Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Mon Dieu que ça me fait mal d'écrire ça. Croyez-moi. Mettre un 3 sur 5 à un album de Nick Cave, c'est comme mettre une mauvaise note à un membre de sa propre famille. On l'aime, on le vénère, on lui doit tant de moments de grâce et de fureur... mais parfois, il faut être honnête. Parfois, l'amour ne suffit pas à masquer les défauts. Et "Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus", aussi génial soit-il par moments, est un album décevant.

Remettons-nous dans le contexte de 2004. Trois ans que l'on attendait le successeur du magnifique et apaisé "No More Shall We Part". Et surtout, c'était le premier album sans une pièce maîtresse des Bad Seeds : le guitariste Blixa Bargeld, dont les scarifications soniques et la présence décharnée avaient hanté chaque disque du groupe depuis le début. L'attente était immense et puis la nouvelle tombe : ce ne sera pas un, mais DEUX albums. Un double. La panique et l'excitation. La double dose de Cave.

Le concept, est celui des deux faces d'une même pièce. Deux visages d'un artiste arrivé à une forme de maturité. D'un côté, "Abattoir Blues", c'est le Cave prêcheur, le rockeur possédé, le poète de l'apocalypse. C'est un disque intense, rageur, porté par un putain de choeur gospel qui transforme chaque morceau en une messe électrique et survoltée. Des titres comme "Get Ready for Love" ou "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" sont des uppercuts, des hymnes à la vie et à la luxure d'une puissance phénoménale. C'est le Nick Cave du samedi soir, celui qui danse avec le diable en pogotant.

De l'autre, "The Lyre of Orpheus". C'est le Cave du dimanche matin, la gueule de bois mélancolique, le poète au coeur brisé. C'est un disque de ballades somptueuses, portées par le piano et des arrangements d'une finesse inouïe. Des chansons comme "Breathless" ou "Carry Me" sont d'une beauté à pleurer. C'est le Cave qui nous murmure à l'oreille des histoires d'amour et de mort avec une tendresse infinie.

Alors, où est le problème ? Le problème, c'est que c'est un DOUBLE album.

C'est la maladie classique des artistes qui ont trop d'idées et personne pour leur dire "stop". Sur les dix-huit titres que comptent ces deux disques, combien sont réellement indispensables ? Sept ? Huit ? Dix, si on est généreux. Et ces dix titres, si on les avait rassemblés sur un seul et même album, auraient constitué l'un des plus grands chefs-d'oeuvre de la décennie. Un 5/5 sans la moindre hésitation.

Mais voilà. Au lieu de ça, on a un festin gargantuesque, mais inégal. Pour chaque "Get Ready for Love", on a un "Fable of the Brown Ape" un peu anecdotique. Pour chaque "Breathless", on a un "Babe, You Turn Me On" qui, bien que joli, n'a pas la même force. Le génie est là, bien présent, mais il est dilué. Noyé dans une profusion de titres qui sentent parfois le remplissage, la face B de luxe. L'écoute complète des deux disques est une expérience éprouvante, un marathon qui laisse sur sa faim, paradoxalement. On passe d'un sommet à un plat, puis à un autre sommet, et on finit par se dire que le voyage aurait été bien plus marquant s'il avait été plus court et plus direct.

C'est pour ça que ce 3 sur 5 me fend le coeur. C'est une note de frustration, la frustration de voir un chef-d'oeuvre potentiel transformé en un très bon double album, ce qui n'est pas la même chose. C'est le disque d'un artiste en état de grâce créative, mais qui a manqué d'un producteur ou d'un ami pour lui dire : "Nick, calme-toi. Garde le meilleur, et fous le reste de côté pour plus tard."

Il faut l'écouter, évidemment. Pour les quelques morceaux qui comptent parmi les plus beaux de sa carrière. Et pour se faire sa propre compilation, son propre album idéal. Mais en tant qu'oeuvre complète, "Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus" est une oeuvre frustrante. Et de la part d'un artiste qui nous a habitués à une telle exigence, c'est une petite déception.

I'm not really sure what this is, but I do think I like it. This is the first album I have listened to by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Previously, I have had very limited exposure to the band, having heard just a couple of singles (Red Right Hand, notably).

Let the Bells Ring is the standout track for me on the first volume of this double album.

Volume II of this set is by far far my favorite. I'm definitely coming back to all this

3.75

Bro really made one good album and then never again.

Initial thought: I'm kind of blah about it. I don't know a ton about Nick Cave. I *think* I've heard some and didn't love it, but I don't think I hate it either. I'm not excited about this, but I guess I'm not dreading it either.

