Looking back, his first four albums may be some of the weakest in his catalog, but sitting in 1992 when I first became a fan, it seems incredible that this is the case. They were so ahead of everything else.
The band has been incredibly consistent to a label that only the best of the best achieve.
What’s funny for me is that some of the albums that aren’t as highly regarded on lists are my favorite - Nocturama. Henry’s Dream, and No More Shall We Part.
Like Dylan or Neil Young, I don’t think two people will rank the catalog in the same order.
I don’t know if there is a 90s/00s album I don’t like. I probably listen to Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus least but it’s still a fantastic album with some great songs.
The band’s sound changes on 2013s Push the Sky Away when longtime member Mick Harvey leaves the band.
You can probably read up on the personnel.. and personal changes since then if you have not already. I really enjoy Push the Sky Away but it is my last of my favorite Cave albums.
Now to be fair, this is my personal opinion. Others may say Cave got even better with a change in sound.
The subject matter is clearly influenced by something deeper- his 15 year old son died in 2015 from a fall off a cliff. His 31 son Jethro died in 2022 and his long time partner Anita Lane died in 2021.
2016s Skeleton Tree and 2019s Ghosteen are more ambient, using loops and less narrative storytelling. Universally loved, both are undeniably good albums, if not my favorites of the catalog.
In 2021, Cave and Ellis released Carnage as its own album (both men have done quite a bit soundtrack work). Still widely praised, I find this easily the least of recent Cave albums in my estimation.
2024s Wild God feels like a mix of recent changes and the more usual signs of the band’s 1990s/2000s style.
I don’t feel like Wild God is quite among the best album of Cave’s career as a recent Guardian review claimed. But like any long time artist like say Dylan, Costello or Waits, the quality is good but there might not be an element of surprise, so comparison is difficult.
That said, I do think Wild God is particularly good.
Not that the Bad Seeds haven’t had some surprise lineup additions (Cave acolyte and Gallon Drunk frontman James Johnston joining from 2003-2008, early Bad Seed Barry Adamson rejoining in 2013-2015 and the addition of tour support from drummer Toby Dammit (Iggy Pop, Swans) and Saints guitarist Ed Kuepper) but the fact that Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood has joined as a bit of an associate seems significant here.
The piano ballad feel of much of the album reminds me a lot of The Good Son, The Boatman’s Call and The Lyre of Orpheus and while manic Nick Cave is still a preference, the slow introspective Goth songs do hit that part that caused me to fall in love with the band many years ago.
“Oh Wow Oh Wow (How Wonderful she is)” a tribute to Lane is a standout track with an old voice mail playing over the end of the song is at once sad, uplifting and even silly (not in a bad way) depending on the mood of the listener. It’s opening line, I think is a stinker, but I can look past it.
The title track has something of the epic of the defining album track following opener Song of the Lake which serves as introduction to the piece of art. It ends with As the Waters Covers the Sea- a proper curtain close as you might find on Murder Ballads, Let Love In or Tender Prey.
