Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet Mother of Sunshine, October 29, 2004
Nick Cave seems to have experienced an epiphany, drawing on gospel, rhythm and blues and earthy blues to piece together what is perhaps the most emotionally satisfying collection of his career. For those who are used to the preternatural scowling Nick Cave, this CD may be a disappointment. Why, Nick Cave almost sounds joyous! Yet, the haunting refrains still lurk beneath the surface which is what makes this 2 CD set so memorable.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strum the lyre, explode the birds, October 26, 2004
Well, Nick Cave certainly knows how to suck you in. The follow-up to 2003's "Nocturama" is a solidly moody creation, a two disc set called "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus," courtesy of the ex-Birthday Party vocalist and his new band, the Bad Seeds. One minute mellow, the next bombastic -- and it's pretty good stuff.
Certain bands age well, and thankfully Cave hasn't lost his touch. Though only God knows how he manages to churn out an album a year without burning out like a blind moth. Let alone material that is decent in quality -- "Abattoir Blues" is a warped take on gospel music, complete with a thrilling choir in "There She Goes My Beautiful World."
"It's been a strange, strange day," Cave moans in the first disc. But "The Lyre of Orpheus" takes a slightly different tack -- it's sweeter and more playful. After the heavy rock of songs like "Get Ready for Love," the gentle pop of "Lyre" seems positively idyllic. The sprawling 10-minute finale, "O Children," is a spookily beautiful composition that sounds almost prayerlike.
"Nocturama" wasn't the best that Cave and the Bad Seeds could have done. Like a lot of good rock, it was good by objective standards, but not as good as he could've done. "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus" fixes that -- it's just a resolutely solid album all around.
Whirlwind bass and murky percussion mask the songs of "Abattoir Blues," giving a sort of wild stormy sound. Even the lower-key songs like funky "Cannibal's Hymn" are spooky and weird. Things change quite a bit with "Lyre of Orpheus," such as the opener of "Breathless" -- it's dominated by a gentle acoustic guitar and a flute. In the background of "Carry Me," you can hear what sounds like a piano. The music sounds very textured and complete.
And despite such brilliant instrumentation, it's hard to tell just how Cave can keep from laughing during some of the songs he sings here. Like "The Lyre of Orpheus" -- he sings about Orpheus crafting a lyre that kills Eurydice, followed by "birdies detonated in the sky/bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees." Where do they get these wickedly deranged ideas from? But the lyrics aren't all goofy -- "Cannibal's Hymn" is morbidly creepy, with its "your heart that is bruised but bleating/And bleeding like a lamb."
What's best about "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus" is that both discs work as individuals albums. But taken together, they feel like a wild night out, and the lazy Sunday morning that comes after.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Profoundly moving music about the ineffable and terrifying..., December 22, 2005
I'm a new Nick Cave fan. I don't know how he's escaped me so long. I started out with _Boatman's Call_ and couldn't quit listening to it, especially the song _People Ain't No Good_ and _There Is A Kingdom_. His voice and his words equally resonate. The songs themselves read like Donne or Dylan Thomas and speak to a sort of belief that rocks and threatens even as it soothes. I had my doubts that this album could equal Boatman's Call in my estimation--but it equals and surpasses, in many aspects. So many of these songs gave me chills, either of pleasure or fear. C.S. Lewis once said "The business of Heaven is Joy". There's joy in these songs--joy and terror, and longing, and loneliness. Add to that a solid, tooth-rattling rock sense and lyrics that bite like cold iron, and you have a work of stunning beauty.
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by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 
