Regular readers will know that we often use Nick Cave\u2019s songs to test a variety of hi-fi and audio products, and choosing 10 of our favourite tracks from a discography as vast as Cave\u2019s is no mean feat. As such, what follows are 10 tracks that will put your hi-fi through its paces, with a relatively even spread across Cave\u2019s back catalogue, from the stygian depths of From Her to Eternity to Wild God\u2019s radical optimism.<\/p>\n
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Cabin Fever! (From Her To Eternity, 1984)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Cabin Fever! (Official Audio) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Guttural, driven bass and scratched guitar strings lead the way to Cave\u2019s drunken vocal. A distillation of the first album\u2019s spirit, the song is cantankerous and savagely experimental. The album sees him edging away from the Birthday Party\u2019s sound towards something more his own in an early step towards his later songwriting prowess.<\/p>\n This rabid sea-shanty tale of a sunken ship\u2019s captain showcases Cave\u2019s poetic prowess in lyrics such as, \u201cThe captain\u2019s forearm like bunched-up rope,\u201d which are delivered in frenzied, impudent bursts. The band, too, are relentless in their percussive backing, and only briefly does the song relent from its industrial hammering to give way to a warbling, watery bass. An angsty way to kick things off, this song is best played loud.<\/p>\n Up Jumped The Devil (Tender Prey, 1988)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Up Jumped the Devil (Official Audio) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Written during a particularly turbulent period of heavy touring and its associated temptations, Up Jumped The Devil begins with one of the Bad Seeds\u2019 most imposing basslines, which is rivalled in weight only by the sub-loaded thud of Thomas Wydler\u2019s bass drum.<\/p>\n Composed after Einst\u00fcrzende Neubauten\u2019s Blixa Bargeld had joined the band, the track features Bargeld\u2019s deep, papery backing vocals and twanging guitar. Mick Harvey makes his contributions on xylophone and bass guitar, putting both ends of the frequency spectrum to the test.<\/p>\n The track is ostentatiously gothic and features the ballroom reverb to match, making a great test for any hi-fi set-up\u2019s depth of field.<\/p>\n Red Right Hand (Let Love In, 1994)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand (Official Video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Having seen a resurgence in popularity for its inclusion in the Peaky Blinders soundtrack, the ubiquity of this song has made it all too easy to forget its brilliance. With a sly groove in the bass, which is sure to get the subwoofers going, Red Right Hand is a track packed with textural minutiae, which bring its tumbleweed-town setting to life.<\/p>\n The rich harmonics of a bell, struck at the climax of each chorus \u2013 not to mention the booming timpani hits that follow \u2013 lend this track about as wide a frequency range as rock music has ever managed. Nonetheless, Cave\u2019s resonant baritone cuts through to stand menacingly at the forefront.<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n It\u2019s a categorically spooky number, with reverb drenched synthesisers emulating howling wind, and with a plot to give most thriller novels a run for their money.<\/p>\n Stagger Lee (Murder Ballads, 1996)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Stagger Lee (Official HD Video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n A masterclass in efficient arrangement, Stagger Lee centres around a hypnotically repetitive bassline accompanied by chugging guitars and periodically slammed piano keys. A true testament to Cave\u2019s storytelling, the lyrics follow Stagger Lee, a wandering vagrant, as he proceeds to commit unspeakable crimes after being thrown \u201cout in the ice and the snow\u201d by his partner.<\/p>\n It is one of Cave\u2019s most violent songs (certainly not one for the faint of heart) and in its final section features a solo in the form of sustained, blood-curdling screeches from Blixa Bargeld \u2013 tweeters beware.<\/p>\n Stagger Lee finds the Bad Seeds at the height of their chaotic powers. The song is as transportative as it is chill-inducing, taking listeners on a journey to somewhere most would rather not go.<\/p>\n Into My Arms (The Boatman\u2019s Call, 1997)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Into My Arms (4K Official Video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Beginning with a pillowy piano chord sequence less reminiscent of deep-southern towns and serial murderers than of Sunday school, this heart-rending, religiously concerned love song showcases Cave\u2019s softer side, which establishes itself as an enduring presence throughout The Boatman\u2019s Call.<\/p>\n A lyrical masterpiece, the song explores how falling in love puts us in touch with a sense of the divine. The song\u2019s minimal arrangement, consisting of Cave\u2019s impassioned vocal, warm piano chords and a gentle bass, leaves little left to be desired. In terms of dynamics, the piano leads the way, doing significant work in the very smallest of shifts. It is a track to sink into, one which will come to life on dynamically sensitive systems.<\/p>\n The Lyre Of Orpheus (Abbatoir Blues\/The Lyre Of Orpheus, 2004)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Lyre of Orpheus (Official Audio) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n A contrarian rewrite of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, The Lyre Of Orpheus paints the main character\u2019s instrument as a destructive force of nature, portraying art as a self-indulgent vice which so irritates everyone that poor Orpheus is eventually sent to Hell. Ironic, given how pleasurable this song is to listen to on a good sound system.<\/p>\n Warren Ellis\u2019 mandolin part conjures the woody tones of the \u201cgarden shed\u201d in which Orpheus builds his lyre during the song\u2019s intro, before it opens up with booming drums and lamenting group vocals wailing, \u201cOh Mamma\u201d. Throughout the song, Ellis\u2019 parts are a standout feature, especially as they begin to distort, lending this track the sense of something coming gradually apart.<\/p>\n Jubilee Street (Push The Sky Away, 2013)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jubilee Street (Official Video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n With a more conventional band set-up than is usual for the Bad Seeds, Jubilee Street is a great track for testing how well your hi-fi handles the basics. Recorded at the prestigious La Fabrique studios in the south of France, the instruments are captured in striking clarity and for most of the song the arrangement is sparse and crystal clear, making it the perfect track for assessing your system\u2019s textural detail.<\/p>\n Later, as orchestral arrangements and even a children\u2019s choir join in for a cacophonous ending, the real power of Jubilee Street makes itself known. Cave\u2019s final vocal, \u201cI\u2019m transforming, I\u2019m vibrating, I\u2019m flying, look at me now!\u201d elevates the song towards its raucous crescendo with glorious distorted noise from Warren Ellis\u2019 violin.<\/p>\n Distant Sky (Skeleton Tree, 2016)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – ‘Distant Sky’ (Official Audio) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Recorded shortly after the tragic death of Cave\u2019s son, Arthur, Distant Sky is a devastating exploration of collapsed faith in the face of loss. Lyrics such as, \u201cThey told us our gods would outlive us, but they lied,\u201d make abundantly clear the magnitude of reckoning that Cave was undergoing during the recording of Skeleton Tree.<\/p>\n Featuring Else Torp\u2019s rich, feather-light soprano furnished by organs, synthesisers and swelling cymbals, the song thrives at moderate volume on a well-rounded system. At times, Cave\u2019s grief-weary vocal approaches a whisper, while Torp\u2019s ghostly but marginally more forthright contributions promise salvation, illuminating the juxtaposed nature of grief.<\/p>\n Despite a focus on tested faith, the presence of organs and slow ascending strings at the song\u2019s end construct an ecclesiastical sound world with allusions that are hard to miss. As Distant Sky fades abruptly away, the ringing lower harmonics of a piano are the song\u2019s final offering, a masterful textural detail that will come to life on technically competent systems.<\/p>\n Waiting For You (Ghosteen, 2019)<\/p>\n Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Waiting For You (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Opening with an industrial percussive loop, which reportedly played throughout the song until Coldplay\u2019s Chris Martin suggested its removal, Waiting For You lays the longing of grief bare against a glassy piano and distant, sustained synthesisers.<\/p>\n But in this track, the clarity of Cave\u2019s singing is what steals the show. Reaching for the highest note of the song\u2019s chorus, which climbs as he sings \u201cwaiting for you\u201d, faint vocal cracks contribute to a sense of sincerity that will be lost on systems that aren\u2019t up to scratch.<\/p>\n After the final chorus, Cave admits in a rarely heard and impressively tender falsetto that he is waiting for the longed-for party \u201cto return\u201d. A perfectly captured moment of honesty with serious emotional heft.<\/p>\n Frogs (Wild God, 2024)<\/p>\n Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Frogs (Lyric Video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Frogs might seem to have more in common with U2 or Radiohead<\/a> on a first listen, with wandering ethereal synths and a high arpeggiated keyboard. But the anthemic qualities of this song \u2013 which are becoming an increasing feature of the Bad Seeds\u2019 work \u2013 do much to elevate its emotive power.<\/p>\n With a vocal reminiscent of Scott Walker at his most theatrical, and surprisingly modest drums that will shine a light on any system\u2019s high frequency detail, the track sets the scene of a couple walking home from church against biblical stories of good and evil \u2013 even featuring a nod to Kris Kristofferson\u2019s Sunday Morning Coming Down \u2013 to express a defiant sense of wonderment at the natural world.<\/p>\n Heavily compressed, and laden with enough strings, horns and cymbals to give the Royal Philharmonic a run for their money, this track is perfect for testing how your system copes with dense, bright recordings. Handled well, it is an utterly euphoric listening experience.<\/p>\n MORE<\/p>\n 13 best Massive Attack tracks to test your hi-fi system<\/a><\/p>\n 10 of the best Bj\u00f6rk tracks to test your hi-fi system<\/a><\/p>\n
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