The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitarist George Vjestica (United Kingdom), keyboardist/percussionist Toby Dammit (United States) and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). The band has released sixteen studio albums and completed numerous international tours, and has been considered "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward".
The band was founded in 1983 following the demise of Cave and Harvey's former group the Birthday Party, the members of which met at a boarding school in Victoria. By the release of their fifth studio album Tender Prey in 1988, they shifted from post-punk towards an experimental alternative rock sound, later incorporating various influences throughout their career. For example, the 2008 album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! and the side-project Grinderman were strongly influenced by garage rock. Synthesizers and minimal guitar work feature prominently on Push the Sky Away (2013), recorded after Harvey's departure from the band in 2009.
The project that would later evolve into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds began following the demise of The Birthday Party in August 1983. Both Cave and Harvey were members of the Birthday Party, along with guitarist Rowland S. Howard and bassist Tracy Pew. During the recording sessions of the Birthday Party's scheduled EPs Mutiny/The Bad Seed, internal disputes developed in the band. The difference in Cave and Howard's approach to songwriting was a major factor, as Cave explained in an interview with On The Street: "the main reason why The Birthday Party broke up was that the sort of songs that I was writing and the sort of songs that Rowland was writing were just totally at odds with each other." Following the departure of Harvey, they officially disbanded. Cave also said that "it probably would have gone on longer, but Mick has the ability to judge things much more clearly than the rest of us."[8]
Cave and guitarist Kid Congo Powers during the band's 1986 tour.
An embryonic version of what would later become Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was formed in the Birthday Party's then-home of London in September 1983, with Cave, Harvey (acting primarily as drummer), Einstürzende Neubauten guitarist Bargeld, Magazine bassist Barry Adamson, and Jim G. Thirlwell. The band was initially formed as a backing band for Cave's intended solo project Man Or Myth?, which had been approved by the record label Mute Records. During September and October 1983, they recorded material with producer Flood,[9] although the sessions were cut short due to Cave's touring with the Immaculate Consumptive, another project formed with Thirlwell, Lydia Lunch and Marc Almond.[10] In December 1983 Cave returned to Melbourne, Australia, where he formed a temporary line-up of his backing band, due to Bargeld's absence, that included Pew and guitarist Hugo Race. The band performed their first live show at Seaview in St. Kilda on 31 December 1983.
Following a short Australian tour, and during a period when they were without management, Cave and his band returned to London. Cave, Harvey, Bargeld, Race and Adamson formed the project's first consistent line-up, while Cave's longtime girlfriend Anita Lane was credited as a lyricist on the band's debut album.[citation needed] The group, which up to this time had been nameless, adopted the moniker Nick Cave and the Cavemen, which they used for the first six months of their career. However, they were later renamed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in May 1984, in reference to the final Birthday Party EP The Bad Seed.[citation needed] They began recording sessions for their debut album in March 1984 at London's Trident Studios and these sessions, together with the abandoned Man Or Myth? sessions from September–October 1983 that were recorded at The Garden studios, formed the album From Her to Eternity, released on Mute Records in 1984.
Albert Goes West
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The vast indifferent deserts of Arizona
He had a psychotic episode on a dude ranch
That involved a bottle of ammonia
Henry he went south and lost his way
Deep in the weeping forest of Le vulva
He grew so worn he grew so sick
The light upon your rainy streets
Offers many reflections
And I won't be held responsible
For my actions
Bobby, he goes north then he goes east
Then over to New Hampshire
Bobby is a cautious man he walked into
A Concord dive, to drink a beer
Do you wanna dance??
Yeah do you wanna move??
Yeah do you wanna dance??
Don't you wanna groove??
The world is full of
Endless abstractions
And I won't be held responsible
For my actions
Me, I ain't going anywhere
Just sit and watch the sun come up
I like it here!
I watch the people go ticking past
I go hey hey hey
You know I gotta say, I like it here!!
Shala shala la, la, la, la
La, la, la , la
Shala, la, la, shala, shala, shala, la, la
The song "Albert Goes West" by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds is a narrative about four different characters and their journeys. Albert, in the first verse, sets out on a journey across the vast, indifferent deserts of Arizona. However, his trip is marred by a psychotic episode that involved a bottle of ammonia on a dude ranch. While Henry chooses to go south and ends up lost in the weeping forest of Le vulva. His exhaustion causes him to fall sick, and he ends up in a bungalow sucking a revolver. The third verse describes Bobby, who goes both north and east, finally settling in New Hampshire. Bobby is a cautious man, and he walks into a Concord dive to drink a beer.
The last verse of the song has the singer observing people as they pass him by. He declares that he is not going anywhere, he is content to watch the world go by as he sits and watches the sun come up. The song is highly interpretative and open to different interpretations. However, at its core, it is about the uncertainty of life and how people choose to navigate their paths in it.
Line by Line Meaning
Albert he goes west he crosses
Albert travels west and crosses the vast Arizona deserts.
The vast indifferent deserts of Arizona
The deserts in Arizona are vast and indifferent.
He had a psychotic episode on a dude ranch
Albert's stay at a dude ranch led to a psychotic episode.
That involved a bottle of ammonia
During his psychotic episode, Albert used a bottle of ammonia.
Henry he went south and lost his way
Henry travelled south but got lost in the weeping forest of Le vulva.
Deep in the weeping forest of Le vulva
Henry found himself lost deep in the weeping forest of Le vulva.
He grew so worn he grew so sick
Henry became worn out and sick.
He ended up in a bungalow sucking a revolver
Henry ended up in a bungalow, contemplating suicide with a revolver.
The light upon your rainy streets
The light reflecting on the rainy streets provides many reflections.
Offers many reflections
The rainy streets offer many reflections.
And I won't be held responsible
I cannot be held responsible.
For my actions
For anything that I may do.
Bobby, he goes north then he goes east
Bobby travels north, then east to New Hampshire.
Then over to New Hampshire
Bobby then travels over to New Hampshire.
Bobby is a cautious man he walked into
Bobby is a cautious man, who walked into
A Concord dive, to drink a beer
a dive in Concord to grab a beer.
Do you wanna dance??
Would you like to dance?
Yeah do you wanna move??
Would you like to move to the music?
Don't you wanna dance??
Don't you want to dance?
Don't you wanna groove??
Don't you want to groove to the rhythm?
The world is full of
The world is filled with
Endless abstractions
unending abstract concepts.
Me, I ain't going anywhere
I, on the other hand, am not going anywhere.
Just sit and watch the sun come up
I am content to sit and watch the sunrise.
I like it here!
I am happy where I am.
I watch the people go ticking past
I observe the people as they go about their lives.
I go hey hey hey
I express my joy and satisfaction.
You know I gotta say, I like it here!!
I have to say, I really like it here.
Shala shala la, la, la, la
Shala shala la, la, la, la
La, la, la , la
La, la, la, la
Shala, la, la, shala, shala, shala, la, la
Shala, la, la, shala, shala, shala, la, la
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fab Pit
good1yo