ALBUM REVIEW: Grinderman2/grinderman

[CRAZY-HORSE]

[INDENT][ATTACH=CONFIG]451[/ATTACH]

firstly: Nick Cave has been making records since 1978, his first release was a cover of 'these boots are made for walking' with his band The Boys Next Door http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQwr7OnPKH8 (video)

by the end of 1979 this band had evolved into Birthday Party, one of their hit singles in australia was 'nick the stripper' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1512vEcVC_I (video).

in 1980 the band relocated to england, by 1983 the birthday party were defunct and 'the bad seeds' emerged, this is the band we all know Nick Cave for today,Grinderman is a side project for Nick Cave and the band consists of members of 'the bad seeds', Grinderman released their selftitled debut set in 2007 and this year sees the emergence of the long awaited follow up to that album, 'grinderman2'.

Grinderman2 is full of the usual Nick Cave hallmarks, the songs are 'dark' by nature and deal with his usual subjects: love,death,murder,drugs and sleazy sex.
the album consists of nine tracks,clocking in at just shy of 45minutes, but it is 45 minutes of classy songs, more is less and less is more ,with Nick Cave, i have found.
"when my baby comes" is a seven minute epic which has hints of The Beatles and Led Zepplin in the latter half of the song.
i found that the more ive listened to the album, the more it has grown on me, i liked it upon first listen and love it now. i hear a different lyric or instrument each time. the album is a kalliedescope of sound from start to finish. this is without a doubt one of the finest albums i have heard in a long time (until Neil Youngs 'le noise' comes out next week...lol).

worst track: none

best track: Palaces Of Montezuma

track list, rating and links:

1. micky mouse and the goodbye man ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JL_IbeepTs&feature=fvsr audio
2. worm tamer ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4rDZH0Dakc live video
3. heathen child **
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeeoap_...hild_music video
4. when my baby comes ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIgLDLHiYUs audio
5. what i know **
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw27gYFZ49g audio
6. evil ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiD7HiScdPQ audio
7. kitchenette **
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX6VjxL3bAK audio
8. palaces of montezuma ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30U1-5-k1P4 audio
9. bellringer blues ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsUjo3P8FG8 audio

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

rating:

3s 6
2s 3
1s 0

average 2.6


Palaces Of Montezuma


psychodelic invocations
of mata hari at the station, i give to you
a java princess of hindu birth
a woman of flesh a child of earth, i give to you
the hanging gardens of babylon
miles davis the black unicorn, i give to you
the palaces on montezuma
and the gardens of akbars tomb, i give to you
the spider goddess and needle boy
the slave-dwarves that they employ, i give to you
a custard-coloured super-dream
of ali mcgraw and steve mcqueen, i give to you

oh c'mon baby, lets get out of the cold
and give me your precious love to hold

the epic of gilgamesh
a pretty little black a-line dress, i give to you
the spinal chord of jfk
wrapped in marilyn monroes negligee, i give to you
i want nothing in return
just the softest little breathless word, i ask of you
a word contained in a grain of sand
that can barely walk, cant even stand, i ask of you

oh c'mon baby, lets get out of the cold
and gimme your precious love to hold
[/INDENT]

[Music Head]

WOW!

That's a hell of a rating for a first/second? listen.
Don't think I've ever had one come out that high, maybe 2.4.
Guess I'm gonna have to check this out over the weekend.

thanks CRAZY.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

WOW!

That's a hell of a rating for a first/second? listen.
Don't think I've ever had one come out that high, maybe 2.4.
Guess I'm gonna have to check this out over the weekend.

thanks CRAZY.

i think i've listened to it 8 or 9 times in the last two and a half days, in the house, in the car, with headphones, it just seems to get better and better. i thought 2.6 was a bit high so i listened to it again after i made my notes, before my post, and i think it is justified, we''ll see in six months whether it still is that good, but hey, you either love or loathe Nick Cave, theres not really much middle ground with him.
hope you like the album as much as i do, i'd be interested to read your opinion of it next week Music Head.

[Music Head]

i think i've listened to it 8 or 9 times in the last two and a half days, in the house, in the car, with headphones, it just seems to get better and better. i thought 2.6 was a bit high so i listened to it again after i made my notes, before my post, and i think it is justified, we''ll see in six months whether it still is that good, but hey, you either love or loathe Nick Cave, theres not really much middle ground with him.
hope you like the album as much as i do, i'd be interested to read your opinion of it next week Music Head.

8 or 9 times explains it I guess.
true about the love or loathe.
same with my man Leonard Cohen.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

yeh, see i dont really care for tom waits or mr.cohen, i have tried but to no avail, whereas nick cave has something i like, dont know what it is, cant pinpoint it to a single thing, but its there, its so frustrating not knowing why i like him, its probably his lyrics i like...so why dont i like waits/cohen???? it baffles me

[Music Head]

yeh, see i dont really care for tom waits or mr.cohen, i have tried but to no avail, whereas nick cave has something i like, dont know what it is, cant pinpoint it to a single thing, but its there, its so frustrating not knowing why i like him, its probably his lyrics i like...so why dont i like waits/cohen???? it baffles me

loving all three, me too.

[Music Head]

Gave your clips a listen.
Not as high on it as you are, but you've had more spins.
Different strokes and all that jazz.
Was not able to hear 2 of your clips (5 and 7), says not available for some reason.
So my review is based only on 7 tracks.
Palaces Of Montezuma was my favorite and Evil my least.
Thanks for including the video and live clips.
I like this album, just passing with a 1.7

1) 2.5
2) 1.5
3) 2.0
4) 1.0
5) na
6) 1.0
7) na
8) 2.5
9) 1.5

Rating - 1.7

[CRAZY-HORSE]

thanks for taking the time to give Grinderman your opinion, at least were on the same wavelength with 'palaces of montezuma' being the best track, and also that you like the album.
in hindsight i'd probably give the album a 2.3 rating as opposed to the 2.6 originally quoted, but nevetheless it is a great Nick cave lp. sorry about tracks 5 and 7, not sure what happened there??? i couldnt access them neither when i tried after you mentioned it.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

WOW!

That's a hell of a rating for a first/second? listen.
Don't think I've ever had one come out that high, maybe 2.4.
Guess I'm gonna have to check this out over the weekend.

thanks CRAZY.

2.6 rating may seema tad high but when you equate it to an 'out of 10' rating it comes in at about 8.5/10, which is consistant with most reviews of the album i have since read,, not saying you're wrong or scoring too low with your reviews, it all comes down to personal opinion, i respect the reviews that you and Gryphon post, they're fairly accurate and honest in my humble opinion....most of the time.
i would like someone other than me review 'le noise' by neil young though to add a bit more unbiased comment on it, i have heard it, havent managed to get a copy yet but i feel its one of his best albums ever and i know i would rate it extremely high, then i can post my thoughts accordingly to the review. thanks Music Head and/or Gryphon

[Music Head]

I too sometimes think my rating system comes out rather low.
I actually grade a little differently between albums I own and those I am hearing for the first time.
Albums I own, my opinion is rather solid due to repeated listenings, therefore 1, 2 or 3 (don't like, like and love).
Those albums that I am hearing for the first time, I am more flexible by using the .5's, allowing room for movement.
I will rarely love something the first time I hear it, thus the scores will come out lower on a new album.
I'm sure your Grinderman would score higher with more listenings.

I've got Neil on my list for this week.