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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus The work of Nick Cave has always suggested greatness. In that same way, however, it has also always been frustrating. When he is at his best he is as good as ever there was, but when he's a little off his game the results can be maddening. On his last studio album, 2003's Nocturama, the wonders suggested by a song like Rock of Gibraltar were dampened by the rambling uneasiness of Babe I'm on Fire. While Cave has always written great songs there has been a need for he and his band, the Bad Seeds, to produce a truly great album. With Abattoir Blues and The Lyre of Orpheus they have done us one better: they've made two.
At first glance the circumstances that went into the making of these albums seem far from ideal. Nocturama is barely a year old, and its release was followed by the departure of longtime Bad Seeds guitarist and Cave collaborator Blixa Bargeld. One can always question the wisdom of releasing material at a rapid pace, so it would seem to border on foolish to do it so soon after the loss of a key player. Conventional wisdom be damned, Cave's tactic was to convene a stripped down version of the Bad Seeds (with Mick Harvey now handling full guitar duties) at an old jazz studio in Paris and throw them into a frenzy of creativity and improvisation. Within four days they had recorded ten albums worth of new material.
The idea of those preliminary sessions, according to Cave, was to get the band more involved in the songwriting process, and the results are palpable. The albums – rounded out by the rest of the regulars and featuring former Gallon Drunk frontman James Johnston on organ – have a brisk, wide-open feel that seems fresh in comparison to previous releases. It's due in part to the way they were recorded – largely live to tape, on vintage equipment, and with a group of musicians with the instincts to feed off of one another's performances. The band is at the top of their game, but the most notable feature of the instrumentation is also the most unexpected: generous contributions from the London Community Gospel Choir. Their presence gives the albums a jolt that feels sustained even when they're not singing.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Get Ready for Love, the first track on Abattoir Blues, is essentially a gospel song. With it's propulsive, rolling rhythm and uplifting refrain of "Get ready for love! Praise Him!" it sets a surprising tone for what's to come. That important effect is similarly achieved by the first single, Nature Boy, which is a poppy ode to new love that includes one of the finest double entendres ever put down on wax:
"You took me back to your place/And dressed me up in a deep sea diver's suit/You played the patriot, you raised the flag/And I stood at full salute."
There are several such light moments here, as Cave seems to be loosening up and fully exploring the potential of the ballad. However, longtime fans of his dark, literary sensibilities will still get their fix, particularly in The Fable of the Brown Ape and The Lyre of Orpheus. While the tracks veer from gentle laments to swamp blues to gospel to soul, the whole is held together by consistently top-form lyrics. Of particular note in that department is Let the Bells Ring, a touching ode to the late Johnny Cash that manages the difficult feat of doing the man the justice he deserves.
In considering Abattoir Blues and The Lyre of Orpheus it feels odd to think of them as separate albums. They go quite well together, and neither one is so long (nine and eight songs, respectively) that they can't be considered as one whole. There are differences, however, and they can be boiled down to subtle shifts in tone. Abattoir Blues is closer to the hard-charging, rock-influenced work that one might expect, while The Lyre of Orpheus is quieter and more meditative. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that among these 17 songs there is something for almost every taste, but to leave it at that wouldn't be saying enough. It's not that there's something here for every taste, it's that there's a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song here for every taste.
With these two albums Nick Cave has delivered the most complete, fully realized work of his career. In doing so he can now lay undisputed claim to the space that many of us had already reserved for him among the greats. Like Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan, Nick Cave has carved his niche as an unmistakable and worthwhile voice. If he never makes another record he will have at least, finally, made his best record.
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