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Album Details

• Artist: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Album: Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
• Label: Anti
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-02-04

I have never been one to clamber to get a new Nick Cave album. In fact, I probably only really started getting into him around the Murder Ballads time back in 1996. It was a fantastic album and it got me to follow that one up with The Boatman's Call. And then I fell of the wagon. I heard Nocturama last year and although I enjoyed it, it ended up lost in the shuffle. So needless to say when his new double album, Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus landed on my desk I wasn't extremely excited. Damn, I should have been. This album really encompasses everything I, a casual fan, think that Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds should encompass. He tells stories better than Tom Waits and the good thing is that Cave has a great voice. I couldn't help but be drawn in to tracks like "Hiding All Away", a 6+ minute that even features a gospel choir, a choir that would make many more appearances on the albums (including the album's closer, the choir's highlight "O Children". The two albums could easily stand alone. It seems that Cave also has death on the mind (as usual) with many tracks ("Messiah Ward" is just a start) talking about god or death in all its forms. The choir really adds a lot to many of the songs. Sometimes they are used just slightly and others (such as the afformentioned "Hiding All Away") where there is a lot of focus on them. "Let The Bells Ring", a bit of a tribute to Johnny Cash and his music, is a very ambitious song and probably the most accessible track on Abbatoir. The ballad "Breathless" needs to be heard by all. It really is beautiful. Nick is down a member in his Bad Seeds but it seems to have motivated him with this ambitious effort. Abbatoir Blues is a little more upbeat and Lyre of Orpheus is a little tamer. I wouldn't say one is a rock album per se but the two do end up complimenting each other. They could stand alone but I keep looking for "Lyre of Orpheus" to start up right after the last track on Abbatoir Blues. I give this a 5 and honestly say that I look forward to Nick Cave's next album. If you weren't a big fan before, this album will change that with the utter diversity and superb musicianship involved.

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