01	Foi Na Cruz						05:40
	02	The Good Son						06:03
	03	Sorrow's Child						04:39
	04	The Weeping Song						04:25
	05	The Ship Song						05:14
	06	The Hammer Song						04:17
	07	Lament						04:54
	08	The Witness Song						05:57
	09	Lucy						04:18

The Good Son
Date of Release Oct 1990

Losing Wolf, aside from the final reprise of "Lucy," but otherwise making no changes in the line-up, the Seeds followed up Tender Prey with the equally brilliant but generally calmer Good Son. At the time of its release there were more than a few comments that Cave had somehow softened or sold out, given how he was more intent on exploring his dark, cabaret pop stylings than his thrashy, explosive side. This not only ignored the constant examples of such quieter material all the way back to From Her to Eternity, but Cave's own constant threads of lyrical darkness, whether in terms of romance or something all the more distressing. This said, the softly crooning group vocals and sweet strings on the opening "Foi Na Cruz" certainly would catch some off guard. The title track itself captured the overall mood of the album, a retelling of the Bible's prodigal son story from the other son, the one who stayed at home and did what he was meant to do. The elegant, reflective "Lucy" and the staccato then sweeping "Lament" are two further high points, but the flat-out winners come dead center. "The Weeping Song," a magnificent duet between Cave and Bargeld, starts out sounding a bit like Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotta Hold of My Heart," which the Seeds covered on Pricks, before shading into its own powerful, blasted drama. "The Ship Song," meanwhile, equals if not overtakes the Scott Walker ballads Cave so clearly is inspired by, a soaring, tearjerking declaration of intense love that's simply amazing. - Ned Raggett


Nick Cave - Harmonica, Piano, Organ (Hammond), Vocals
Blixa Bargeld - Guitar, Vocals (bckgr)
Mick Harvey - Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (bckgr), Vibraphone, String Arrangements
Gareth Jones - Mixing
Billy McGee - String Arrangements
Kid Congo Powers - Guitar
Rubinho - Vocals
Victor Van Vugt - Engineer
Thomas Wydler - Percussion, Drums
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Producer
Roland Wolf - Piano
Glauco Imasato - Viola
Helena Akiku Imasato - Violin
Lea Kalil Sadi - Violin
Akira Terazaki - Viola
Polly Borland - Photography
Alexandre Ramirez - Violin
Altamir Salinas Tea Buenos - Violin

1996 CS Mute 9015
1996 CD Mute 9015
1990 CD Mute/Elektra 60988
1989 CS Mute/Elektra 60988-4
1989 CD Mute/Elektra 60988-2


Weeping Song
Composed By Nick Cave

AMG REVIEW: Arguably the best Lee and Nancy song they never wrote and recorded - but one could easily imagine Underwood, a Nick Cave icon, at his evocative best reaching for something this gripping. A standout of Cave's The Good Son album, "The Weeping Song" is actually a duet between Cave and fellow Underwood obsessive and bandmate Blixa Bargeld, who between them create an astonishing, back-and-forth dramatic tale of loss, horror, and sadness. With a vibe-tinged beginning almost certainly meant to call Gene Pitney's "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" to mind, a song the band had covered in previous years, "The Weeping Song" takes Cave's ear for theatrical, almost Biblical imagery and lets it loose on a deceptively peaceful arrangement. Thomas Wydler adds just enough punch to his drumming when it counts, though, while Bargeld's quiet guitar lines suddenly cut through just when needed, adding to the miniature climaxes right before each chorus. Bargeld and Cave trade their lines with split-second timing, and Mick Harvey adds what almost sounds like flamenco percussion as well. - Ned Raggett



Ship Song
Composed By Nick Cave

AMG REVIEW: If Nick Cave has one absolute shining moment in his long career, it would almost certainly have to be this. The centerpiece of the excellent The Good Son album, which saw him and his Bad Seeds exploring a less-high-volume but still dramatically engaging approach to their attractive musical melange, "The Ship Song" is as much as a romantic classic as anything Sinatra or Scott Walker was ever known for. Starting off with Cave's piano and Mick Harvey's soft vibraphone, then backed by some solid backing croons from Harvey and Blixa Bargeld, Cave softly intones, with just enough of an air of command and control, an astonishingly romantic lyric. With the band building up into a full arrangement as the descending chords of the chorus carries forward, Cave creates lines that feel like centuries-old classics: "Come sail your ships around me/And burn your bridges down/We'll make a little history, baby/Every time you come around/Come loose your dogs upon me/And let your hair hang down/You are a little mystery to me/Every time you come around." The guitars chime the melody just so, Thomas Wydler's drumming adds just the right punch and roll, and Harvey wraps up with a beautifully tender vibraphone part. Simply majestic. - Ned Raggett