Masterpieces of the Past – The Birthday Party: ‘Prayers on Fire’
Nick Cave is a fairly well-known singer and songwriter, his work with the Bad Seeds being critically acclaimed since they debuted. But even if you’ve heard of him, you might not have heard of his original band in the 80s, The Birthday Party. Now, with a name like that, you might expect some fairly upbeat pop music, right?
Try: “Theatrical mindfuck”.
The Birthday Party were challenging, percussive, noisy, jazzy, bluesy, howling, raucous, and all around chaotic post-punk. Sunny, they were not. And nothing quite defines why they were so damn cool than their 1981 record ‘Prayers on Fire’.
Now, when I say they were challenging, don’t take that lightly. Sure, you may get sucked in with the trebly bass-rumble and quick bass drum beats of “Zoo Music Girl”, but don’t expect the Birthday Party to be the slightest bit conventional. Even within that very first song, out of nowhere they bring in trumpets. Nobody would be expecting that, and yet it works so perfectly because it’s so out of place.
The musicianship is the number one driving force behind ‘Prayers on Fire’. The drums are big and pounding; the bass rumbles and chugs; the guitars are jagged and simple, with hints of rockabilly, (one of the more memorable performances); and yet in this context, pianos and the occassional saxophone find the perfect space to fit in. And Nick Cave, of course, makes a hell of a singer. He can howl, he can spit erotic venom, he can croon, he can channel demons. He makes Iggy Pop look like he was always sober.
The lyrical content is as theatrical as the music. Cave sings of sexual obsession, death, counting chickens, Fats Domino on the radio; he’s a strange one. Oddly enough, despite the album being called ‘Prayers on Fire’, religion isn’t one of the topics. I thought that was strange, but if you know me, you’ll know I’m glad he left it out.
To add to the challenge of listening to the record, a number of the songs don’t follow a standard rhythm. Track 4, “Nick the Stripper” is a 5/4 rhythm, track 6, “Figure of Fun” is a 6/4, and track 8, “A Dead Song” is something like 9/8. Even in the more rhythmic songs, Nick Cave still does whatever the hell he wants; he’ll spill his vocals over into places they would have put the chorus, just so he can sing more of the depraved and show off his warped sense of humor. The Birthday Party were trying to test your patience, which explains why in track 7, “King Ink”, the drums randomly start pounding away completely out of time with everything else and Nick Cave just starts freaking out.
In fact, the one song where your patience may get tested the most is “Figure of Fun”, where it honestly sounds like everyone is just freaking the fuck out. Even then, what the Birthday Party puts together still sounds awesome; it opens with a wash of white noise and guitar feedback that pops up ocassionally in the rest of the song, and you know The Jesus and Mary Chain were listening closely to that. And then more of Nick Cave’s sense of humor pops up in the lyrics, where he howls “I’m impressed by everybody, but I impress no one. It’s irritating.”
I will reiterate: ‘Prayers on Fire’ is a mindfuck. But it is so damn cool to listen to. As far as I’m concerned, it deserves the patience that you’re willing to give.
