Roots of Nick Cave [PA] [Digipak]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Liner Note Author: Dave Henderson. The ROOTS OF series attempts to give the listener insight into a particular artist's influences. Nick Cave's dark, dangerous sound has always suggested the rawness of American roots and rock & roll music, so it's no surprise that this edition showcases some classic blues, rockabilly, and folk tracks. Highlights include Carl Perkins's boppin' "Blue Suede Shoes" and Screamin' Jay Hawkins's mysterious and dramatic "I Put a Spell on You." A collection of 22 mostly blues tracks that either influenced or were covered by Nick Cave, this set works just fine as an anthology even without the Cave connection. And it isn't all blues, either, with songs like Screamin' Jay Hawkins' voodoo-tinged R&B masterpiece "I Put a Spell on You" and Hobart Smith's and Texas Gladden's string band and fiddle-based Appalachian murder ballad "Down in the Willow Garden" also included. Most of this set, though, is comprised of darkly themed vintage country blues and field hollers, and tracks like Blind Willie Johnson's urgent and harrowing "John the Revelator," Leadbelly's sparse field shout "Black Betty," and Mississippi John Hurt's gentle retold cautionary tale "Stack O'Lee" are classics by any definition and influenced a whole lot more folks than just Nick Cave. Cave took this material, and without changing much at all, brought its dark, desperate vision into a modern format. The original template is here. ~ Steve Leggett

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