THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Prayers On Fire 1981 UK 4AD MINT-
£
20
$
27
£ 20
Sold For
Sep 8, 2011
Sold Date
Aug 29, 2011
Start Date
1
Number Of Bids
Great Britain
Country Of Seller
eBay
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Description
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Prayers On Fire 1981 UK 4AD MINT-
A1/B1 1st PRESS w/UNSPLIT INNER, 1 PLAY, STUNNING LP
THE BIRTHDAY PARTYPrayers On Fire
UK 4AD (CAD 104) FIRST PRESSING (April 1981) OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY'S STUNNING DEBUT LP "Prayers On Fire"
IN BEAUTIFUL CONDITION - ONCE PLAYED (or more correctly part-played) - DELIVERING FLAWLESS SOUND THROUGHOUT
HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL LIGHTLY GLOSSY SLEEVE (WITH THE 4AD SOUTH WEST LONDON ADDRESS)
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL MATT, THICK CARD LYRIC INNER SLEEVE
MARTIX: CAD 104 A1, "BILBO TA1PE" / CAD 104 B1, "BILBO TA1PE" (all hand etched)
The record opens with the tribal thud of floor toms, shards of trebly guitar, the throb of an organ, and even a creepily out-of-place trumpet then the possessed, chant-like vocals -- not an incantation to any god, but to "Zoo-Music Girl."
It's the religion of depraved sexuality, bestial urges, and sadomasochism. "We spend our lives in a box full of dirt/I murder her dress till it hurts/I murder her dress and she loves it," howls Cave, echoing Leonard Cohen and finally concluding with the berserk plea, "Oh! God! Please let me die beneath her fists." Meanwhile, Cave sounds like he's actually being assaulted by the music, emitting horrific gasps and primitive grunts. And this is only the first track.
On the next two tracks, language itself is violated and found inadequate. Words collapse upon themselves in "Cry," with Cave tossing out self-annihilating binaries like "space/no space," "fish/no fish," "clothes/no clothes," and "flesh/no flesh."
On "Capers," penned by Genevieve McGuckin, words are chewed up and regurgitated as warped neologisms: "gloomloom," "clocklock," "paperparrent," "diehood."
The lyrics for "Figure of Fun" aren't even printed in the lyric inner sleeve; instead, merely "obsessive, deadpan, moribund, seasick, etc." And perhaps that best sums up Prayers on Fire's graveyard poetry.
The rest of the album is a subterranean labyrinth full of "sand and soot and dust and dirt," peopled by bizarre characters like Nick the Stripper and King Ink, and replete with images of murder, decay, blood, and Kafka-esque insects.
Then, of course, there's Cave himself, the literate ghoul with an impressive vocal range who just stepped out of a B horror flick, trying to parry the intensity of the music like an Iggy Pop wasted on goth pills.
But don't overlook his subtle sense of humour and his awareness of the camp -- there are chickens to be counted, nuns inside his head, Fats Domino on the radio and "I'm drinking, "I'm drinking,"I'm drinking,"I'm drinking…I'm drunk"
The Birthday Party are closer to Joy Division (only more theatrical), the Pop Group (only spookier), or Pere Ubu (only more percussive).
Though present on most of the tracks, the moody piano that would dominate much of Cave's solo work is never really prominent here. Instead it's the squiggles of Rowland Howard's guitar dodging the blows of the furious rhythm section that distinguishes the Birthday Party.
Wild, oppressive and unrelenting, Prayers on Fire is a masterpiece
Side 1: Zoo-Music Girl / Cry / Capers / Nick The Stripper / Ho-Ho / Figure Of Fun
Side 2: King Ink / A Dead Song / Yard / Dull Day / Just You And Me
LABELS: MINT/MINT-
Clean, unmarked labels with one light spindle trace on Side Two, none on Side One
VINYL Visual: NEAR MINT
The vinyl surfaces shine like-new with just some light and superficial marks - these have no audio impact
VINYL Audio: MINT-
Very strong, very powerful and very intense sound - this is an absolutely sensational LP and my play-check at loud volume revealed no audio issues of note - no scratches, no clicks or pops, no surface noise or any other audio distractions and it plays beautifully (and cleanly) throughout
SLEEVE: NEAR MINT
Clean, fresh and unmarked with just a small touch of 'bumping' to the opening corners being the only thing preventing a full MINT grading
INNER SLEEVE: EXCELLENT+
Clean and unmarked with no seam splits - just some very light 'foxing' spots
ALL RECORDS ARE PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW INNER SLEEVE WITH ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: £4.00 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £6.00 or £11.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £10.00 or £15.00 (International Signed For delivery)
***Any record (or combination of records) which sells for more than £40 must be sent by a trackable method ie INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR outside of the UK
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444 (GS 6.2 (444))
price rating
