Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds made Kicking Against the Pricks in 1986, and the record is a cover album, not a new set of songs. Twelve tracks, all borrowed from other writers, none of them Cave originals. It plays like a dare: a rock band fronted by a man who writes dark, poetic songs of his own choosing, now singing other people’s murder ballads, prison songs and gospel hymns as though they belonged to him. The album wants to show the Bad Seeds can sound dangerous even when the words aren’t theirs.
Opening With Murder
“Muddy Water” opens the record, and it sets the tone at once — slow, heavy, built around Cave’s low growl over a piano line that sounds like a funeral march. The song is about killing, and Cave sings it like he means it. It’s a strong start, and it announces what the rest of the album will deliver: menace dressed in borrowed clothes.
“I’m Gonna Kill That Woman” follows, and it’s the sharpest moment on the record. The rhythm is tight, the guitar cuts through, and Cave’s delivery turns the threat into a joke that still lands. This is one of the best tracks here, a song that knows exactly what it is doing.
“Sleeping Annaleah” slows things down, and it doesn’t quite hold up. The melody is pleasant enough, but it lacks the weight of the opener and the middle track. It’s a quiet pause before the record picks back up.
The Long Black Veil Stretch
“Long Black Veil” is the centerpiece of the early part of the album. Cave takes a country murder ballad and turns it into something closer to a confession, his voice bending over the lyrics as though he’s carrying a secret. It’s one of the strongest tracks here, and it shows Cave at his most commanding.
“Hey Joe” follows, and it’s a lean, driving version of the folk classic. It doesn’t reinvent the song, but it doesn’t need to. The energy carries it.
“The Singer (a.k.a. The Folksinger)” is a short, spoken-word interlude. It’s a strange detour, and it doesn’t quite fit the flow around it. It’s a curiosity, not a highlight.
All Tomorrow’s Parties and the Middle Run
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” is the longest track on the record, and it’s also one of the most ambitious. Cave stretches the melody across five and a half minutes, letting the song breathe and drift. It’s a bold move, and it mostly pays off.
“By the Time I Get to Phoenix” keeps the momentum going. It’s a smooth, steady track, and it works as a bridge between the big moments around it.
“The Hammer Song” is a solid, straightforward rocker. It doesn’t ask for much attention, and it doesn’t get it.
“Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart” is the weakest stretch of the record. It’s a slow, bluesy track that drags, and it feels like filler rather than a statement.
Jesus Met the Woman at the Well
“Jesus Met the Woman at the Well” is the shortest track on the album, and it’s a sharp, pointed reading of a familiar gospel story. It’s a standout, a brief moment of clarity after a stretch of weaker material.
“The Carnival Is Over” closes the record, and it’s a slow, elegiac finish. It ends the album on a note of exhaustion, which fits the mood of the whole record.
How the Tracks Rank
- Strongest: “Muddy Water,” “I’m Gonna Kill That Woman,” “Long Black Veil,” “All Tomorrow’s Parties”
- Solid: “Hey Joe,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “The Hammer Song”
- Weakest: “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart”
- Standout: “Jesus Met the Woman at the Well”
The Running Order
| # | Track | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muddy Water | 5:16 |
| 2 | I’m Gonna Kill That Woman | 3:44 |
| 3 | Sleeping Annaleah | 3:18 |
| 4 | Long Black Veil | 3:47 |
| 5 | Hey Joe | 3:56 |
| 6 | The Singer (a.k.a. The Folksinger) | 3:09 |
| 7 | All Tomorrow’s Parties | 5:52 |
| 8 | By the Time I Get to Phoenix | 3:39 |
| 9 | The Hammer Song | 3:50 |
| 10 | Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart | 3:45 |
| 11 | Jesus Met the Woman at the Well | 2:00 |
| 12 | The Carnival Is Over | 3:16 |
What This Record Does
Kicking Against the Pricks is not a great album in the way the band’s later records are great. It’s a record of covers, and covers are rarely the place where artists make their best work. But it is a confident one. Cave and the Bad Seeds treat these songs as their own, and they carry that confidence through the whole record.
The strongest tracks — “Muddy Water,” “I’m Gonna Kill That Woman,” “Long Black Veil,” “All Tomorrow’s Parties” — are as strong as anything else the band has done. The weaker tracks don’t sink the record, but they keep it from being essential listening. “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart” is the clearest example of a song that doesn’t belong here.
The record is uneven, but its ambition is real. Cave isn’t content to play safe with other people’s songs. He reaches for menace, for weight, for danger, and he mostly gets there.
Final Word
Kicking Against the Pricks is a strong cover album from a band that could easily have coasted on its own material. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a confident, often thrilling one. The highs are high, the lows are low, and the whole thing holds together better than a collection of borrowed songs has any right to.
- Muddy Water5:16
- I’m Gonna Kill That Woman3:44
- Sleeping Annaleah3:18
- Long Black Veil3:47
- Hey Joe3:56
- The Singer (a.k.a. The Folksinger)3:09
- All Tomorrow’s Parties5:52
- By the Time I Get to Phoenix3:39
- The Hammer Song3:50
- Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart3:45
- Jesus Met the Woman at the Well2:00
- The Carnival Is Over3:16
