Pitchfork: Nick Cave Readies Double Album, Releases DVD

Nick Cave Readies Double Album, Releases DVD
DVD formatted for Letterboxed Widescreen, SpookyVision

Following last year's Nocturama, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' return to riotous, churning, apocalyptic rock after a handful of more contemplative releases, the champions of mopey ghoul-rock are gearing up to release lucky number thirteen-- and a double album at that. Somewhere, a bit of lace tumbles from a sleeve, a candelabra gutters in a chill wind, and someone pretending a box of Franzia Merlot is infant blood gets felt up in a cemetery.

According to New Musical Express, the album, entitled Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, is slated for a September release on Mute Records. A bit of background: Orpheus, as you may recall, descended into the Underworld to rescue his dead bride, Eurydice, and played a song so beautiful that he charmed the king of his land to allow him a chance to regain her: She would follow him as he walked the long path back to the living world, so long as he did not look back. Nearing the surface, Orpheus became convinced he'd been played for a fool and looked back, only to see Eurydice fade back into the underworld forevermore. When we take this story together with the tale of Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt, we can infer the following moral: Gods don't like it when you look back, and will impose terrible penalties upon you if you do.

But music fans aren't gods, and seem to encourage looking back-- Cave's revisitation of an earlier sound on Nocturama was widely praised, and preliminary reports (I mean, dig those titles) indicate that this new double album will follow suit. Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus will feature long-time cohorts such as producer Nick Launay, jack-of-all-trades Mick Harvey, violinist Warren Ellis, and bassist Martyn Casey, although The Bad Seeds' founding guitarist, Blixa Bargeld, is no longer with the group.

NME also reports that Cave is still prepping his long-delayed collection of B-sides and rarities, which is now due to be released on February 7th, 2005. He has also recently co-written three songs with Marianne Faithfull for her new album, The Mystery of Love, which, in addition, with feature collaborations with PJ Harvey, Jon Brion, and Damon Albarn. All this comes in the wake (pun intended, goth kid) of The Videos, a DVD compilation of-- wait for it-- videos! Which was just released in May. Tracklist:

01 Stagger Lee
02 Where the Wild Roses Grow
03 Into My Arms
04 Are You the One That I've Been Waiting For?
05 Henry Lee
06 Red Right Hand
07 Loverman
08 Do You Love Me?
09 Deanna
10 The Ship Song
11 Tupelo
12 In the Ghetto
13 Jack the Ripper
14 What a Wonderful World
15 Straight to You
16 The Mercy Seat
17 The Weeping Song
18 The Singer
19 I Had a Dream Joe
20 Wanted Man