Multi-instrumentalist
Mick Harvey is best known for his deep roots in the tangled family tree of singer
Nick Cave. Playing a pivotal role in the
Cave-fronted
Boys Next Door (1977-1980),
Birthday Party (1980-1983), and
Bad Seeds (1984-on),
Harvey added intricate detail and anonymous atmospherics that gave life to the singer's ominous narratives. On-stage, in a wardrobe of dark suits,
the Bad Seeds flanked
Cave, responding to the singer with a choir of baritones. Their collective sound elevated his musical assaults and mournful ballads to points of breathtaking drama. On his own,
Harvey made numerous contributions to
Bad Seeds' side projects and composed music for a number of independent films. He came closest to emerging from behind
Cave's shadow with his two tributes to French singer/songwriter
Serge Gainsbourg: Intoxicated Man (1995) and Pink Elephants (1997). Enthralled by the newly emerging punk rock,
Mick Harvey and
Nick Cave co-founded
the Boys Next Door (with
Tracy Pew on bass, Phill Calvert on drums,
Rowland Howard on guitar, and
Harvey in various roles) in 1977. They made their recorded debut in 1978 (a cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walking") and released one full-length album (1979's
Door, Door) before relocating to England in 1980. In their new home as
the Birthday Party, the group landed themselves a spot on 4AD records. The black sheep on a roster of atmospheric dream pop acts,
the Birthday Party was an assault on the senses of an entirely different sort. Dark and guttural, their sound was defined by heavy bass, searing guitars, and
Cave's terrifying wail. Conflicts grew between songwriters
Cave and
Howard, and after three years,
the Birthday Party was put to rest.
Needing an outlet for his growing ambitions as a writer,
Cave assembled
the Bad Seeds (with
Blixa Bargeld and
Hugo Race on guitar and
Barry Adamson on bass) in 1983.
Harvey began on drums. A talented performer and arranger,
Harvey continually rose to the level of
Cave's improved writing over the years. The group's 1983 debut,
From Her to Eternity, was a turning point. While the title track and "Cabin Fever" used
the Birthday Party template, lengthy narratives like "Saint Huck" and "A Box for Black Paul" signaled the changes ahead.
Harvey joined Australia's
Crime and the City Solution in 1985 for The Dangling Man EP. He would contribute to five albums under singer
Simon Bonney over six years, culminating in 1990's
Paradise Discotheque. By the time
the Bad Seeds reconvened for
Your Funeral, My Trial in 1986, all of the elements were in place.
Cave turned out one of his best collections of outcast's tales and sorrowful ballads.
Harvey left impressions everywhere. He built the drama of "The Carny," layering piano, organ, xylophone, and glockenspiel. Elsewhere, his guitar is the steady hand to
Bargeld's fractured edges.
Using any idle time between his two day jobs,
Harvey composed soundtrack music for the documentary Identity-Kid and Gisa Schleelein's Totes Geld (both 1987). This would become the pattern for
Harvey as he would bide time between
Bad Seeds and
Crime albums with film work (
Alta Marea & Vaterland collects projects from 1987-1992), production duties, and guest appearances, all while remaining one of the few constants in
the Bad Seeds fluctuating lineup.
Harvey's most significant solo work came in 1995 with the tribute to
Serge Gainsbourg, Intoxicated Man. A culmination of his craft,
Harvey shifted easily through a number of settings, from the rollicking tribute to American outlaws "Bonnie and Clyde" to the dripping sentimentality of "Overseas Telegram." 1997 brought even greater change for
the Bad Seeds as
Cave wrote a group of piano-led ballads for
The Boatman's Call.
Harvey contributed to most of the songs, but the sparse and reserved material called into question the necessity of the group.
Harvey released Intoxicated Man's companion, Pink Elephants, the same year and in 1998, curated
the Bad Seeds' Best Of collection. He composed his tenth collection of film music for Andrew Dominik's Chopper in 2000. ~ Nathan Bush