Nick Cave and the Bad SeedsKicking Against the Pricks

Cave's quaking baritone hangs over slow, smoke-stained arrangements, standards exhumed from a grave. His "Hey Joe" drags the Hendrix staple into the gutter, slow and near-spoken until the murder ballad turns dangerous. "All Tomorrow's Parties" reveals the dread lurking in the Velvet Underground original, and "Long Black Veil" becomes a doomed graveside confession that would shape his later murder ballads. An all-covers record where the band learned to play anything convincingly. Drop the needle and feel the dust rise.