Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

A great album. I even have it on CD, but I haven't listened to it in a long time. I should do that more often, even though it's not Nick Cave's strongest album. 5/5

I've listened to this one before, but is my second listen overall. I've decided on listening to this album in a way where I'll listen to Abattoir Blues the night before I listen to The Lyre of Orpheus which would be in the morning after. As to properly enjoy the two sections of the album unlike the previous time where I was drained by the first tracks of The Lyre of Orpheus.

Abattoir Blues:
It starts off with an extremely explosive song ("Get Ready For Love") The inflection in Cave's voice in "Cannibals Hymn" is insanely good. Then the swaying beat into the blistering noise of "Hiding All Away" is amazing. "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" has a powerful chorus, the vocals (backing and lead) are really well down. "Nature Boy" has a really catchy chorus, I also quite like the upbeat piano playing. "Abattoir Blues" is a nice subdued refresher track. Another powerful chorus in "Let the Bells Ring," the album does a good job on anthemic-like choruses. "Fable of the Brown Ape" is definitely a good closer for the first half of the album.

The Lyre of Orpheus:
The lyrics in "The Lyre of Orpheus" are top-notch. "Babe You Turn Me On" is a really sweet song especially with it's whimsical melody. "Easy Money" nice slow number a la "Abattoir Blues" song from the previous section. The instrumentation in "Supernaturally" is wonderful. The backing vocals are quite lovely and the melody that plays after that (played by a violin?) is good. I really like the arrangement on "Carry Me" and I believe it's a really penultimate song. "O Children" is definitely the most suitable song to close this big album.

Conclusion:
I definitely like Abattoir Blues a lot more than The Lyre Of Orpheus, evident by me writing (or typing I suppose) a lot less for that section! The Abattoir Blues section had a lot more variety, rather than The Lyre Of Orpheus which tended to be more laid-back - which was fine by the way, it's not that I hate it - though most of the album has a similar vibe, it's just more apparent on the second half. Lots of feelings of tranquillity is felt on this album, which is a welcomed feeling. It's a solid album for sure, just how everything is layered, how all the parts compliment each other, all of it has a place and it's undeniably well thought-out.

Highlight Song/s: "Cannibal's Hymn", "There She Goes, My Beautiful World", "Nature Boy" and "Breathless"

As someone who is more of a casual Nick Cave listener than a die-hard fan, I’ve previously swerved this album as it’s a double. Turns out that was a mistake, as it’s now my favourite. Loved it.

Definitely more accessible than the previous bad seeds album, but definitely longer than it needed to be, although O Children was worth the wait.

A great album that contains some of his most iconic songs, but having a long runtime and being less unique in sound and style to other of his albums such as 'Let Love In' or 'Skeleton Tree' which are unlisted and 'Murder Ballads' or 'The Boatman's Call' I would do without this one for this type of listing.

7/10 [SWAP]

Hell yes! 322 albums into this project and I finally get a Nick Cave album, and not just any Nick Cave album, but probably my favourite Nick Cave album!

Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus showcases pretty much everything one comes to expect from a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album. It starts off with some high energy, gospel infused rock and roll with the Bad Seeds firing on all cylinders on tracks like Get Ready for Love and There She Goes, My Beautiful World, Cave's twisted storytelling is highlighted on tracks like the Fable of the Brown Ape and Lyre of Orpheus, and it ends with some more restrained and delicate moments like Breathless, Babe, You Turn Me On, and O Children.

A double album is always a bit daunting due to its length, and may not be the best starting point for someone who is unfamiliar with an artist, but admittedly I didn't realize this was a double album until recently despite having listened to it in its entirety many times in the past. I feel that the sequencing and arranging of Abattoir Blues / the Lyre of Orpheus is done so masterfully that I never noticed how long it was. Not to mention there's really not a bad track on this entire album.

Enjoyed disc 2 a bit more than disc 1

Seeing another Nick Cave album so fast felt like a very well-aimed kick in the balls. And even considering my masochistic tendencies, it was not pleasant at all. After last album I was left with inner, unexplainable hatred towards this man and his band of cumlings. Anywho, this album surprised me very much, first songs were very strong, a 4 star album for sure. And then the rest came - actually, most of the album... It became way more boring, nothing more stood out like the first tracks. An album that had such potential was failed by it's lenght - and I say it as a huge prog nerd who loves long songs and albums! So, Nick, this is better, you're evolving. You just need to learn when to stop.

I’ve never gotten into Nick Cave and this isn’t an exception. He’s just alright to me

cool album

It's interesting that the day before was Tom Waits, definitely a through line there. This is a solid album

I honestly don't think I can explain why I wasn't into this... I've had the same experience with Nick Cave before. I look at all the pieces and think that it ought to be music I really like, but I end up sort of listless about it all. Sorry I don't have anything more profound for what is clearly an impactful album for many people!

I just got bored!

This is my first time listening to a Nick Cave album start-to-finish.

I don't know. This just isn't quite grabbing me. I've always gotten the impression that Nick Cave is more style than substance, and this album isn't doing much to change my mind on that.

I frequently feel like the first disc sounds like a slightly more garage-rock-ey version of Talking Heads, but somehow I'm not enjoying it as much as that sounds like I should.

And the second disc is mostly a snooze.

'Well, most of all nothing much / Ever really happens / And God rides high up in the ordinary sky.' Cave's religious existentialism - b/c that's what this is, á la Kierkegaard and co. - would be totally unbearable and pretentious if it weren't also adorable and consolatory. Cave philosophizes, clearly, b/c he needs to - that's what separates him from an ally like Tom Waits, who's an indifferent anthropologist of religion rather than a seeker. What severs him from the lousy lot of Bono/Christian rockers is a bluesy temperament, big drums (Sclavunos/Wydler), soulful-backers, and a healthy dose of well-read-pride: 'You searched thru all my poets / From Sappho thru to Auden / I saw the book fall from your hands / As you slowly died of boredom.' Aww.

The most enjoyable of all the Nick Cave-related albums I've encountered on the list so far. I still don't totally love his voice, and it was a little longer than it needed to be, but on the whole this is is very good.

I love Nick Cave and I know this about myself, so why don't I listen to his music more?

I love the energy, the slam poetry reading vibes of Cave's vocals, the unexpected lyrics. Each song has a totally different character, and the gospel elements work into different tracks in such wonderful ways to accent the emotion.

I find it difficult to give an album I'm only hearing for the first time 5 stars, but if this album isn't worth it, what will be?

Always listenable. Good influences and a slightly diffferent feel.

I like Nick Cave just fine, but this isn't among his best. Enjoyed listening to it, though. "Let the Bells Ring" is really a standout.

The highs are very high but I wish this was a bit more consistent throughout. As a double album it was a touch excessive and I was thrown hearing this after being used to 80s Nick Cave - the gospel-infused sound, production and songwriting all feels a lot more hopeful/clean but it might take another listen at some point to get me fully onboard.