2001-04-11 - 3:39

Falling lovely and amazing

Today, of course, was Cave day, with No More Shall We Part hitting the shelves. I had higher hopes for this album than I have had for anything in a very long time; and I'm happy to say that it met every expectation. After three listens, I'm easily able to say that it'll rank among my favourites for the year, likely as the best.

It's incredible to think how talented the Bad Seeds are, individually and collectively. Blixa has fronted Einst�rzende Neubauten for twenty years, Warren has the Dirty Three, Thomas played with Die Haut, Mick has his solo work as well as contributions to Anita Lane and PJ Harvey. And that's just scratching the surface, since I'm ignoring soundtrack recordings and the work of former Seeds, such as Barry Adamson and Kid Congo Powers. I probably own close to seventy CDs featuring at least one Bad Seed, including everything that I've been able to track down by Cave.

When the boys do get together for one of Cave's albums, the results are spectacular. I could rattle off an album review; but I'd rather just say that I got home, cranked the CD on my stereo, and ignored the rest of the world, devouring every word, note, and emotion from start to finish. And it was excellent.

I can't wait for the fall tour. The last two times that the band toured North America (not counting Lollapalooza), they hit Montreal, so hopefully they'll make a return visit. If they come that close (or even to Toronto), I'll do my best to drag Colin and Greg to the show (and whoever else is up for it). At any rate, given the fact that I flew to San Francisco to see Cave's solo tour, there's little cause to think I'll miss the Bad Seeds.

Okay, the fact that I'm already salivating over a tour five months away that I don't even know will be stopping near me should illustrate how psyched I am on the album.

J.

P.S. Just try not to scream along "Come on now, and help me, babe!" at the end of "The Sorrowful Wife." Heh.