Your Funeral... My Trial

There’s something definitive about Your Funeral… My Trial — Cave might have written and recorded deeper, more intricate albums, but this one captures what’s so compelling about his art, particularly in these early stages. He’s often stated it’s a favourite of his, as well. The Bad Seeds are now artisans of drama, theatre, and shading — the way they build the complex architecture of “The Carny” is astonishing, teasing all kinds of nuance out of what is, in essence, a simple two-chord circus shuffle. “Stranger Than Kindness” is Cave’s greatest co-write with Anita Lane; a cover of Tim Rose’s “Long Time Man” is a great measure of Cave’s increasing flexibility with his voice, and capacity to plumb the emotional depths of the songs of other writers.