Amazon.co.uk Review
A double-album is a risky undertaking for most artists, but
Nick Cave has never been one to shrink away from risks--after all,
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus has to be less left-field than a collection of spoken-word pieces, or even an album devoted to murder ballads. And for this double-CD set, separate but equal seems the rule: both
Abattoir Blues and
The Lyre of Orpheus can easily exist as stand-alone albums, but combined their potency is even stronger. Thematically, they have as much in common with each other as all of Cave's works. That is, they're dark, gothically sinister, hopelessly romantic and characterised by faultless musicianship (hats off, once again, to the Bad Seeds there). But where the thoughtful pace of
The Lyre of Orpheus seems to be the logical following to Cave's more recent work (e.g.
The Boatman's Call),
Abattoir Blues actually harkens back to the more fiery sound of Cave's earlier album (indeed, its first track the rocking "Get Ready for Love", could have come off of
Let Love In). Once again, Nick Cave aims high, and unerringly hits the mark.
--Robert Burrow