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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.
| Kicking Against the Pricks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 August 1986 | |||
| Length | 45:28 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Kicking Against the Pricks | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10[2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Record Collector | [4] |
| Record Mirror | 4+1⁄2/5[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| Sounds | [7] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[8] |
| Uncut | [9] |
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.
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Vinyl version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Muddy Water" | Phil Rosenthal | 5:15 |
| 2. | "I'm Gonna Kill That Woman" | John Lee Hooker | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Sleeping Annaleah" | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Long Black Veil" | 3:46 | |
| 5. | "Hey Joe" | Billy Roberts | 3:56 |
| 6. | "The Singer" | 3:09 | |
| 7. | "All Tomorrow's Parties" | Lou Reed | 5:52 |
| 8. | "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" | Jimmy Webb | 3:39 |
| 9. | "The Hammer Song" | Alex Harvey | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" | 3:44 | |
| 11. | "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" | Traditional, arranged by the Alabama Singers | 2:00 |
| 12. | "The Carnival Is Over" | Tom Springfield | 3:16 |
| Total length: | 45:28 | ||
CD version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Muddy Water" | Phil Rosenthal | 5:15 |
| 2. | "I'm Gonna Kill That Woman" | John Lee Hooker | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Sleeping Annaleah" | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Long Black Veil" | 3:46 | |
| 5. | "Hey Joe" | Billy Roberts | 3:56 |
| 6. | "The Singer" | 3:09 | |
| 7. | "Black Betty" | Leadbelly | 2:33 |
| 8. | "Running Scared" | 2:06 | |
| 9. | "All Tomorrow's Parties" | Lou Reed | 5:52 |
| 10. | "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" | Jimmy Webb | 3:39 |
| 11. | "The Hammer Song" | Alex Harvey | 3:50 |
| 12. | "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" | 3:44 | |
| 13. | "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" | Traditional, arranged by the Alabama Singers | 2:00 |
| 14. | "The Carnival Is Over" | Tom Springfield | 3:16 |
| Total length: | 50:07 | ||
Track listing errors
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".
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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)
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| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[14] | 89 |
| UK Independent Albums Chart[15] | 1 |
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