Bad Seeds, Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part
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Free Music Notes for No More Shall We Part
Free Music Review: Five-star album, as always.
Hit: 5 Stars
After first discovering Nick Cave in 1996, I've since made it a point to own every album he's ever released with the Seeds, from 1984's "From Her To Eternity" right up to this evocative set, which I purchased within days of its release. I had just trekked some 800 miles to New Orleans to witness Nick's solo performance at the Orpheum, and had been suitably blown away. Even anchored to a piano, the man commands awe. As I write this review, I'm looking forward to the Bad Seeds' appearance next month at the Chicago Theatre with great anticipation. I am a die-hard, life-long Nick Cave addict. As for the songs on this album, many have perceived them to be a departure from Cave's earlier works, whereas I see them as a natural progression. The beauty of Cave's early works was in his intermingling of Love, Death, and Religion...the three became inseperable in the hands of this master storyteller. This is a trend which continues on "No More Shall We Part," Cave's eleventh studio album with the Seeds. What we have here is not at all a deviation from Cave's lyrical style, brilliant as always in its depictions of the joys and agonies of Love/Death/Religion. Rather, it is the evolution of his delivery of those lyrics. The haunting melodies on this set are intended to evoke certain emotions from the listener, just as any dedicated fan can tell you has been the case since "From Her To Eternity"...and even back to the Birthday Party days. Only now, those emotions are raised by well-placed strings and simple, but stunningly beautiful, piano lines...whereas, back in '84, the Seeds were evoking those same feelings with a barrage of noise and rage. My favorite track on this album (though the race is close, to be certain) is the opener, "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side." As with all of Cave's songs, it takes the form of a story. A man and woman sit at a window and watch the world pass. She points out the beauty of it all while he ponders the injustices and blindness which men inflict upon their brethren. "All outward motion connects to nothing, for each is concerned with their immediate need." She draws the curtain down and states that what happens outside that window is none of his concern. She turns from him crying, and he states "I could not wipe the smile from my face as I sat sadly by her side." Why does he smile? Because although she does not realize it, she has proven his point about people being too wrapped up in their own lives to care about the suffering of others. The smile is his unconscious reaction to this situation, though it suggests, not that he is happy with this outcome...but rather, just the opposite. In a way, he had wished himself wrong. It is subtle lyrical touches like these which ensure that Cave's place in musical history is assured. A man of such outright genius cannot be denied by the ages. Though his music cannot by defined as conventionally popular, it will one day take its place among the greatest music of the twentieth century. And Cave shall take his rightful place alongside Weill, Dylan, Reed, and Cohen as one of the greatest songwriters of this century.Free Music Review: Cave's Crowning Achievement
Hit: 5 Stars
No More Shall We Part is the crowning achievement of Nick Cave's increasingly distinguished career. Joining John Hammond's Wicked Grin and Leonard Cohen's live Field Commander Cohen as one of the year's finest releases, No More Shall We Part represents the culmination of everything Cave and The Seeds had been working towards: the combination of Cave's uniquely literate songwriting with enthralling musical accompaniment. The power that some of these songs deliver is simply unequalled by any other contemporary artist, regardless of genre. Not even the slightly more subdued, utterly gorgeous Boatman's Call approaches the majesty of songs such as Hallelujah, Oh My Lord, Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow, The Sorrowful Wife or the immediately captivating As I Sat Sadly By Her Side. The album's best tracks, such as Hallelujah, are at once challenging and accessible, unpredictable and smooth, quiet and cacophonous. Many dimensions contribute to the brilliance of these songs, one of which is the almost unbearable patience of the melodies. Whereas you might get the gidst of most songs within the first minute of listening, many of these tracks slowly and sometimes unexpectedly rush into louder, more compelling arrangements. Hallelujah begins with little more than a violin's ghostly wail, but slowly, a piano chimes in, Cave unleashes his barritone, and just when it sounds as though the song has no other direction to explore, the drums become louder, the rhthym tightens, the McGarrigle sisters instill the song with a final burst of color, and what you have is not a song, but a patiently concocted gourmet meal with some Chianti in a chalice. The title track moves slowly from vocal and piano to a quietly devastating chorus, as do songs like Oh My Lord, which builds from piano to a wonderfully violent harmony tempered only by an unfortunately predictable set of lines "Have I offended thee/wrap your tender arms 'round me." We all know Cave can do better, but such criticism is proved paltry under the weight of this album's heavenly beauty.
