Uusi Nick Cave 2CD (2004) Ilmainen Toimitus

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds:

Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

2CD (2004)

When Blixa Bargeld left Nick Cave's Bad

Seeds, who would have predicted his de-

parture would result in one of the finest

offerings in the band's catalog? Abbatoir

Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus is a double

CD or, rather, two completely different al-

bums packaged in one very handsome

box with a stylish lyric booklet and subtly

colored pastel sleeves. They were record-

ed in a total of 16 days.Abbatoir Blues the

first disc in the set (packaged in pink, of

course), is a rock & roll record. Yeah, the

same guy who released the Boatman's

Call, No More Shall We Part, and Noctu-

rama albums has turned in a pathos-dren-

ched volume-cranked rocker full of crunch,

punishment - and taste. Drummer Jim

Sclavunos' aggressive propulsive kit work

is the bedrock of this set. It and Mick Har-

vey's storm-squall guitar playing shake

things loose on Get Ready for Love which

opens the album. As Cave goes right for

God in the refrain - "get ready for love" -

in the maelstrom, a gospel choir roaring

"praise Him" responds. His tense, ambi-

valent obsession with theology is pervasi-

ve; he mocks the Western perception of

God in the heavens yet seeks the mystery

of His nature. That he does so while care-

ening through a wall of noisy rock damage

is simply stunning. It leaves the listener

revved up and off-center for what comes

next. The chorus - members of the Lon-

don Community Gospel Choir - is preva-

lent on both records; the Bad Seeds' ar-

rangement utilizes them wisely as coun-

terpoint and mirror for Cave's own barito-

ne. "Cannibal's Hymn" begins as a love

song musically; it's chocked with Cave's

dark wit and irony and ends far more agg-

ressively while retaining its melody. The

single, "Nature Boy," finds itself on Scal-

vunos' big beat. Cave and his piano use

love's irony in contrast with cheap innuen-

do as underlined by the choir in their best

soul croon. "Let Them Bells Ring" is a

most dignified and emotionally honest tri-

bute to Johnny Cash and the world he

witnessed. The Western wrangle of "The-

re She Goes, My Beautiful World" referen-

ces Morricone's desert cowboy groove

against a swirling cacophony of drums,

bashing piano, and the chorus swelling

on the refrain, while Cave name drops

Johnny Thunders and poet Philip Larkin.

The pace is fantastic; its drama and musi-

cal dynamics are pitched taut with lulls in

all the right places.

The Lyre of Orpheus, by contrast, is a

much quieter, more elegant affair. It is

more consciously restrained, its attention

to craft and theatrical flair more prevalent.

But that doesn't make it any less satisfy-

ing. It is a bit of a shock after Abbatoir

Blues, but it isn't meant for playing imme-

diately afterward; it is a separate listening

experience. The title track tells the myth's

tale in Cave's ironical fashion, where God

eventually throws a hammer at the sub-

ject and Eurydyce threatens to shove his

lyre up his nether orifice. Warren Ellis'

swampy bouzouki and Thomas Wydler's

more stylized drumming move the band

in the tense, skeletal swirl where chorus

and Cave meet the music in a loopy dan-

ce. But in "Breathless," the bard of the lo-

ve song emerges unfettered at the top of

his poetic gift. On Babe You Turn Me On

he wraps a bawdy yet tender love song

in a country music waltz to great effect.

But on this album, along with the gentle-

ness, is experimentation with textures

and wider dimensions. The sparser sound

is freer, less structured; it lets time slip

through the songs rather than govern

hem, check the wall of Ellis' strings mar-

ried to a loping acoustic guitar on the mo-

ving "Carry Me" as an example. Cave's

nastiness and wit never remains absent

for long, however, and on "O Children,"

the album's closer,it returns with this skin-

crawlingly gorgeous ballad of murder and

suicide.This set is an aesthetic watermark

for Cave a true high point in a long career

that is ever looking forward.

Eclectic and powerful post-punk band

that's steadily evolved under the leaders-

hip of one of rock's most celebrated song-

writers.

Levyjen lukumäärä: 2

Levyn mukana tulee 24-sivuinen kirjanen.

Genre: alternative pop/rock, indie rock

Abattoir Blues

01. Get Ready For Love 5:05

02. Cannibal's Hymn 4:54

03. Hiding All Away 6:31

04. Messiah Ward 5:14

05. There She Goes,

My Beautiful World 5:17

06. Nature Boy 4:54

07. Abattoir Blues 3:58

08. Let The Bells Ring 4:26

09. Fable Of The Brown Ape 2:45

The Lyre Of Orpheus

01. The Lyre Of Orpheus 5:36

02. Breathless 3:13

03. Babe, You Turn Me On 4:21

04. Easy Money 6:43

05. Supernaturally 4:37

06. Spell 4:25

07. Carry Me 3:37

08. O Children 6:51

2CD on UUSI ja muoveissa.

Levy-yhtiö: Virgin

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