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Nick Cave: Sinner Saint: The True Confessions, Thirty Years of Essential Interviews
Iconic drug-rock frontman, brutally poetic songwriter, cult novelist, and critically acclaimed screenwriter — Nick Cave is one of the most revered and singular artistic talents of the past three decades. This revealing collection of interviews tells the story of his 30-year career in his own words. Including his debauched years with the Birthday Party, the global success of the Bad Seeds and their ragged gospel-rock, Cave's addictions and artistry, and the roots of the barbed gothic romanticism that suffuses his lyrics. Displaying provocative intelligence and enigmatic vision, Cave offers valuable insight into the risks and gains of surrendering oneself to the rock’n’roll myth.
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 23, 2015
Nick Cave is one of my favorite singer/song writers of all time. He is eloquent, beautiful, sensual, dark, violent, obsessive, visionary and so much more! He has been on the scene for thirty years and every album is a surprise, none sound the same. My husband gave me this book for my birthday. It has a short preface but is otherwise a collection of interviews over his whole career. It is rough reading at first. Throughout the 1980s interviews he is snarly to the journalists (though I have read so much about how annoying music press can be), and disdainful of his crowds. He just didn't offer much up. But as the years pass by and he matures and eventually gets off heroin, speed and alcohol, a whole new potential is touched. He even becomes charming and has a self-deprecating humor and wit. As even more years go by and you enter the aughts, Cave really expands upon his song writing style, what the ever present and loyal Bad Seeds provide him, and how much he adores his family. After 15 studio albums, all of which I own, some of which I consistently listen to, it was exciting to learn about the man from his own words, even if at times they are begrudgingly drawn from him.
April 27, 2018
Nick Cave: Sinner Saint: The true Confessions, Thirty Years of Essential Interviews by Mat Snow is a compilation of interviews, articles and essays about Nick Cave over the course of his life/career, so far. It is an interesting and thought provoking read, that was raw and quite harsh in places. I did feel that this book was a little 'tabloidy' in parts.
I have been a fascinated by Nick Cave for many decades now, his music has coloured my life in places over the years. He has crammed so much into his life and through these interviews we watch this enigmatic man evolve, develop, grow- and see a change in attitude. Both sinner and saint. A man of many talents- rock-star, songwriter, screen writer, and novelist- a truly great artist with a brilliant mind, a supreme lyricist- with a powerful presence in life and on screen. This book captures everything, from the drugs, his inner turmoil/pain and sadness.
The book was a little slow in places, but well worth the read!
Thank you, Mr. Snow!
I have been a fascinated by Nick Cave for many decades now, his music has coloured my life in places over the years. He has crammed so much into his life and through these interviews we watch this enigmatic man evolve, develop, grow- and see a change in attitude. Both sinner and saint. A man of many talents- rock-star, songwriter, screen writer, and novelist- a truly great artist with a brilliant mind, a supreme lyricist- with a powerful presence in life and on screen. This book captures everything, from the drugs, his inner turmoil/pain and sadness.
The book was a little slow in places, but well worth the read!
Thank you, Mr. Snow!
September 28, 2012
As a relative latecomer to the music of Nick Cave (I got into his music around 2000 or so), this anthology of interviews filled in a lot of the gaps I had about his earlier, wilder years. Since I wasn't a fan then (or more accurately, wasn't even aware of him), it was enlightening to go back and read about the early days in Australia, the Berlin years, the Brazil years, etc. Great stuff.
April 5, 2021
Un repaso a la carrera de Nick Cave, desde que era un pipiolo drogado a principios de los 80 con los Boys Next Door y daba conciertos caóticos, hasta 2008, con el estruendoso (y fantástico) «Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!», que fue precisamente con lo que conocí al australiano.
Resulta interesantísimo ver la evolución de canallita heroinómano cuyas entrevistas son incoherentes y trufadas de arrebatos de ira y babeos (literalmente) a intelectual sosegado muchísimo más elocuente y con más cosas que contar (y con mayor tino) con el paso de las décadas, las (múltiples) desintoxicaciones, la paternidad, los amores, los desamores y las pérdidas... pero se ve enfangado por la desastrosa traducción llena de calcos, falsos amigos y frases hechas traducidas de forma literal.
