), and one was miscredited, as follows:
1. "Muddy Water" by Phil Rosenthal. On the Cave LP the song is credited to John Bundrick, who wrote a song of the same title, recorded by the band Free. Previously recorded by the Seldom Scene, and Johnny Cash.
3. "Sleeping Annaleah" is the song "Weeping Annaleah", previously recorded by Tom Jones.
6. "The Singer" is the song "The Folk Singer", previously recorded by Tommy Roe, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, and Burl Ives.
7. "Black Betty" is actually three songs recorded by Leadbelly as a medley: "Looky Looky Yonder/Black Betty/Yellow Women's Doorbells".
12. "The Carnival Is Over" was not co-written by Frank Farian; this credit appears as a consequence of his creating an extra verse for Boney M.'s cover version of the song.
13. "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" is credited as "traditional, arranged the Alabama Singers". While this song was recorded by the Alabama Singers, it follows the arrangement of an earlier recording by the Pilgrim Travelers, which is credited as "traditional, arranged J. W. Alexander".

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the vinyl album's liner notes.[13]

  • Nick Cave – lead vocals (1–12); organ (1, 5); piano interior (1); engineer (mixes)
  • Blixa Bargeld – guitar (1, 2, 7–9, 12); co-lead vocals (7, 11, 12); slide guitar (3, 4); backing vocals (4); engineer (mixes)
  • Mick Harvey – piano (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11); backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 10); co-lead vocals (7, 11, 12); guitar (6, 7, 11); acoustic guitar (3, 4); drums (2, 5); snare (4, 9); organ (9); vibes (10); bass (2); string arrangements; engineer (mixes)
  • Barry Adamson – bass (1, 3, 4, 6–12); backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 10); co-lead vocals (11, 12)
  • Thomas Wydler – drums (1, 3, 6–12); percussion (4); engineer (mixes)
  • Dawn Cave – violin (1)
  • Hugo Race – guitar (2, 4, 5, 11)
  • Tracy Pew – bass (5)
  • Rowland S. Howard – co-lead vocals (7); guitar; organ (8)
  • Berliner Kaffeehausmusik Ensemble – strings
  • Tony Cohen – engineer (all backing tracks)
  • Flood – engineer (mixes)
  • Svein Taits – engineer (mixes - assistant)
  • Tom Frederikse – engineer (mixes - assistant)

Chart positions

[edit]
Chart (1986) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[14] 89
UK Independent Albums Chart[15] 1

References

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  1. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Kicking Against the Pricks – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds / Nick Cave". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  2. ^ Berman, Stuart (6 May 2009). "Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: From Her to Eternity / The First Born Is Dead / Kicking Against the Pricks / Your Funeral... My Trial". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  3. ^ Fyfe, Andy (May 2009). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: From Her to Eternity / The Firstborn Is Dead / Kicking Against the Pricks / Your Funeral... My Trial". Q. No. 274.
  4. ^ Staunton, Terry (May 2009). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: From Her to Eternity / The Firstborn Is Dead / Kicking Against the Pricks / Your Funeral... My Trial". Record Collector. No. 362. p. 79.
  5. ^ Strickland, Andy (23 August 1986). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Kicking the Pricks". Record Mirror. p. 26.
  6. ^ Sisario, Ben (2004). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 151–152. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ Pouncey, Edwin (16 August 1986). "Kick Out the Gems". Sounds. p. 17.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Simon (1995). "Birthday Party". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  9. ^ Cavanagh, David (26 March 2009). "Album reissues: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds". Uncut. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  10. ^ Dwyer, Michael (July 1998). "Album by Album with Nick Cave". Rolling Stone Australia. No. 550. Sydney, NSW: Tilmond Pty Ltd. p. 41.
  11. ^ Tracee Hutchison (1992). Your Name's On The Door. Sydney: ABC Enterprises. p. 115. ISBN 0-7333-0115-0.
  12. ^ 'Enthal, Andrea (December 1986). "Underground". SPIN. 2 (9): 44–5 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against The Pricks (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds | Artist". Official Charts Company. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  15. ^ Lazell, Barry. "Indie Hits: "C"". Cherry Red. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
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