382 of 1001 Albums: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus

I'm not really sure how I've made it this far and not heard of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds before especially with my musical interest in bands like The National and Pearl Jam. Nick Cave has a voice that sounds like a blend of the singers of those two bands, and then the music itself sounds like a crazy blend of many genres ranging from Celtic, to folk, to blues, to various other rock.

History: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian Band who released one of their greatest hits in 2004, and it only took them 12 days to record. It's been quite a hit universally with a strong critical reception.  The album was something that sounds like a little bit of everything, and contains so many songs that it had to be split into a double album.


Vocals: The vocals are a blend of what I usually like in vocals. They have a lot attitude, they are unique, and it lands more in the gritty or baritone side. It adds the impact to the song and their emotions that is enjoyable to listen to. Unlike, other bands that follow the same voicing tone though the tunes lack in being as compelling emotionally to match his vocals. The lyrics make a little less sense, and the instrumentals don't always really balance the vocals very well.

Instrumentals: With a very varied album comes a huge arrangement of instrumentalist to contribute to the album. This is the only album I've heard from the band, and on this one they went through some major line up changes that I am sure contributed to the change in sound for the band. The song that begins the album is a great way to start though, "Get Ready for Love" sounds so Irish Punk for some reason, and it just pulls you into liking the tune. It's very catchy. Another song where I think the vocals and the instrumentals worked well was on "There She Goes, My Beautiful World." It was memorable and has a more serious tone that I just wish would have been pulled more all the way through the album.

Recording:  The recording is quite extravagant. I would have liked the album better had one tone been stuck through the whole album though. If you like one style of song then the next you might not like as much. It would be difficult for me to recommend it to someone because the sound is so varied. There are also some lyrical content that is a bit confusing for me and sort of sets me away from the album and being disconnected.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds offered a lot more songs that were surprisingly good to hear, and it may get me to go back and listen again. With some confusing tones I wasn't sure what to think all the way through the album. The tone isn't very distinct. The album has an epic feel it goes for, and feels like a story or movie playing all the way through.

Rating 7 of 10