Una auténtica pena lo de la traducción (en serio, es de enfurecer), pero las entrevistas, que no son ningún masaje, valen su peso en oro. Imprescindible para fans e interesados en la trayectoria del malencarado cantante que, no obstante y como insiste, tiene su sentido del humor.
Resulta interesantísimo ver la evolución de canallita heroinómano cuyas entrevistas son incoherentes y trufadas de arrebatos de ira y babeos (literalmente) a intelectual sosegado muchísimo más elocuente y con más cosas que contar (y con mayor tino) con el paso de las décadas, las (múltiples) desintoxicaciones, la paternidad, los amores, los desamores y las pérdidas... pero se ve enfangado por la desastrosa traducción llena de calcos, falsos amigos y frases hechas traducidas de forma literal.
Una auténtica pena lo de la traducción (en serio, es de enfurecer), pero las entrevistas, que no son ningún masaje, valen su peso en oro. Imprescindible para fans e interesados en la trayectoria del malencarado cantante que, no obstante y como insiste, tiene su sentido del humor.
April 30, 2018
The interest in many interviews comes from the early years, those heroin-laced, crowd spitting years that shaped this amazing career that followed. I found those least interesting of these periods in his life. The real great insights came later, when a man whose music always carried a rather somber and menacing tone, seemed to hold a lot of love for his family in him and would discuss the ever-evolving and shifting feel of his music and lyrics. These little bits of humanity only helped to strengthen that odd, awe-inspiring, dark fairy tale that is Nick Cave.
November 11, 2024
Perfecto artefacto para fans de Cave.
September 13, 2016
Nick Cave: Sinner Saint: The True Confessions is a collection of carefully selected interviews with the musician which spans his thirty year career by Mat Snow, of whom infamously Cave wrote a less than flattering song about entitled "Scum" because Snow gave him a bad concert review.
In this book the reader learns that Cave once wanted to be a painter, but he failed his entrance exams, but he found himself in the position of singer in his then band The Boys Next Door, which would morph into The Birthday Party then The Bad Seeds as years went on, His father was a teacher, and his mother a librarian -- it is there he would develop his love for classic literature, which would inspire and influence his music. He is also inspired by Delta Blues music, "Entertainment Music" like Gene Pitney, Elvis Presley, and Tom Jones. His song "Tupelo" from his album "The First Born Is Dead" are references to Elvis Presley, the song describes an apocalypse sent down on Tupelo upon the birth of Elvis Presley, and the album title also references the birth of Elvis; his twin did not make it past the womb, consequently this would haunt Elvis for years.
In these interviews it is revealed that Cave takes his craft seriously, approaching it like a nine to five-job, churning out pages of songs. His music explores the subjects of death, redemption, and God, each subject being dressed up in new ways. Cave was once a choir boy, fascinated by The New Testament growing up for its storytelling. Cave also really despises music journalists, one incident he tore through the luggage of one at an airport where he was frantically trying to get rid of the interview session tapes, and his manager had to step in, almost getting into a physical confrontation with said music journalist.
When Nick Cave performs, he is exorcising his demons through febrile constricted means: his songs. His concerts are not just concerts, they are cultural events and theatre.
I enjoyed this book when I first read it, and I have found myself going back to it time and time again, it is a fascinating study of the man himself and as an examination of his inner mind and world. I would recommend this book for any Nick Cave fan, I gave it five stars then, and my opinion has not wavered since.
In this book the reader learns that Cave once wanted to be a painter, but he failed his entrance exams, but he found himself in the position of singer in his then band The Boys Next Door, which would morph into The Birthday Party then The Bad Seeds as years went on, His father was a teacher, and his mother a librarian -- it is there he would develop his love for classic literature, which would inspire and influence his music. He is also inspired by Delta Blues music, "Entertainment Music" like Gene Pitney, Elvis Presley, and Tom Jones. His song "Tupelo" from his album "The First Born Is Dead" are references to Elvis Presley, the song describes an apocalypse sent down on Tupelo upon the birth of Elvis Presley, and the album title also references the birth of Elvis; his twin did not make it past the womb, consequently this would haunt Elvis for years.