Veteran Cave fans might have to give the album a listen or two before adjusting to the unusually high-pitched voice in which Cave chooses to sing. At first, it sounds as though he is straining to discover other possibilities within his voice, but after some patient listening, most fans will find that his new voice fits the music of this album like a glove. But the voice is not the only new facet to Cave's music. His incorporation of violin into many of the songs joins other such successful experiements with violin in rock music, such as Bob Dylan's 1975 album, Desire, or John Mellencamp's more recent output, or Leonard Cohen's recently released live album. Anyone, new fan or old, will admit that Cave has written quite a number of fantastic songs on his last few albums, but the best among them are hard-pressed to match the intensity, wit and majesty of this collection. No More Shall We Part is a contender for Album of The Year.
Free Music Review: A few lines of anger and despair is all it takes....
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the greatest achievements of Lord Nick Cave that he is a master of both the ballad form and the more heart throbbing rocksongs, or in Nick's case, the Old-Testament-like outbursts, and the fact that The Singer is capable of switching from one to the other in less than a split second. Watch the live performance in Paradiso on the double dvd `Road to God knows where / Live at Paradiso' and witness how The Man easily alternates scream-what-you-preach-songs like `The mercy seat', `Tupelo' and `From her to eternity' with slow paced songs like `In the ghetto' and `New world'.
The live dvd `God is in the house' shows how He does more of the same. It's a particular talent that is something not a lot of artists really possess. Tom Waits can do it, this perfect mix of introvert and extrovert music. The Angels of Light can do it. But who follows?
From Cave's debut `From her to eternity' all the way to `Murder ballads' Nick Cave presents us both slow and hard, impressionistic and expressionistic. Implosions and Explosions.
But then, in 1997, Nick surprised both friends and enemies with the all-ballad (of rather: just ballads) containing `Boatman's call'. Some consider this one of his best achievements, and that may be so lyrics-wise, and even so emotionally, the lack of musical supernova's made me feel al little lost at first. After some years now, I've learned to appreciate it, but still in a different way than any other Nick Cave album.
So when a few years later `No more shall we part' was announced I feared for more of the same, because voices were saying that this one was musically much alike . Dark, sad, and intens in emotions and feelings, but still paced and slow.
But for some mysterious reason this one grabbed me by the throat and never let go. The opening song `As I sat sadly by her side' sets the tone: a melancholic piano theme guids the listener through a sad song, but the melancholy presented here is more manic, restless, as if not at total ease like in `The boatman's call'. The violin and female voice on `Sweetheart come' are heartbreaking, and Nick Cave's whispering on `God is in the house' ear shattering.
And talking about those long loved but lost outbursts.... `Fifteen feet of pure white snow' is even rocking and groovy enough to dance on (if you want proof: watch the video which you can find as a bonus on the `God is in the house' dvd), and on the most haunting track `The sorrowful wife' Nick Cave does looses his temper for a few seconds and cries out. It's just a few lines he cries out, and they are perhaps the only couple of lines he screams on the entire album, but Nick's voice here is intense and desperate enough to both scare and please the listener at the same time.
Hey, there is that duality again. The Nick is back.
Free Music Review: TILL DEATH DO US PART
Hit: 5 Stars
It's been nearly 5 years since this was initially released & I still keep coming back to it. I love his early work & some stuff with The Birthday Party, but for personal reasons this record really moved me.
I've browsed through enough negative reviews bitching about how Cave's mellowed. Most seem to have been written by self-important adolescents at best. And true, sometimes fans don't want their heroes to grow up or change. But they do. Regardless, Cave's never seemed much concerned with meeting anyone's expectations.
