Nick Cave and Debbie Harry have linked up for a cover of Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s “On the Other Side.” It’s the first single from The Task Has Overwhelmed Us, an upcoming tribute album dedicated to the late Gun Club bandleader.
The Task Has Overwhelmed Us is the fourth installment of the Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project series, in which Cave and Harry are regulars: They’ve previously done renditions together of “Free to Walk” on 2009’s We Are Only Riders, “The Breaking Hands” from 2012’s The Journey Is Long, and “Into the Fire” from 2014’s Axels and Sockets.
The focus of the series is to flesh out demos Pierce began before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1996. On their version of “On the Other Side,” the Bad Seeds and Blondie vocalists — both of whom Pierce admired a lot — spend the majority of the song singing in unison, backed by simple acoustic instrumentation. Cave also plays some piano, while onetime Gun Club touring member Cypress Grove performs guitar. Stream the cover below.
The Task Has Overwhelmed Us is out in full on September 29th via Glitterhouse, and you can pre-order it at Bandcamp. It also includes performances by the late Mark Lanegan, Lydia Lunch, Dave Gahan, The Coathangers, and Jim Jarmusch.
Cave is also set to go on a solo North American tour this year, and you can get tickets at StubHub.
Listen to Debbie Harry discuss Blondie’s “Rapture” on a recent episode of The Story Behind the Song...
