Hits

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Initially released in 1992, "Hits" is the definitive, 20 song, anthology from one of the most admired and influential bands of the post-punk era. It features classics such as "Nick the Stripper," "Release the Bats," and "Sonny's Burning." Taken from the early singles, the seminal "Prayers on Fire" and "Junkyard" albums & their final EP's this compilation includes virtually all the groups key tracks. Apart rom Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Birthday Party also gave the world Crime & the city Solutio and These Immortal Souls.

AMAZON
Hits, though a Best Of compilation, contained no hits at all. Rather it gleaned its title from the conscious and constant violence of The Birthday Party's music. Moving to London as the Eighties began, they lasted a mere three years before collapsing in on themselves, unable to maintain such a level of aggressive sonic innovation. Opening with such sparse shockabilly attacks as "Nick The Stripper" and "Release The Bats", Hits drags us roughly through the band's short-yet-seismic career. Junkyard, their jerky, bluesy, metal-bashing fourth album, was well represented by the cruel, countrified "She's Hit" and "Big Jesus Trashcan". Singer Nick Cave's fascination with murder ballads was revealed by the grim "Deep In The Woods", while "Mutiny In Heaven" took his interest in religion and religious fervour to new ecstatic heights. In terms of sophisticated artistry, Cave would advance mightily, but he never again achieved such savagery. --Dominic Wills