In terms of it's overall sombre mood, this seems to pick right up where THE BOATMAN'S CALL left off. Things like "Sweetheart Come" & "Gates Of The Garden" sound like they could have easily come off of CALL. The same goes for "Love Letter" which ranks right up there with "Sad Waters" and "Into My Arms", as one of Cave's finer ballads.
But as things progress, NO MORE SHALL WE PART reveals itself to be far more ambitious than CALL. Though spare piano and strings often set the mood for many of the songs, The Bad Seeds still manage to dig their mitts into things. "O My Lord" and "Sorrowful Wife" start off maudlin enough but then erupt into thunderous rants.
"As I Sat Sadly By Her Side" starts the album off with 2 lovers sitting in a room with a view on the world. Each has a seperate take on what they see. True to form, Cave's observations are dark and judgemental. After their differences bring his lover to tears, our narrarator "cannot help but smile". Smiling not so much out of a sense of victory or cruelty but in sheer admiration of her tears. You gotta love it.
Other highlights include, "Hallelujah" with ghostly backing by the McGarrigle sisters. "God Is In The House" captures Cave in fine sartiric form with it's white kittens in the trees & lesbian counter attacks. But when he brings everthing down to nothing but a hoarse whisper, it makes for one of the album's more dramatic moments.
Things draw to a close with "Darker With The Day" which just about takes the words right out of my mouth in terms any world view. A nice little stroll through the neighborhood, trying to figure it all out as the world is literally coming to an end.
Mixed reviews are inevitable for those missing Cave' more violent side, and occasionally the lyrics get deliberately absurd. But for every line like "I passed the cow and the cow was brown" he comes back with something like " the piano stood in the corner of my room with all it's teeth bare". True, this album deals with more domestic issues of life after 40 but that doesn't necessarily mean he's lost his bite. Or his faith, doubt, fear or anger.
Free Music Review: No More Shall I Deny You
Hit: 5 Stars
I suppose my first exposure to Nick Cave was the inclusion of "Red Right Hand" off of the sountrack to "Dumb And Dumber",only I never realized it.Sadly,the song never intrigued me enough to seek the artist out,nor did "The Curse Of Millhaven",(much more recently) having heard it played numerous times from a friend.It just didn't sound like "my" kind of music.Yeah,stupid me.
Another Nick Cave incident came about when my girlfriend and I saw Guns N Roses back in 2006;Myself,being one of Axl's greatest admirers,I obviously was going to enjoy it,but for her,my obsession was just something she tolerated.So her reaction to it was a surprising one:Seeing GNR is like hearing Nick Cave for the first time,as if your being let in on some great secret.
Again,my inability to let Nick Cave into my life would prevail.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago I gave Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds a proper listen.Shortly after the release of his new (and quite good)"Dig,Lazarus,Dig",my quest for Nick Cave began.Thanks to a 4-star review (courtesy of Rolling Stone),I figured .. Why not?
It is difficult to say where I started,exactly.I headed to Youtube,and immediately,songs like "Into My Arms",and "(Are You) The One I've Been Waiting For" just spoke to me.Whether I liked it or not,Nick Cave was about to shoot straight into my top 5 of all time greats.
As for this wonderful gem of an album here,"No More Shall We Part",all I can say is ... Nick,I love you.
The album starts off with "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side",a definite classic,and it just soars from there.I admit to being partial to Nicks piano work,in all of his demented,crooning glory,and this record is a perfect example of just that.
"God Is In The House",is possibly the the funniest,and yet most heartfelt song containing the word "God" I have ever heard,with the exception of maybe The Beach Boys "God Only Knows".
"Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow","Oh My Lord",and "Love Letter" are another few that grabbed me instantly.Musically,these songs are something to be heard,with simplistic,yet touching piano work,beautifully accompanied by Warren Ellis violin playing.Throw Nick Caves lyrics into the mix .. Sometimes humerous,sometimes haunting,usually always beautiful .. And you've got something unique here.
I would reccomend this album (or Nick Cave in general) to anyone and everyone with a pulse.Anyone with a desire to hear something new.Anyone.
The secret is out.Nick Cave is a genius.