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On the Boys Next Door debut Nick Cave comments: “It was a complete wet dream that record. I hate it. It wreaks of a band trying to be musically intelligent and write clever, witty lyrics. It’s a complete wank.” Harsh Nick, very harsh. Side one (rated 6.40) was recorded in June 1978, before Rowland Howard had joined. Here, the group play a Boomtown Rats style of pop-punk, complete with ooh-ooh-oohs and saxophones. The punky opening salvo “The Nightwatchman” is a clear highlight from this period. The improving Side two (rated 7.38) was recorded in January 1979 with Rowland, who contributes the classic suicide-ballad “Shivers” (although the band gets co-credit on all tracks). It’s the second side which sees the group take a clear turn for the better; towards the darkness that would soon envelope The Birthday Party, with “Dive Position” in particular laying down a kind of creep-waltz template that would become a peculiarity of The Birthday Party / The Bad Seeds later on. “Door Door” was a good start to the Nick Cave story. Which just goes to show – you should never let an artist do their own reviews…
The Jukebox Rebel
13-Apr-2008
| A1 | [02:07]  The Boys Next Door - The Nightwatchman (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert) Post-Punk |
| A2 | [02:27]  The Boys Next Door - Brave Exhibitions (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert) New Wave |
| A3 | [02:46]  The Boys Next Door - Friends Of My World (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert) New Wave |
| A4 | [03:55]  The Boys Next Door - The Voice (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert) New Wave |
| A5 | [01:35]  The Boys Next Door - Roman Roman (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert) Post-Punk |
| A6 | [02:39]  The Boys Next Door - Somebody’s Watching (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert, Rowland S. Howard) New Wave |
| B1 | [04:36] The Boys Next Door - After A Fashion (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert, Rowland S. Howard) New Wave |
| B2 | [02:47]  The Boys Next Door - Dive Position (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert, Rowland S. Howard) Post-Punk |
| B3 | [04:31]  The Boys Next Door - I Mistake Myself (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert, Rowland S. Howard) New Wave |
| B4 | [04:34]  The Boys Next Door - Shivers (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phill Calvert, Rowland S. Howard) Songwriter |
