Bad Seeds, Nick Cave - Abattoir Blues Tour (2CD+2DVD)
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Free Music Notes for Abattoir Blues Tour (2CD+2DVD)
Free Music Review: North Americans Can See/Hear What They Missed...
Hit: 5 Stars
I usually don't start reviews like this...but I can't get over the price for Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds' The Abbatoir Blues Tour 2DVD/2CD set. For around 25 clams, you get quite a few selections from two Bad Seeds concerts in London, a video documentary, a short film on the recording of the double LP, a bunch of promotional videos, and a 2CD live set from the Seeds' 2004 tour...this is a ridiculously good deal.
Nick Cave opted not to tour the Abbatoir record to N. America, which is regrettable for two reasons:
1. Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, along with The Boatman's Call, is Cave's best work to date.
2. Now that I see what audiences missed, I am pissed and jealous. These concerts are brilliant...
Cave's work, even the exquisitely beautiful ballads, always have a hint of something sinister beneath the surface. In concert, Cave brings that intangible quality out into the light like he's performing some demonic sermon...only Tom Waits does this balancing act of "beautiful maladies" better. This is a "must have" collection for any fan of Cave, some of these songs were meant for a live performance..."Carry Me," "Stagger Lee," and "Sad Waters" come to mind as beneficiaries of the Seeds' live act...and folks, I'm just talking about the DVDs. The 2CD set clocks in at approx. 90 minutes and every seong is riveting...I wish more songs made it onto this record because the band is in fine form. The set list is a mix of old gems like "Red Right Hand" and "The Weeping Song" sprinkled among the best of the Abbatoir record including "Let The Bells Ring," "O Children" (which leads of cd 1 and was so good, it locked me into my chair for the rest of the disc), and "Breathless." This is one of the few live collections I would recommend to someone only slightly familiar with an artist's work. I want to give this as a gift to people I want to learn about the Seeds...it is brilliant.
Free Music Review: Cave's Best DVD to Date
Hit: 5 Stars
Since I became a Nick Cave fan some years back and have had the good fortune to see him live several times, I haven't been able to get enough of his music. So as soon as Abattoir Blues Tour came to my attention, I ordered my copy.
Well, OK, the songs presented here are mostly from the Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus double CD so you may wonder why you need to own this as well. The answer is that the quality of the DVDs and the power of the live performances make this nearly essential for any hard-core fan of Nick Cave. What I like about it best are that the performances are not taken from just one show, but shows done on different days and in different moods all over Europe.
On the sonic side, my favorites are mostly older cuts but also a couple I really like from the album being toured. Disc one favorites include Red Right Hand, The Ship Song, and The Weeping Song. On Disc two, I most enjoy Carry Me, Easy Money, God Is In The House (you'll notice he's dropped a verse), and the morbidly humorous Lay Me Low.
As for the DVDs, the first disc best brings to life Easy Money, Nature Boy, and Carry Me. Though I like Stagger Lee, I didn't particularly like the rendition here. The second DVD not only has great live renditions of Bring It On, Breathless, and Christina The Astonishing, but also some entertaining though sometimes cheesy promotional video footage. My favorite is the promo for Bring It On.
I own all other previous Cave DVDs and this one is the best yet. Though in common with some other reviewers I would like to have seen more of his back catalogue covered, I think that fans are lucky at this price to get as much as is offered here. It isn't enough however to get just the DVD. For the low price asked you would be foolish not to get this dual CD/DVD set. Order it now while it is still available.
Free Music Review: Nick Brings Down the House
Hit: 5 Stars
Nick Cave has had an erratic career to say the least, but with the release of Abattoir Blues and Lyre of Orpheus three years back, he seemed to turn a corner in his life and this deluxe package is a splendid collection of live concerts from the 2004 Abattoir Blues Tour and a performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2003. For Cave fans of old, Nick draws on past tracks as well such as Red Right Hand, The Ship Song and Lay Me Low, to name a few. The DVDs pack more music, drawing from two London concerts, than the CDs, which are a bit skimpy at 45 minutes each. The CDs appear to draw from a cross section of European locations and seem a bit disjointed, especially after watching the DVD's that pretty much present the two concerts in their entirety.
I think it would have probably been better to present one CD of highlights and outtakes from the concerts, as the DVD's form the heart of this collection. The DVD's show Nick firmly in control of his abilities and the audience, offering spellbinding renditions from Abattoir Blues and other albums. I found myself marveling at his range of sources from the classic Stagger Lee to what struck me as a Nina Simone-inspired God is in The House. The concerts are shot from numerous camera angles with Gothic backlighting, projecting his huge shadowy presence across the walls of the Brixton Academy. The sound is fantastic and one can turn it up and almost get the feeling of being there. He brings down the house with the Gospel-inspired There She goes, My Beautiful World, which seems to simultaneously revel in his apocalyptic view of the world while still appearing to hold out hope of brighter times.
Free Music Review: Astonishing...Epic...Absolutely brilliant.
Hit: 5 Stars
Like other reviewers here, I was disappointed that North America was not included in this tour; now, knowing what I missed, I'm practically devastated! Here it is -- the world's greatest band performing their own greatest music. Disc to disc, start to finish, it's a tour de force on every level: the performances, the sound, the video, and of course the music. With a heavy emphasis on live performances of songs from Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus, it's gripping, emotional, and (since the live band was fully instrumented, including the original gospel singers who performed on the studio records) jaw-droppingly satisfying.
With 2 DVDs and 2 CDs of top-notch material, this set is umatched in value, and there are really no weak spots. That said, DVD1 is the true highlight -- a searing run through 10 tracks from AB/LoO, culminating with the scintillating There She Goes My Beautiful World...and then comes the 4-song encore! And then DVD2! And then two more live CDs from the same tour!
Astonishing. Epic. Absolutely brilliant. This...Is...The...One.
Free Music Review: Next Best Thing
Hit: 5 Stars
A Nick Cave live show has so much raw intensity, grit, strength and emotion that it is awfully difficult to imagine capturing it on any recording medium. This set does its level best to record and share all that is involved in the experience of a live Cave show and, like some of the past video efforts, provides some rare behind-the-scenes footage of this very private, tortured artist (who just happens to be the greatest songwriter alive today, in my humble opinion). We in North America have been a bit neglected of late by Mr. Cave, but for those of us who can't afford to travel to see this phenomenal performance, at least we can still see what his live shows offer today, without the dancing, sweat and ringing ears...