0261. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
What gets me excited isn't just that it's another Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds-album, but that this is also the first time the Random Page Generator has pulled out consecutive albums (yesterday was page 934 and today is page 935)!
Today though, it's darker and about double as long as this is a, well, double album.
When compared the two discs, Abattoir Blues and The Lyre Of Orpheus, aren't equal companions. Partly due to one being based on an ancient Greek tragedy and partly due to the other being more uneven. Of the two, ...Orpheus comes out on top.
But that doesn't mean that Abattoir... is all bad. Au contraire, my dears! Hiding All Away and Messiah Ward are the best tracks of both albums (although Supernaturally and Easy Money aren't far behind), but I'm not so enticed by the backup-singers used on (amongst other tracks) There She Goes, My Beautiful World as they feel very out of place. The (half-)title track Abattoir Blues would have been a whole other kettle of worry without the ohyeahyeahyeahs of the chorus girls.
Strangely, the gospel work much better on ...Orpheus. Possibly (and probably) cause they're in a more appropriate musical setting.
I actually have a hard time figuring out why it's a double album and not two separate releases, but I guess it's just due to some whim of the band so I'll leave it at that.
