The album begins with the quietly strummed guitar and lilting piano of the first few bars of "As I sat sadly by her side", the first single, which would seem to indicate that this album is going to become "The Boatman's Call Part II". However, as we move on it becomes apparent that this is not entirely the case.

The third track "Hallelujah" exhibits a lush musical backdrop far less spartan than anything found on the previous album and is one of the highlights of this one. From this track in, the songs are more musically complex and often louder than the previous work. It's not however until we reach "Oh my Lord" that the Bad Seeds really let rip. This song appears to be in part Cave's response to his detractors who claim he's gone a bit "soft" of late, the loud orchestration easily matching the anger of any of the pseudo-punk on "Henry's Dream" with a suitably vitriolic lyric.

Nick Cave has always been able to turn lyrical cartwheels and this album is no exception. It's the oh-so-easy mix of the sublime, mundane, ridiculous, dramatic and tragic imagery that's so moving - but I'll refrain from quoting any because I suspect that out of context it'll all seem a bit silly.

But if you fancy an album of brown cows, white kittens, lady mayors, absent nurses, buried hatchets, snarling pianos, love letters, white churches, plastic antlers, garden gates and smoking guns - go buy this one. You won't regret it!


Great Album   April 19, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Not to beat about the bush with an over stresses introspective review. This album is Nick Cave at his poetic best. A superb album that contains all the subtlety and meaning that is characteristic of Cave, set over beautiful ballads that make the music unique.

Especially Oh my lord, a true masterpiece.


really special!   April 17, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Having only got into Nick Cave in the last year, I only owned two of his albums - the best of and Murder Ballads - before I got this. It's definitely worth the attention of the casual fan. The album is imbued with melancholy, from the opener As I Sat Sadly By Her Side onwards. This album starts amazingly and tails off a little bit at the end. Hallelujah is beautiful, as is Oh My Lord. These are my favourite songs on the album, despite their somewhat overly religious connotations. (I can never tell how religious Nick Cave actually is, considering he seems to portray characters in most of his songs, rather than portraying himself per se.) This album has inspired me to go out and buy some of Nick Cave's other cds, which should indicate something of its quality.