In these interviews it is revealed that Cave takes his craft seriously, approaching it like a nine to five-job, churning out pages of songs. His music explores the subjects of death, redemption, and God, each subject being dressed up in new ways. Cave was once a choir boy, fascinated by The New Testament growing up for its storytelling. Cave also really despises music journalists, one incident he tore through the luggage of one at an airport where he was frantically trying to get rid of the interview session tapes, and his manager had to step in, almost getting into a physical confrontation with said music journalist.
When Nick Cave performs, he is exorcising his demons through febrile constricted means: his songs. His concerts are not just concerts, they are cultural events and theatre.
I enjoyed this book when I first read it, and I have found myself going back to it time and time again, it is a fascinating study of the man himself and as an examination of his inner mind and world. I would recommend this book for any Nick Cave fan, I gave it five stars then, and my opinion has not wavered since.
October 9, 2014
This book is very interesting reading for Nick Cave fans, especially those of younger generations like me. First, it does a good job of showing the Australian singer's unlikely metamorphosis from the batcave post-punk scene's closest equivalent of GG Allin (watch some Birthday Party live footage if you don't believe me!) to his generation's own Leonard Cohen-style spiritually inclined crooner type and further beyond that again. Second, it presents some first-hand evidence of where certain aspects of Cave's legend came from, in the original historical context.
I would also be lying if I said that my enjoyment of this book did not include much schadenfreude: The oldest interviews can paint a much less flattering portrait of the subject by accident than some of his lyrics do by design, with him often coming across as an overgrown adolescent despite his obvious intelligence. However, it's extremely difficult to tell how much of that's the man's own doing and how much is the interviewers' fault!
Another reason that I found it a good companion to Ian Johnston's "Bad Seed" is simply that it's got another 20 years' hindsight - complete with reconciliations between Cave and record critics he feuded with in the past. One of the things I find so interesting about Cave is that he's gone through so many changes in lifestyle, worldview and resulting musical output yet it all feels like the natural development of the same person.
On a final note: it's nice to see Nick Cave agreeing with me about Bob Dylan's flirtations with country and gospel being way more interesting than the records he's most respected for.
I would also be lying if I said that my enjoyment of this book did not include much schadenfreude: The oldest interviews can paint a much less flattering portrait of the subject by accident than some of his lyrics do by design, with him often coming across as an overgrown adolescent despite his obvious intelligence. However, it's extremely difficult to tell how much of that's the man's own doing and how much is the interviewers' fault!
Another reason that I found it a good companion to Ian Johnston's "Bad Seed" is simply that it's got another 20 years' hindsight - complete with reconciliations between Cave and record critics he feuded with in the past. One of the things I find so interesting about Cave is that he's gone through so many changes in lifestyle, worldview and resulting musical output yet it all feels like the natural development of the same person.
On a final note: it's nice to see Nick Cave agreeing with me about Bob Dylan's flirtations with country and gospel being way more interesting than the records he's most respected for.
April 22, 2014
It's entertaining to see how each journalist attempts to describe Nick Cave's enigmatic presence. My favourites include: 'a feral farm boy', 'a puffy, pock-cheeked, swollen-lidded Halloween pumpkin', 'rail-thin and besuited' and 'proto-Goth lunatic.' Unfortunately, it seems that none of them can do him justice. His answers are often unpredictable, transcending what the less-informed journos were expecting, and can be affable and explosive within the same space of time. This collection gets repetitive with around 75% of the articles being about The Boatman's Call, but is a welcome addition to any Nick Cave shrine.
July 26, 2014
Great compilation of interviews with Nick Cave up to the Lyre of Orpheus inc, Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party. Also some good background to his anti-journo epic "Scum" and even an early review by award winning writer Michael Faber (Crimson Petal and White. You get the whole gamut form Cave stoned and gouching out during interviews to his new found sobriety and caring family man. A must for any fans out there.
March 4, 2012
a collection of interviews with NC by several music mags over the years... the first few were not to interesting as the interviewers tended to sound as strung out as NC but the later interviews are worth sticking with the book...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews