18. “Push the Sky Away” (2013)

On “Push the Sky Away,” Cave remains a compelling companion. However, little of the record suggests that the Bad Seeds are pushing against his lyrics as they used to do.

Blame this on the fact that Mick Harvey had now left the band. Harvey, of course, was Cave’s oldest collaborator and something of a band leader.

In his absence, Warren Ellis is largely responsible for colouring around the piano and nearly recited vocals.

There’s plenty of ambition on songs like “Jubilee Street,” “We No Who U R,” or “Higgs Boson Blues.” Clearly, Nick Cave, a man with a permanent exhibition of his work in Copenhagen and invited to King Charles‘ coronation, thinks of himself as one of modern art’s gigantic figures.

Generally, he is not wrong. Still, “Push the Sky Away” must be judged compared to previous Cave-penned records and thus be judged less impressive.

17. “Nocturama” (2003)

By the early 2000s, the Bad Seeds were more confident than ever in their collective abilities. On “Nocturama,” however, the sound only distracts from the mostly forgettable songs.

Still, some highlights include “Bring It On,” “Wonderful Life,” and “Rock of Gibraltar.”

“Nocturama” is not an awful record. However, it suffers from being held up to the lofty standards that Cave and the band had created for themselves.

16. “The Boatman’s Call” (1997)

Nick Cave takes a bit of a breather on “The Boatman’s Call”, seeking quiet meditations on the meaning of life over intimidating punk-rock numbers.

When this approach works, it helps produce some of the most important material of the songwriter’s career. “Into My Arms,” “Lime Tree Arbour,” or “People Ain’t No Good” skip over stuffy poetry in favour of direct messages.

And while there’s great beauty here, the 12-song collection seems to go on a bit too long and offer little variety. This would be a turning point for Cave and a malaise they’d try to shake in the following years.

15. “Carnage” (2021)

Warren Ellis and Nick Cave exploit their thriving partnership and produce the darkly meditative “Carnage.”

While it’s fair that the album was not billed as a Bad Seeds record, it’d be unfair to leave it off our list. This is because in scope and sound, “Carnage” sounds very much like the last albums produced under that moniker.

Once again, the formula involves Cave reciting his poems about life and cruelty over Ellis’ experimentally-tinged backing.

“White Elephant” may be among the duo’s best pieces of music. The two work well together, clearly, and share in Cave’s current poetry-first songwriting methods.

While it may not please all of Nick Cave’s numerous fans, “Carnage” is a worthy addition to a rich discography and a surprisingly vast body of work that includes Cave’s novels, scripts, and essays.

14. “Skeleton Tree” (2016)

Nick Cave faced tremendous personal tragedy in the same way as he always did – by getting back to work. “Skeleton Tree” doesn’t hide from the confusion and hurt, making it a strangely intimate look into the artist’s thoughts.

“Skeleton Tree” is mostly a sketch. The song arrangements, the ghostly musical accompaniment and even Cave’s lyrics are all thinly drawn. Instead, the album serves almost as a meditation on mourning.

“Anthrocene” and “I Need You” may be considered highlights. However, for the most part, “Skeleton Tree” purposely blends together.

13. “Ghosteen” (2019)

Nick Cave marries his poems about grief to Warren Ellis’ music once more. “Ghosteen” contains understated, imaginative songs that favour restraint over volume.

Those following Cave’s personal life were particularly impressed with the artist’s bravery. While he doesn’t address his personal life directly, a mournful atmosphere hovers over each of the songs here. And how could it be any different?

Longtime fans will find great beauty in “Leviathan” or “Bright Horses.” Still, for all others, there may just be too little musical diversity to make it return to it often.

12. “Kicking Against the Pricks” (1986)

By “Kicking Against the Pricks,” the Bad Seeds knew what they were good at. The band could create terrifying musical theatre productions around Cave’s poetry or around other songwriters’ words.

The fact is that the Bad Seeds’ backing was great at conveying an additional layer of violence and gloom to tracks that already lounged in darkness.

“Kicking Against the Pricks” is interesting, in particular, for the collection of artists that the band chooses to cover. Lead Belly, Alex Harvey and Lou Reed all seem like obvious choices.

“Hey Joe,” “The Singer,” and “Black Betty” are all given the same preacher-sings-the-blues treatment. But it’s fascinating. Even when Cave and the band are off-key, which is often, the menace of their performance comes through loud and clear.

11. “From Her to Eternity” (1984)

Nick Cave and most of the original Bad Seeds had already made a few great records with The Birthday Party. “From Her to Eternity” put Cave’s penchant for serious poetry front and centre. However, the inherent brutal tendencies of his previous band are still on display.

How violent were The Birthday Party musicians, that included the incredible Howard S. Rowland? While they didn’t much look like tough guys, the band was known to whip audiences into violent frenzies routinely and nearly start physical altercations with journalists.

As good as their music was, The Birthday Party always looked ready to self-implode. “From Her to Eternity” allows Cave to take the reins for his first album. He directs the confrontational performance toward the literate-rock territory of Jim Morrison or Leonard Cohen.

“In the Ghetto” and “Avalanche” are intriguing covers. But “Saint Huck” and “From Her to Eternity” are the songs that prove Cave’s vision was worth pursuing even if that meant breaking up the band over it.

10. “The Firstborn Is Dead” (1985)

Unlike other contemporary goths, Nick Cave wasn’t merely mining doom to serve his image. On “The Firstborn Is Dead,” the songwriter shows he is committed to it like a priest is to Sunday mass.

Musically, “The Firstborn Is Dead” leans heavily on the blues. There may be two reasons for this. One is that the blues is familiar to Cave from The Birthday Party era. Secondly, while the likes of Blixa Bargeld make quite an impression on stage, their ability to play their instruments is limited. Einstürzende Neubauten were proudly industrial-rock anti-musicians.

This leaves Mick Harvey, arguably Cave’s most valuable collaborator, to flesh out the album’s sound.

“Blind Lemon Jefferson” and “Wanted Man” may give you a measure of the band’s ambitions. But, the cataclysmic “Tupelo” is the one track that shows them the way forward.

9. “The Good Son” (1990)

In many ways, “Tender Prey” was the album that helped Nick Cave achieve his initial artistic ambitions. Freed from this labour, “The Good Son” allows the Bad Seeds to seek out colour and shade for their sound.

“The Ship Song,” “The Weeping Song,” or “The Good Son” could be mistaken for drunken power ballads when heard from afar. Still, the lyrics have as much bite as ever.

Cave is still obsessed with religion and destiny. And the Bad Seeds are becoming obsessed with creating something akin to budget-friendly Scott Walker orchestral backing.

8. “Your Funeral… My Trial” (1986)

The most accomplished Bad Seeds record up until this point, “Your Funeral… My Trial”, showed that Cave was learning to write songs underneath his poetry about human suffering.

If anything, Blixa Bargeld, Barry Adamson, Thomas Wydler and, especially, Mick Harvey manage to give Cave’s compositions the kind of varied instrumental backing they always needed.

The band moves from psychedelic-rock “Stranger Than Kindness” to country on “Sad Waters.” But it’s Cave’s storytelling on “The Carny” where it finally feels like the goal of mixing punk and high-brow literature has been achieved.

“Your Funeral… My Trial” is the start of a great creative period for the Bad Seeds.

7. “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” (2008)

“Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” was a turning point for the Bad Seeds. Faced with the prospect of competing with Cave’s other solo pursuits, the Bad Seeds deliver a raucous performance once more.

The Bad Seeds were now an institution. But such titles can weigh heavily and often lead to diminishing results.

Since last releasing a Bad Seeds record, Nick Cave had started the garage-rock unit of Grinderman with some of his bandmates. It was a raw, uncompromising sound and had won them, numerous supporters.

Besides this, he had begun scoring movies and writing scripts.

This could all have worked against “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” but fortunately, Cave is still a highly creative, curious artist.

“Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!,” “We Call Upon the Author” and “Midnight Man” are highlights. Each manages to find the familiar balance between Cave’s cutting words and the band’s lush sound.

Few knew it, but in many ways, this was the end of an era for the Bad Seeds. The lineup changed, and the group carried on. But as endings go, this was a great one for one of rock’s most versatile and influential groups.

6. “Murder Ballads” (1996)

Perhaps no other artist arrived at commercial acceptance on his own terms, quite like Nick Cave. “Murder Ballads” may have exclusively contained tales of bloodshed and slayings but provided the artist with a global hit.

“Where the Wild Roses Grow,” an epochal collaboration between Cave and fellow Aussie Kylie Minogue, is mostly to blame for this surprising twist of fortunes. The tightly written song, the memorable video and Minogue’s pop-star appeal all conspired to make this one of the definitive songs of the 1990s.

The pastoral-sounding “Henry Lee” was a similar duet with my current love interest, PJ Harvey and further spread the fame of “Murder Ballads.”