Actually, I just took a look at my history and I've had TWO Nick Cave albums already! That's hilarious, and it shows how memorable his music is.

Too long, wtf. Why is this an hour and a half? It's whatever. some songs are pretty decent, some are stupid and annoying. I'd give it a 3 but I'm annoyed at how long it is.

There's an album of great stuff here. But like most double albums, it's too long. Editing is key. But the good here is really quite good.

Abattoir Blues was a decent disc. A mixture of blues, rock, and a bit of gospal in there as well. Honestly a nice blend of sounds.

The Lyre of Orpheus however, not so great. A lot of skippable tracks in my opinion that brought the vibe down. By the end when I finally got to the most popular song, O Children, I was pretty sick of the sound and didn't even enjoy the track.

Overall, I'd give it a 2/5

i liked it, but didnt really love any songs other than the last one

This album is amazing. Much more upbeat than traditional Nick Cave fare. I really like the addition of a choir on certain songs. This is hands down one of Nick Cave's best.

Favourite songs: The Lyre of Orpheus, Get Ready for Love, Nature Boy, "There She Goes, My Beautiful World", Hiding All Away, Easy Money, Breathless, "Babe, You Turn Me On", Let The Bells Ring, Carry Me, O Children

Least favourite songs: Fable of the Brown Ape

5/5

You would have thought that a double album being 82 minutes long would get old but surprisingly it didn't

It wasn't anything special but the varied songs kept me somewhat engaged

Solid throughout, higher side of 3

Second Cave album to come up in this process. I liked this one a good bit less. Nick Cave is undoubtedly an important musician but a bit like Tom Waits in that when he's on he's on...when he isn't he's still tom waits. For me, to truly enjoy Cave's music some stars really need to align in a way they didn't really do for abattoir blues.

This is a double album that has two distinct parts. I really loved the first disc, Abattoir Blues, would give it a solid 4.5. Good rock.
The second disc, Lyre if Orpheus, gets a bit more moody. Energy drops. Didn’t match the level of the first.

While I appreciate Cave’s zeal and originality, I really hate this. I really try to listen to each album through but this one I’m bailing on.

Thoughts after disc 1: Holy fuck, this is so goddamn good. 318 days in and I *finally* get my first Nick Cave album. I've never listened to a full one and I'm so happy this is my first. Absolutely fantastic in every way. I hope the second disc keeps it up...

Thoughts after disc 2: Not as good as disc 1 on first listen, but still consistently excellent. Light 4.5 for now, but potential room to grow.

4.5/5

I can appreciate this album. I can tell it’s really good, but it doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s weird there’s a lot of elements that are right up my alley but as a whole I just couldn’t fully get into it. Also, it is incredibly long, I was fatigued by the end of this. I could almost give this a four because I could probably get a lot out of it if I dug in deeper, but I’m giving it a three because I don’t see myself listening to it again.

Blegh, I like Nick Cave at his most bombastic, like on My Beautiful World. But the rest is so boring and just blegh.

Have made several attempts to get into this one properly over the years. I've always enjoyed a lot of the songs, but usually made the mistake of trying to listen to both volumes in the same sitting, which is too much. Consequently, I'm much more familiar with Abbatoir Blues. I still feel like that's the stronger of the 2, but I might give Orpheus another listen to say for sure.

I think the variation on this double album definitely makes it worth it's while, but there are a handful of songs that are a bit forgettable. Great instrumentation and production, and the lyrics are usually great, but occasionally a bit repetitive and/or too melodramatic for me.

This is #day25 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... yet another first-timer here. I'm aware of The Bad Seeds' discography and album covers, but somehow I've never listened to this one (as some of their other works either). Now, I'm not a big fan of double albums. I like Nick Cave, but listening to this was rather tiring as I prefer the band's later works, such as Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen. A couple of highlights are "Hiding All Away" and, of course, "O Children." There might be some others, but this isn't the record I would be giving another spin to remember them. I'm giving it a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day26.

Long, heavy, dramatic, and pretty interesting if occasionally boring. His voice took a little getting used to but I think I liked it. The arrangements never really hit a sweet spot for me, either too formal and "arranged" or too slapdash and experimental, but I still would say I liked this more than I didn't.

Best song: Hiding All Away

I kept being told to listen to Nick Cave! I see why! I mega-enjoyed this and will be back to hear more!

About 20 years ago, a good friend introduced me to the song "Into My Arms," which he was obsessed with. Great song, but now I'm saddled with the curse of forever keeping Cave on my radar even though I don't really like most of his stuff.

This album put me off right away, but of course I kept listening and there are just enough positive elements to keep the pipe dream alive. Dammit, Nick, don't give me hope.