Idiot Prayer

Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace is a concert film and live album by Australian musician Nick Cave. It was streamed globally to ticket holders online on 23 July 2020. It was filmed by cinematographer Robbie Ryan and features Cave performing solo on piano at Alexandra Palace in London. Although initially intended to be a one-time-only event, Idiot Prayer was released in extended form in cinemas on 5 November 2020 and as a live album on 20 November 2020.

For the song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, see The Boatman's Call. For the song by Porcupine Tree, see Signify.

Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace
Theatrical release poster
StarringNick Cave
Music byNick Cave
CinematographyRobbie Ryan
Edited byNick Emerson
Distributed byTrafalgar Releasing[1]
Release date
  • 23 July 2020 (2020-07-23) (stream)
  • 5 November 2020 (2020-11-05) (cinemas)
Running time
90 minutes (stream)
118 minutes (cinemas)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Idiot Prayer serves as the final film in a trilogy—along with 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) and One More Time with Feeling (2016)—and was described by Cave as "its luminous and heartfelt climax."[2]

Background

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released its seventeenth studio album Ghosteen on 4 October 2019. The band announced a 33-date European and UK tour, due to begin on 19 April 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal and conclude on 17 June in Tel Aviv, Israel.[3] An 18-date North American tour, beginning on 16 September in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US and concluding on 17 October in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was also later announced.[4] A month prior to its commencement, it was announced that the European and UK tour was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all shows rescheduled to later dates in 2021;[5] three months later the North American tour was also cancelled.[6] In lieu of the cancelled shows, Cave recorded a solo performance that June at Alexandra Palace's West Hall in London. The full performance was streamed globally as a concert film, Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace, on 23 July. It was filmed by cinematographer Robbie Ryan.[7] The production involved significant precautions against the spread of COVID-19.[2]

Alexandra Palace

The film evolved from Cave's 2019 solo Conversations tour, in which he performed stripped down versions of his songs on piano with more of a focus on the lyrics. During the tour, Cave began to consider recording the Conversations versions of his songs in a studio. During the pandemic, he decided to record and film the songs and enlisted cinematographer Robbie Ryan, sound engineer Dom Monks and editor Nick Emerson. Idiot Prayer serves as the final film in a trilogy—along with 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) and One More Time with Feeling (2016)—and was described by Cave as "its luminous and heartfelt climax."[2] It features performances of songs from across the Bad Seeds discography, as well as two songs from Grinderman and a new song entitled "Euthanasia".

Speaking with NME, Robbie Ryan revealed the performance was recorded in one take with two cameras. Ryan also described his role, saying, "It was an interesting process for me, because there was no director really. Nick was the director of sorts, but he wouldn't call himself that. Normally in my world, you get picked by the director and then they run the show. This was different, so Nick was very curious about how we went about it and was very collaborative as to what I thought."[8]

Idiot Prayer was initially marketed as one-time-only event for paying viewers, with no later availability for viewing.[9][10] However, on 3 September 2020, it was announced that Idiot Prayer will be released as a live album and a concert film. The film is an extended version and features four songs not shown during the livestream. It will be released in cinemas on 5 November 2020. The live album will be released on 20 November 2020. The live recording of "Galleon Ship" was released as a single on 3 September 2020.[11][12] The live recording of "Euthanasia" was released as a single on 16 October 2020.[13]

Stream

Many viewers of the stream experienced buffering and freezing glitches. Organisers emailed ticket holders to apologise and announced the performance would be put online for those who purchased tickets to view from 24–26 July.[14]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Daily Telegraph[15]
Evening Standard[16]
Financial Times[17]
The Guardian[18]
i[19]
The Independent[20]
NME[21]
The Observer[22]
The Times[23]

In his review for Rolling Stone, Kory Grow praised Cave's arrangements for bringing "new depth to the songs" and also felt the "stark lighting" complemented each song.[24]

Album

All songs written by Nick Cave, except where noted.

Idiot Prayer (Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace)
Live album by
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released20 November 2020 (2020-11-20)
VenueAlexandra Palace
Length83:53
LabelBad Seed Ltd.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds chronology
Ghosteen
(2019)		 Idiot Prayer (Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace)
(2020)
Singles from Idiot Prayer (Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace)
  1. "Galleon Ship"
    Released: 3 September 2020
  2. "Euthanasia"
    Released: 16 October 2020
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spinning Song"Cave, Warren Ellis1:48
2."Idiot Prayer" 3:09
3."Sad Waters" 3:43
4."Brompton Oratory" 3:21
5."Palaces of Montezuma"Martyn P. Casey, Cave, Ellis, Jim Sclavunos3:44
6."Girl in Amber"Cave, Ellis4:31
7."Man in the Moon"Casey, Cave, Ellis, Sclavunos3:03
8."Nobody's Baby Now" 3:57
9."(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For" 4:29
10."Waiting for You"Cave, Ellis3:02
11."The Mercy Seat"Cave, Mick Harvey4:55
12."Euthanasia" 2:58
13."Jubilee Street"Cave, Ellis4:31
14."Far from Me" 4:13
15."He Wants You" 2:52
16."Higgs Boson Blues"Cave, Ellis6:59
17."Stranger Than Kindness"Blixa Bargeld, Anita Lane3:33
18."Into My Arms" 4:53
19."The Ship Song" 3:08
20."Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" 4:31
21."Black Hair" 3:02
22."Galleon Ship"Cave, Ellis3:31
Total length:83:53