However, Cave, this time officially without the Bad Seeds, is most himself when telling gruesome stories and stretching them as far as they go. “Stagger Lee,” “O’Malley’s Bar”, and “The Curse of Millhaven” are standouts. The songs even have the rare distinction of getting humour, albeit of the gallows variety, onto a Nick Cave record.

5. “No More Shall We Part” (2001)

On “No More Shall We Part,” Cave learns to work with new sounds and unexpectedly produces a great collection of rich, melancholy-driven songs.

Two things influence the tone of the record. First, the songs are built around Cave’s simple piano playing, with Mick Harvey and Warren Ellis painting around it.

Secondly, the lyrics suggest that Cave has been forced to purge himself of longtime demons. Such experiences have been known to motivate the songwriter.

And whereas the quiet numbers on “The Boatman’s Call” tended to drag on a bit long, a sense of drama about “No More Shall We Part” may be enough to keep listeners breathlessly awaiting Cave’s next line.

“As I Sat Sadly by Her Side,” “Love Letter,” and “God Is in the House” are memorable songs filled with tragedy and humour.

4. “Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus” (2004)

Cave followed his least ambitious record with the most determined effort. “Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus” was a double album that aimed to marry the intensity of early Bad Seeds albums with Cave’s ever-growing skill as a poet.

Despite the departure of Blixa Bargeld, the Bad Seeds sound energized. This might be owed to the fact that they’re working with a great collection of songs. Throughout them, Cave sings about Jesus, his fears, and even his rock n’ roll heroes.

The record’s first half, “Abattoir Blues”, aims to deliver raging gospel-rock numbers. Meanwhile, “The Lyre of Orpheus” focuses on personal doubts under the most tender of musical arrangements.

“There She Goes, My Beautiful World,” “Breathless,” and “Get Ready for Love” are memorable songs. These benefit from Harvey and Ellis’ ability to weave creative musical pieces around Cave’s words.

3. “Let Love In” (1994)

Stuck between artistic respectability and cult status was not a bad place to be, and with “Let Love In”, the Bad Seeds continued their perfect run of form.

Nick Cave always viewed himself as a serious literary figure. Other rockstars felt the same about themselves, such as Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan or Lou Reed. Not all of them managed to create as many memorable songs.

“Let Love In” is possibly the most musically satisfying of the Bad Seeds’ classic records. But gentle keyboards and murmuring basslines are only a step away from demonic screams.

It also includes some of Nick Cave’s most famous songs. “Red Right Hand” would be featured in numerous movies over the years and would be covered by the likes of The Arctic Monkeys.

“Loverman” allowed Cave to deepen his catalogue about murderers. The nod provided by Metallica proved nobody wrote scarier material in heavy metal or any other genre.

And, in obvious Cave fashion, he’d be inspired by his time at the Brazilian beaches and bars to write the eerie “Do You Love Me?” It’s one of the best songs in the discography of The Bad Seeds and a personal favourite.

2. “Henry’s Dream” (1992)

The Bad Seeds offered some of the most intense live performances of any band. “Henry’s Dream” is the studio album that comes closest to capturing that energy.

The production work of David Briggs used to working with classic rock acts like Neil Young, is partly responsible for this colossal sound.

But the songs themselves do much of the heavy lifting. This is arguably Nick Cave’s finest collection of songs captured on a studio album. The tunes move confidently from terrible, murderous confessions to truthful love songs.

“Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry,” “Straight to You,” or “Jack the Ripper” announced to the world that there was nobody quite like Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in all of the newly lucrative world of alternative rock.

As for Cave himself, he had proven he was much more than what journalists defined him as. He’d outlived the goth scene, and he was not simply a Bob Dylan wannabe. This was the work of a tremendous writer, and he knew it.

1. “Tender Prey” (1988)

As if the entire 1980s had been a prelude to “Tender Prey,” Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds finally find the perfect balance between their creative ambitions and their naturally rowdy sound.

No, the subject matter of the songs isn’t much different from the ones Cave penned for the Birthday Party. Yes, both the lyrics and music are just as obsessed with violence, cruelty, and God’s dark sense of humour. But, never have the performances been as accomplished. Some might argue they never again would be.

The opening track, “The Mercy Seat”, is particularly powerful, blending the jailbird storyline with old testament obsessions and a repetitive, memorable musical backing.

“Deanna,” “Up Jumped the Devil”, and “City of Refuge” focus on Cave’s obsession with guilt-stricken murderers. And the closer, “New Morning”, shows that the band had begun taking the album format seriously.

“Tender Prey” was a magnificent artistic success. And it was a colossal leap forward from a band that years prior had plenty of ideas but little of the ability to execute them. This had all bow changed.

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