Scum (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song)

Your Funeral... My Trial
Studio album by
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released3 November 1986 (1986-11-03)
RecordedJuly–August 1986
StudioHansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany and Strongroom in London, United Kingdom
Genre
Length42:47
LabelMute
ProducerFlood, Tony Cohen
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds chronology
Kicking Against the Pricks
(1986) 		Your Funeral... My Trial
(1986) 		Tender Prey
(1988)
Singles from Your Funeral... My Trial
  1. "Scum"
    Released: 12 October 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Mojo[3]
Pitchfork9.4/10[4]
Q[5]
Record Collector[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Sounds[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[9]
Uncut[10]

Your Funeral... My Trial is the fourth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 3 November 1986 by Mute Records. Your Funeral... My Trial was originally released as a double EP. The album was issued on CD with a different running order and the additional track "Scum". During this period in his life, Cave was steeped in heroin addiction, perhaps evidenced by the melancholy, desperate mood of this album.[11][12] This was the final Bad Seeds album to feature Barry Adamson until he returned for Push the Sky Away (2013).

Cave later said, "That particular record, which is my favourite of the records we've done, is very special to me and a lot of amazing things happened, musically, in the studio. There are some songs on that record that as far as I'm concerned are just about perfect as we can get really- songs like "The Carny", "Your Funeral, My Trial", and "Stranger Than Kindness", I think are really quite brilliant."[13] Your Funeral... My Trial was the band's first album to reach the ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 98, and also reached number one on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

The album was remastered and reissued on 27 April 2009 as a collector's edition CD/DVD set. The CD features the original 8-song vinyl double EP's track listing and track order, while "Scum" is featured as a bonus audio track on the accompanying DVD.

Recording

Producer Flood said, "I remember Mick Harvey arrived in the studio with the guts of an old grand piano, that was the basis of the sound. It was just the strings, attached to a metal frame. He tuned certain notes, and used a guitar plectrum to pick the notes. It then ended up as "The Carny". That was the first day of recording Your Funeral… My Trial, and that kind of set the tone for the whole record."[14]

Reflecting on the album in 2020, guitarist Mick Harvey noted: "[The album] gave us the template to go forward with. It was organised rather than rambling. It all felt complete even though it was a disparate set of sounds and styles. It felt like it belonged to us. It sounded like The Bad Seeds."[15]

Movies

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds appeared in the 1987 Wim Wenders film Der Himmel über Berlin, performing "The Carny" (which is heard once before the performance scene) and "From Her to Eternity". "The Carny" also inspired the 2003 animated short film Jo Jo in the Stars, which won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Short Film. The film was created and directed by Marc Craste, who said about "The Carny": "The lyrics read like a short story, it seemed to suggest a film – a straight visual interpretation of the text ..."[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nick Cave, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sad Waters" 5:00
2."The Carny" 8:01
3."Your Funeral My Trial" 3:56
4."Stranger Than Kindness"Anita Lane, Blixa Bargeld4:47
5."Jack's Shadow"Cave, Mick Harvey5:41
6."Hard On for Love" 5:19
7."She Fell Away" 4:30
8."Long Time Man"Tim Rose5:35
Early CD pressings
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Your Funeral My Trial" 3:57
2."Stranger Than Kindness"Anita Lane, Blixa Bargeld4:47
3."Jack's Shadow"Cave, Mick Harvey5:43
4."The Carny" 8:02
5."She Fell Away" 4:33
6."Hard On for Love" 5:21
7."Sad Waters" 5:02
8."Long Time Man"Tim Rose5:48
9."Scum"Cave, Mick Harvey2:53

Personnel

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Technical personnel
Design personnel

Personnel for Your Funeral... My Trial adapted from the album's liner notes.[17]

Chart positions

Chart (1986) Peak
position
UK Independent Albums Chart[18] 1

References

  1. ^ a b "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Let Love in is a nimble balance between menace and elegance". 18 April 2019.
  2. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Your Funeral... My Trial – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds / Nick Cave". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  3. ^ Perry, Andrew (May 2009). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Your Funeral... My Trial". Mojo. No. 186.
  4. ^ Berman, Stuart (6 May 2009). "Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: From Her to Eternity / The First Born Is Dead / Kicking Against the Pricks / Your Funeral... My Trial". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  5. ^ Fyfe, Andy (May 2009). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: From Her to Eternity / The Firstborn Is Dead / Kicking Against the Pricks / Your Funeral... My Trial". Q. No. 274.
  6. ^ Staunton, Terry (May 2009). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: From Her to Eternity / The Firstborn Is Dead / Kicking Against the Pricks / Your Funeral... My Trial". Record Collector. No. 362. p. 79.
  7. ^ Sisario, Ben (2004). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 151–152. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Roberts, Chris (8 November 1986). "The Living Dead". Sounds. p. 26.
  9. ^ Reynolds, Simon (1995). "Birthday Party". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  10. ^ Cavanagh, David (26 March 2009). "Album reissues: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds". Uncut. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  11. ^ Long, Chris (8 May 2009). "BBC – Music – Review of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral... My Trial". BBC Music. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  12. ^ Denning, Adrian (19 September 2010). "Nick Cave – album reviews". Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  13. ^ Tracee Hutchison (1992). Your Name's On The Door. Sydney: ABC Enterprises. p. 117. ISBN 0-7333-0115-0.
  14. ^ "Nick Cave 20 Best Songs". Uncut. 18 February 2015.
  15. ^ Male, Andrew (April 2020). "Nick Cave's 50 Greatest Songs: 'Something Monstrous Was Taking Shape'". Mojo.
  16. ^ Inspirations (XHTML). In depth, Interviews. Computer Arts. Retrieved on 29 November 2008.
  17. ^ Your Funeral... My Trial (CD). Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Mute Records. 1986. LC 05834.{cite AV media notes}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Lazell, Barry. "Indie Hits: "C"". Cherry Red. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.

External links