Artist: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Title: Bring It On
Format: 10" Single
Label: Mute
Catalogue Number: 10 MUTE 265
Year of Release: 2003
Tracklisting
A Bring It On (Edit) (4:13)
B1 Shoot Me Down (4:03)
B2 Swing Low (6:05)
The first single from the 12th studio album Nocturama, and in my opinion, a bit of a duff one.
It starts with Nick singing about a garden, using it as a metaphor for his wife and their relationship, how he is going to tend it, look after it, and make sure it prospers. So far so good. Then the chorus comes in, and it's like a different song; a song that a US band in their mid-30s might make to make sure they got heavy rotation on local radio stations.
The essence of the chorus is that any problem his wife might have, he can sort it out: Bring It On. Although here it's rendered, "bringid-awn", and Nick is joined by a bewildering choice of guest vocalist, Chris Bailey. And it goes on and on. We should be grateful they edited it from the album's 6 minute version at least. I don't know how well it did on US radio, but my guess is pretty well. It made 58 in the UK charts, which is higher than it deserves. Here's the video, which also explains the otherwise puzzling lap-dancers on the sleeve.
Of the B-sides, Swing Low is the best for Mick Harvey's lovely organ stabs, and the tubular bells. It also talks of, "strange music playing on the radio", although whether this is ironic I can't say. It almost gets a bit Spiritualized at the end, with the talk of saving Nick's soul.
Shoot Me Down is nothing special, an obvious off-cut from a not-very-good album, and both are available on the B-Side and Rarities compilation.
