Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
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Free Music Notes for Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Free Music Review: The album Grinderman should have been
Hit: 4 Stars
Before the release of Grinderman, I remember getting all excited reading that Nick Cave was coming out with hard rocking album. Unfortunately, the CD didn't live up to my expectations, it struck me as more of a throwaway than a committed project. But at least I didn't have long to wait for the real goods. Dig Lazarus Dig is everything I had been hoping for in a rocking Nick Cave release, full-fledged songs, fun yet biting lyrics, a diversity of musical styles, moments of pensiveness and beauty, and oh yeah, it really really jams. Welcome back, Nick!
I don't understand why some reviewers are knocking this album. This, to me, is not the sound of Nick Cave in a rut, this is the sound of Nick and the Bad Seeds revitalized. We all love Nick Cave the twisted balladeer, the lounge singer with the dark tortured soul of an Ingmar Bergman, the pensive Nick Cave of The Good Son, Murder Ballads, The Boatman's Call, No More Shall We Part and The Lyre of Orpheus/Abbatoir Blues, but staying in that same mode ad infinitum would have constituted the true rut. It was time for a change, and Lazarus indicates a deviation in focus I ardently applaud, even if it turns out to be for one album only. Nick's characteristic snarl is still here, but he seems to be having more fun this time around. Does that make some of the lyrics less deep than what we're accustomed to? Maybe, but that doesn't mean they're not every bit as intelligent and literate and black as before. Nick has opted for a more absurdist lyrical style on several of the songs, going off on bizarre tangents while spinning his characteristically sardonic narratives, and frankly I'm not always sure what the hell he's singing about, but the results are damned entertaining nonetheless. As for the musical element, I like the sound of Nick Cave cutting loose. This might be the closest thing to a party album that Nick and the Bad Seeds ever release, and it is appropriately raunchy, but that doesn't make it negligible. The title song which opens the album, and We Call Upon the Author, positioned directly at the middle, and the closing More News From Nowhere are the key tracks here, setting the mood of theater of the absurd spontaneity, but they aren't necessarily the strongest. This is a hook-laden album, with Nick's pop sensibilities in full swing. In addition to those three songs, I really love Today's Lesson, Hold On To Yourself, Lie Down Here(& Be My Girl) and Midnight Man. Besides its melodic invention and lyrical, flamboyance, Lazarus has the added advantage of being far from a one note adventure; musical ideas abound. Night of the Lotus Eaters employs what sounds like a steel drum, Hold On To Yourself and Jesus Of the Moon are beautiful ballads in the tradition of his more recent albums, but with some musical twists(Hold On has a distinctly western twang), and Lie Down Here is a barroom sizzler, the kind of all out assault Nick and the boys haven't done for a while(not counting Grinderman), with an irresistible melody and a propulsive performance by the band. Lazarus might be Nick's most American album, with its nods to American music and its darkly comic examinations of American celebrity and culture.
Some may argue with Nick's change in direction, I find it exhilarating. To the naysayers, criticize this album if you must, but please don't accuse Nick Cave of getting stale. For me this album is a refreshing change of pace, with the emphasis on fresh.
Free Music Review: A darkly funny album which takes the usual Nick Cave skill in an unusual direction.
Hit: 4 Stars
Evidently reinvigorated by his mid-life-crisis stint in punk-rock incarnation Grinderman, Nick Cave returns with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - a thrilling, sprawling album.
Its themes of sex, death and religion, and its cast of strange shadowy creatures occupying a rich and looming musical landscape are familiar, but there is definitely a new energy at play.
The magnificent "Jesus of the Moon" - one of several tracks where Cave trades his preacher-man delivery for that of a storyteller - is among the finest moments of his career, and there's much more to rave about besides. Now 50 and no longer the menacing figure he was during the decades he maintained a heroin habit, Nick Cave has become a prodigious artist(responsible for soundtracks, screenplays and essays as well as his solo material) who ranks alongside the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
The backdrops to these narratives and speculations range from churning rock'n'roll vamps, barrages of distorted guitar noise and hypnotic chants, to the shimmering mandolin and viola, caressed with tender breaths of flute, that multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis conjures up for the beautiful "Jesus of the Moon".
There's more than enough on here - the wonderfully morbid lyrics, the almost animal guitar sounds and, of course, that voice - to savour.
"Jesus of the Moon" has some of the Bad Seeds signature sound.
The track would fit in better on "The Good Son" than it does surrounded by rock 'n' roll tunes like the title song.
"Night of the Lotus Eaters" has a distinctive Grinderman feel and "More News From Nowhere" more obviously presents the band's earlier musical characteristics.
"Dig" is a confident album by musicians who are not simply singing the songs they know will sell and it is an interesting, exciting and often irreverent offering.
My favourute tracks are : "Jesus of the Moon", "We Call Upon the Author", "More News From Nowhere", "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!", and "Today's Lesson".
Free Music Review: I Dig Nick Cave!
Hit: 4 Stars
I am embarrassed to say that I have just barely discovered Nick Cave! I had heard of him before but never really listened to him. My husband bought this album and had been playing it in the background and like most of my husbands music I tried to ignore it. But luckily I could not! My favorite song is Moonland. Nick Cave has this sort of sultry sexy voice (which so totally does not go with image) and I love title track. Midnight man is also great. This album is funny, witty, and smart. I can't believe my husband and both like it! marital bliss when it comes to music finally!
to top if off we got to see Nick Cave in SF this past weekend and he was awesome! he played lots of songs off this album and they were just as good live. the band performed amazing live with funky instruments and Nick played the audience so well. Truly a great album and a great band. I can't wait to listen to more of their stuff.
Free Music Review: Dig It!
Hit: 4 Stars
The Bad Seeds have returned.
Nick Cave has been a busy man as of late. Last year saw him front and release a record with his new band, Grinderman (although it was really an extension of the Bad Seeds), where Cave returned to his guitar roots. The self-titled debut is definitely worth a purchase.
And earlier this year, Cave & the Bad Seeds released Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, easily one of the best albums of 2008.
Incorporating many of the elements of Grinderman, Cave has seemingly abandoned the piano for the guitar, freeing him, according to his own admission, to focus more as a rock vocalist. It will be interesting to see which direction Cave & the Bad Seeds take from here.
Dig it yourself.
Free Music Review: nick and the bad seeds do it again
Hit: 4 Stars
Dig Lazarus Dig is a great addition to any Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds collection. It is a little more up tempo than earlier releases but awesome non the less. So far for me *lay down here and be my girl & *more news from nowhere are my favorite. They both have good riffs without the pop music feel. I was introduced with the best of album as a gift and have been in love ever since (if you are new to nick try that cd 1st it's a great intro). Nick does have too much to say and over does it sometimes. However that is the beauty of their work. They are talented odd people with music that makes me smile, scares me, and touches me. Keep the tunes a coming.