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic91/100[25]
Review scores
SourceRating
Mojo[26]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[27]
Pitchfork8.0/10[28]
The Sydney Morning Herald[29]
Uncut9/10[30]
Under the Radar6.5/10[31]

Andrew Perry of Mojo gave the album a perfect score, writing, "Idiot Prayer is extraordinary, breathtakingly varied within its minimal format, and compelling throughout."[26] Leonie Cooper of Uncut gave the album a 9 out of 10 rating, calling it "the performance of a lifetime."[30]

Year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2020
16
[32]

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for Idiot Prayer (Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace)
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[34] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 12
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[37] 46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[38] 7
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[39] 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[40] 15
Irish Albums (OCC)[41] 34
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42] 26
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[43] 7
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[44] 24
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[45] 6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[46] 12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[48] 18

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for Idiot Prayer (Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace)
Chart (2020) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[49] 116

References
  1. "Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace Coming To Cinemas 5 November". trafalgar-releasing.com. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. "Idiot Prayer - A note from Nick Cave". www.nickcave.com. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds European and UK Tour 2020". Nick Cave. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. Kohn, Daniel (18 February 2020). "Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Announce Fall Tour Dates". Spin. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. Reilly, Nick (19 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cancel European and UK tour". NME. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. Gregory, Allie (9 June 2020). "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Cancel North American Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  7. Brandle, Lars (3 July 2020). "Nick Cave's 'Idiot Prayer' Virtual Concert Will Feature 'Rare Tracks'". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  8. Trendell, Andrew (23 July 2020). "Nick Cave's 'Idiot Prayer' livestream "captures the purest form of his music", promises cinematographer". NME. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  9. "Nick Cave to Stream Solo 'Idiot Prayer' Piano Concert". Spin. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  10. Murray, Robin (23 July 2020). "Alone Again Or: The Making Of Nick Cave's Alexandra Palace Film". Clash. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  11. Minsker, Evan (3 September 2020). "Nick Cave Announces New Live Album and Film Idiot Prayer". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  12. Richards, Will (3 September 2020). "Nick Cave to release 'Idiot Prayer' show as live album and in cinemas". NME. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  13. Blistein, Jon (16 October 2020). "Nick Cave Captures Gutting Loss and Longing on 'Euthanasia'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  14. Bourke, Latika (23 July 2020). "Nick Cave's global streaming concert hit by technical issues". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  15. McCormick, Neil (23 July 2020). "Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace, review: mesmeric and quietly devastating". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  16. Smyth, David (23 July 2020). "Nick Cave - Idiot Prayer review: Gravitas echoes beautifully in the void of an empty Alexandra Palace". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  17. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (24 July 2020). "Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave without The Bad Seeds". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  18. Hennessy, Kate (23 July 2020). "Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer review – livestreamed gig is not just solo, but starkly alone". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  19. Lewis, India (25 July 2020). "Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone, Alexandra Palace, review: Sadness and loneliness are thrown into sharp focus". i. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  20. Sturges, Fiona (23 July 2020). "Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace – review: 'Idiot Prayer' performance is stately and beautiful". The Independent. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  21. Cooper, Leonie (24 July 2020). "Nick Cave live in London: the breathtaking 'Idiot Prayer' is an exorcism of death, religion and romance". NME. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  22. O'Hagan, Sean (25 July 2020). "Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace review – utterly magnetic". The Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  23. Hodgkinson, Will (24 July 2020). "Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer review — poignant, thought-provoking . . . and rather boring". The Times. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  24. Grow, Kory (24 July 2020). "Nick Cave Thrives in Solitude in Socially Distanced 'Idiot Prayer' Concert Film". Rolling Stones. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  25. "Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace by Nick Cave Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  26. Perry, Andrew. "Fool's gold: Cave's internet-streamed solo performance at Ally Pally reveals familiar gems and discarded nuggets". Mojo. No. 325 (December 2020 ed.). p. 84.
  27. Klinge, Steve (20 November 2020). "The War on Drugs are a great live band, and now they have 'Live Drugs' to prove it | Review". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  28. Hewitt, Ben (20 November 2020). "Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  29. Boulton, Martin (20 November 2020). "Music reviews: Nick Cave, Marika Hackman, The Green Child and more". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  30. Cooper, Leonie. "Captivating streamed solo show". Uncut. No. 283 (December 2020 ed.). p. 27.
  31. Matt the Raven (30 November 2020). "Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Place (Bad Seed Ltd.) - review". Under the Radar. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  32. "The 75 Best Albums Of 2020". Mojo. No. 326. January 2021. p. 52.
  33. "Australiancharts.com – Nick Cave – Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  34. "Austriancharts.at – Nick Cave – Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
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  36. "Ultratop.be – Nick Cave – Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  37. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 202048 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  38. "Dutchcharts.nl – Nick Cave – Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  39. "Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  40. "Offiziellecharts.de – Nick Cave – Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  41. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  42. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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  44. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  45. "Portuguesecharts.com – Nick Cave – Idiot Prayer - Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  46. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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