cave music above ground

Tim Dunlop over at Road to Surfdom has a comprehensive write up of Nick Cave's latest 2 CD set. Abattoir Blues and The Lyre of Orpheus. No sense in me trying to compete. It is really 2 album set rather than a double album. Beautiful packaging with booklet, sleeves for each CD and a well done cardboard and clothe cover box. And it was only $30 at JB HiFi. Why can't more people put out high quality packaging and for the right price. Oh and a few could learn to put out good content too like Nick. At this price and with this quality packaging, booklet plus great music it isn't worth anybody's effort to burn a copy.

May I take a quote from the comments over at Surfdom. The quote is from irant whose site resides here.

"Nick is one of the few modern artists that really understand the blues. Instead of merely politely copying the form (a certain English guitarist gent comes to mind), Nick descends into the existential core of the blues and sucks the religous imagery and angst for all it is worth. He reminds me for more of the Delta giants of the '20s and '30s than the usual contemporary blues artist suspects."

I must put in a plug here for the DVD, God Is In The House. I notice that the website claims this is the first ever DVD by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. It was watching this DVD that was my Nick Cave tipping point. Up until then I had been a bit lukewarm. Now I'm a fan.

The DVD contains live footage from Le Transbordeur in Lyon, France, plus the John Hillcoat directed documentary No More Shall We Part - The Recording Sessions. Recorded at Abbey Road, the documentary has exclusive film of the band recording No More Shall We Part. Also featured on the DVD are the videos Hillcoat directed for the singles 'As I Sat Sadly By Her Side' and 'Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow', the latter features cameos from the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Jason Donovan plus the video for the Australian released single, 'Love Letter'.

The Lyon concert from 2001's No More Shall We Part tour features the Bad Seeds line up of Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Thomas Wydler, Martyn Casey, Conway Savage, Jim Sclavunos and Warren Ellis playing tracks from eight of their twelve studio albums.