Search - Mick Harvey :: One Mans Treasure

Bad seed grows

alexander laurence | Los Angeles, CA | 11/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mick Harvey has always been an important member of the bands The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds. Many of his songs with the Birthday Party were some of the best. He is the only original member of The Bad Seeds along with Nick Cave. Harvey was also in the band Crime & City Solution. He worked on movie soundtracks and kept busy. Over 25 years of music, it wouldn't surprise me if Mick Harvey has contributed to over fifty albums. His previous solo albums were English versions of the work of Serge Gainsbough. This is the first record of original and covers songs. Harvey calls it "very personal." He ends up putting his personal touch on songs by The Gun Club, Tim Buckley, Lee Hazelwood, Johnny Cash, and others. It is a pretty interesting cool record. Mick Harvey plans on touring with this album with a real band. That should be interesting.

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Grows on the listener

Jeremy M. Milstein | Chicago, IL | 01/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mick Harvey's latest release takes a turn or two to get used to. The overall mood is in step with many Bad Seeds releases yet Harvey is not a Nick Cave clone. The biggest misstep on the album is his cover of Cave's "Come Into My Sleep". Still, there are 4 or 5 great tracks on here, highlighted by "Louise", Tim Buckley's "The River", Robbie Fulks' "Bethelridge" and Harvey's own beautiful composition, "Will You Surrender?"



In addition, google to find the music video for "Hank Williams Said it Best." Inspired video especially compared to the usual Bad Seeds' videos. Great songs, lousy videos.



Overall, worth owning for any Bad Seeds fan but don't expect a Nick Cave release. Harvey is his own artist and hopefully, he releases a full-length CD soon of his own stuff as "Will You Surrender?" is terrific."

Bad Seed Sprouts

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 04/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Had I not been a Nick Cave fan, I might never have heard of Mick Harvey. They just don't play songs like these on the radio and that's a pity.

One Man's Treasure is apparently Harvey's third solo effort in ten years and his treatment of the songs here show just how much he has grown. You might say that this Bad Seed has finally sprouted. Most songs on this CD were written by others, but Harvey displays great talent with a couple of his own compositions as well.

I like most of the CD with the exception of the obnoxious Come On Spring. My favorites are: First St. Blues, a snivel-in-your-drink song that shouts writer Lee Hazlewood's name; the dark and romantic Louise; the somber Harvey composition Man Without A Home; Planetarium, with its building musical tension and dramatic instrumental interlude; the powerful Hank Williams Said It Best; and the trance-inducing Mother of Earth.

If you are looking for a slavish imitation of Harvey's work with Nick Cave on One Man's Treasure, then you will be disappointed. But if you are looking for something new in alternative rock, then you should consider Mick Harvey and this CD. About the only connection here to the Bad Seeds is his cover of one Cave song, and the fact that musically, Harvey tends to be on the dark side.

Other than that, he shows he's his own man when he needs to be. Check One Man's Treasure out, you should not be disappointed.

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