Mick Harvey is one of the unsung rock heroes of our time. Not just for the work he did with Nick Cave (I still shudder at saying this in the past tense) - but for the excellent production and instrumental work he has provided for other artists, from PJ Harvey to Robert Forster. For his solo career, too. For the masterful interpretation of Serge Gainsbourg's music. For the rare but precious moments of singer-songwriter brilliance that have led to underrated albums like Two of Diamonds and Sketches from the Book of the Dead.
That said, I could probably make a good point that Beth Gibbons's Lives Outgrown is, inevitably, the best album of the month. Or could I?..
Five Ways To Say Goodbye was such a low-key release that I almost missed it (as I have done multiple times with some of his earlier work). So much so that its appearance on Spotify was a bit of an afterthought, and I first heard it in the impenetrable jungle that is Bandcamp.
While the album consists of just four original compositions, they merge so seamlessly with his interpretations of other people's work that you start to understand why Harvey has never trusted the word 'cover'. Truly, guessing which songs on Five Ways To Say Goodbye were self-penned and which were written by other artists would not be easy. A certain sombre, pensive atmosphere permeates the album and makes everything his own.
The string arrangements are beautiful (soaring in "Alone With The Stars", chilling in "A Suitcase in Berlin" - an ode to Berlin first recorded by Marlene Dietrich in the 1950s) and the melodies are sung in that delicate voice that makes the material extra subtle and majestic. The one time when he rocks out is when he does Dave McComb's "Setting You Free" (this would be a good place to recommend McComb's passionate, masterful Love Of Will album) - he does it with conviction and a certain roughness that the song requires. Still, my favourite piece on this extremely even LP would have to be Harvey's take on Ed Kuepper's "Demolition". It is gorgeous beyond all reason (it makes me think of The Paradise Motel's version of "Drive"), and the way he roughs up the ending while retaining the aural bliss of that chorus is a truly special moment.
A great, great album that deserves to be cherished - or at the very least heard by more people. And to go full circle with this review... I remember how I first found out that Mick Harvey had a solo career. It was while reading a British music magazine that features a brief review of his Australian Rules soundtrack. It was a glowing four-star piece that concluded with something like "the sooner he leaves that one-trick charlatan Cave, the better". That is taking things way too far, obviously, but Mick Harvey solo work deserves a lot more recognition than it has received over the years.
