I had a dream. (Henry's Dream - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)

Member Name: joecooper

Product:	Henry's Dream - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Date:	11/02/03 (184 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's Nick and the boys at their darkest best.

Disadvantages: Flawless, in my opinion. No cons.

Henry's Dream is one of the last truly malevolent and angry Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds albums. Since Henry's Dream and then Let Love In, Nick's newly found personal melancholy has tended to dominate the music of his band. For me, I prefer the dark and fluctuating fury of the band's earlier work, and Henry's Dream, which was released in 1992, is one of the pinnacles of that phase.

*The style and theme of Henry's Dream*

I can tell you right now, if sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows are your thing, you're not going to enjoy this album. There's not even a distant glimpse of an Anthony Robbins moment on the whole thing. However, if you enjoy a darker cocktail, then Henry's Dream will get you where you're going.

*Here's how one makes a Henry's Dream*

- 2 quarts of raw anger, smoothed over that silver spoon that wasn't in your mouth when you crashed weeping into the world.

- 1 strong nip of Nick's Remorse.

- 3 cloves of bitter regret, freshly picked from the frozen garden of a broken heart.

- A dash of dashed hope, and

- A few too many drops of poignancy.

Shake it all up in a tragically empty soul, and you've got a Henry's Dream. Once you've finished the first one, quickly make another. Alcoholism features prominently in Henry's Dream.

*Nick's vocals*

The cornerstone of all things Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is Nick himself. Yes, the other band members are extremely talented, but it's Nick that's driving the dark bus out of the speakers.

For those that aren't familiar with the sound and style of Nick's voice, I'll do my best to categorize it. For the ease of comparison, his voice is a simmering mixture of Leonard Cohen's and Johnny Cash's. What Nick does with his voice is something else though. Part poet, part wailer, Nick alternates between loud, broke
n lamentations and gentle seductive whispering in your ear. Sometimes he's screaming at the world, and then, suddenly, he's quietly saying something just to you, in a very Lou Reed manner.

*Track list*

Henry's Dream contains just nine tracks, and that's fine by me. In many ways it signals a nostalgic regression to the days when quality was more important than filler-induced quantity. Here's the nine:

- Papa Wont Leave You Henry

- I Had A Dream Joe

- Straight To You

- Brother My Cup Is Empty

- Christina The Astonishing

- When I First Came To Town

- John Finn's Wife

- Loom Of The Land

- Jack The Ripper

*A little taste of some of the tracks - some of my favorites*

*Papa Wont Leave You Henry*

Oh, it doesn't get any meaner than the first track on Henry's Dream. It's a long harsh ballad, with a jilted spooky 'ghost town'-style melody that includes the strange sounds made by a vibraphone. Papa Wont Leave You Henry is about a tormented bloke by the name of Henry (of all things!) and how he proceeds through a world of sickly realities as he copes with ghosts from the past and the words his father left him with.

It's a spirited start to the album that includes such lyrical pearls as:

"And I entered through, the curtain hissed
Into the house with its blood-red bowels
Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
Crawled the ceilings and the walls
They filled me full of drink
And led me round the rooms
Naked and cold and grinning
Until everything went black
And I came down spinning"

I apologize for the large chunk of lyrics, but it was for your own good! It's a good solid taste of the lyrical prowess of Nick Cave as a songwriter.

*I Had A Dream Joe*

In pace and style I Had A Dream Joe is almost a
continuation on from the first track -same spooky sounds, but increasingly distressed vocals from Nick. It has shock value, because things were already pretty cranky in Papa Wont Leave You Henry.

Whoever's telling us about their dream is not traveling too well. The song describes a surreal nightmare menagerie of images. If I were this person, I'd seriously consider giving up on sleeping. Here's a snippet!

"I had a dream, Joe
It was Autumn time and thickly fell the leaves
And in that dream, Joe
A pimp in seersucker suit sucked a toothpick
And pointed his finger at me"

I adore this particular song, and not because it uses my name. It's got a raw sound to it, and has Nick all worked up. It's also the best example of how the Bad Seeds can get a loud violent sound out of mostly acoustic instruments. Love it!

*Straight To You*

Straight To You is a prime example that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds do sorrow over love lost just as adeptly as they do surreal anger. Straight To You is a slow meandering struggle through the joys of love and the sheer catastrophic heartache involved when it's lost. Nick the dark romantic wears his heart on his sleeve in this track, and the Bad Seeds guide us gently through an introspective journey.

"Gone are the days of rainbows
Gone are the nights of swinging from the stars
For the sea will swallow up the mountains
And the sky will throw thunder-bolts and sparks"

Straight To You sees Nick and the lads take you softly and slowly into dark places, rather than use the express elevator.

*Who are Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and other crucial bits of information*

By now you all know that Nick's on vocals. However, he also gives the harmonica and even the keyboard a whirl from time to time in Henry's Dream. The Bad Seeds consist of:

Mick Harvey - guitar, drums, keyboa
rd, vibraphone.

Blixa Bargeld (now there's a name!) - guitar.

Conway Savage - piano

Martin Casey - piano

Thomas Wylder - percussion (drums and other things that need hitting)

Henry's Dream is quite a production for an album with nine tracks. In addition to the main line-up mentioned above, Nick invited Dennis Karmazyn in for his expertise on the cello, and Barbara Porter and Bruce Dukov in for theirs with the violin.

*Joe's final words*

I own five Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds albums, and this one just edges the others out as my personal favourite. It has everything I love about The Seeds all wrapped up in nine spellbinding tracks.

Now, you couldn't be blamed for thinking that I'm some twisted spirit for getting a buzz out of an album like Henry's Dream. However, I'd like to clarify how I enjoy it. I find Nick and his dark temper and sorrowful regrets theatrical. I would never throw a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds CD on when I was feeling down. No, I find them a good bit of lively fun to play up to - have a few drinks and play the character in each song. Yes, I'm as mad as a cut snake...

5 stars of heartfelt sorrow for Henry's Dream.

Cheers for reading!

~Joe

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