I was completely unaware of The Birthday Party while they existed, and only investigated on discovering Nick Cave several years later. This 1989 release brings together the Mutiny and The Bad Seed EPs from 1983.
The first impression is that it's unmistakably Cave with Mick Harvey in a proto-Bad Seeds band, very similar to their early albums. Sonny's Burning is loud and in your face, while Wild World is slower and more threatening. But it doesn't always work, and Fears Of Green and Deep In The Woods rely on shock and noise.
The Mutiny EP opens with the menace of Jennifer's Veil, slow and haunting, while Six Strings That Drew Blood again relies on noise and chaos, and Roland Howard's Say A Spell is unremarkable. Swampland and Pleasure Avalanche don't inspire, and Mutiny In Heaven ends proceedings, a little more lively, but no more than OK.
It's an interesting CD, showing Nick Cave and Mick Harvey as works in progress.
3* - Some great stuff, but much that isn't. Unlikely to send me rushing to investigate further.
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