The Good Son (album)
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox album Template:Music ratings The Good Son is the sixth studio album by the Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 17 April 1990 by Mute Records.
After two dark and harrowing studio albums with Your Funeral... My Trial (1986) and Tender Prey (1988), The Good Son was a substantial departure with a lighter and generally more uplifting sound. The change of mood was greatly inspired by lead vocalist Nick Cave falling in love with Brazilian journalist Viviane Carneiro, and an apparently salutary spell in rehab which purged much of the despair and squalor reflected in the previous two studio albums. Cave later said, "I guess The Good Son is some kind of reflection of the way I felt early on in Brazil. I was quite happy there. I was in love and the first year or two was good. The problem I found was ... in order to survive you have to adopt their attitudes towards everything, which are kind of blinkered."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Singles and release history
The Good Son was preceded by the release of "The Ship Song" single. A different version of "The Weeping Song" was later released as a single, with a different mix from the album version.
The closing track "Lucy" was resurrected in 1993 as a B-side of "What a Wonderful World", a collaboration of the Bad Seeds and the Pogues' Shane MacGowan.
The album was remastered and reissued on 29 March 2010 as a collector's edition CD/DVD set.
Track listing
Personnel
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Nick Cave – vocals; piano; Hammond organ; harmonica
- Mick Harvey – bass; acoustic guitar; vibraphone; percussion; backing vocals; all guitars on "The Hammer Song"
- Blixa Bargeld – guitar; backing vocals; co-lead "Father" vocals on "The Weeping Song"
- Kid Congo Powers – guitar
- Thomas Wydler – drums; percussion
with:
- Roland Wolf – piano on reprise section of "Lucy"
- Clóvis Trindade, Rubinho – vocals on "Foi Na Cruz"
String Section
- Alexandre Ramirez, Altamir Téa Bueno Salinas, Helena Akiku Imasoto, Léa Kalil Sadi – violin
- Akira Terazaki, Glauco Masahiro Imasato – viola
- Braulio Marques Lima, Cristina Manescu – cello
- Cláudia Ferreti – string and singer coordinator
- Mick Harvey and Billy McGee – string arrangements
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Croatian International Albums (HDU)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 12 |
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