Album Review: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part

Cave, Cave fatal Cave.  It took Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds four years to follow up The Boatman's Call, an unusually lengthy spell without an album for them.  2001's No More Shall We Part is one of their most ornate albums, and also, at 67 minutes, a long one.

 

As I Sat Sadly By Her Side sets the tone for the album, Cave warbling in a register that doesn't quite suit him over tinkling piano, guitar and strings.  This is followed up by a run of three of the albums stronger tracks.  And No More Shall We Part consists mainly of piano and a slightly over-wrought vocal.  Yet it's all the better for it, and towards the end, Warren Ellis' understated violin and the McGarrigle sisters join in on backing vocals.

 

The aforementioned pairing have a rather more prominent role on Hallelujah, the song hinges on a looping Ellis violin part that everything else weaves in and out of.  This is followed up by one of the downright loveliest songs in the band's catalogue.  Love Letter has a bed of sighing violin and gentle piano, all for Cave to sing of... well, love.

 

The album couldn't continue like this, and thankfully it doesn't.  Well, not really.  Many of the songs could soundtrack a sort of Bronté, Yorkshire moors style brand of doomed romance.  Sweetheart Come and the dramatic piano ballad The Sorrowful Wife are two of the better offerings here.  However the album feels, well, a bit long.  By the time we reach Darker With The Day, Cave's lyric about "taking a final walk" feel somehow apt.  Though a very pretty album, it's a long way from the teeth-baring of even Let Love In, let alone their earlier work.

Album Review: Ryan Adams – Demolition

Following his Gold album, Ryan Adams had been working on 4 albums concurrently, The Suicide Handbook, 48 Hours, The Pinkheart Sessions and the Swedish sessions. Although Lost Highway torpedoed this plan, they are heavily bootlegged. Notwithstanding this, Lost Highway in their wisdom put out a compilation of tracks from these projects in 2002, entitled Demolition.

It might have been better if they hadn’t. This was effectively the follow-up to Gold, and it doesn’t work particularly well as an album. It has to be said that Adams’ prolific songwriting badly needed an editor. Tracks like Nuclear, Starting to Hurt and especially Gimme A Sign sounded like MOR ‘rawk’ and are pretty forgettable.

The country-tinged tracks (Hallelujah, Desire) are an improvement, though none of them are a patch on his work with Whiskeytown. On the other hand Chin Up, Cheer Up is a sprightly, bluegrass romp on banjos which is really enjoyable to listen to.
As for his line in forlorn folk, She Wants To Play Hearts and the cello-driven You Will Always Be The Same don’t boast strong melodies, yet they work in an understated way, though the woah-woahs of Tomorrow lapse into tedium.

And yet: this is one talented guy. Rescuing the album from disaster are plaintive piano ballad Cry On Demand which marries a kind of open, catchy tune to a slightly clichéd lyric, and two other fine tracks. Dear Chicago sounds really moody with its reverbed guitars, casually husky vocal from Adams and wonderfully self-pitying lyrics about how “I’m gonna die alone and sad.” Most unfortunately the track only lasts 2 minutes! Jesus (Don’t Touch My Baby) sounds like nothing else he has done, with a deep vocal over a wash of keyboards, reminiscent of something off Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy.

A very patchy collection, some great songs and some filler. Much like his career.