Additional information
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave (vocals, piano); Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld (guitar); Warren Ellis (violin); Conway Savage (organ); Martyn Casey (bass); Thomas Wydler (drums). Additional personnel: Kate & Anna MacGarringle (background vocals). Producers: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tony Cohen. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England in 2000. This import version contains a second bonus Enhanced CD which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nick Cave (vocals, piano); Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld (guitar); Warren Ellis (violin); Conway Savage (organ); Martyn P. Casey (bass); Thomas Wydler (drums); Kate & Anna McGarrigle (background vocals). Additional personnel includes: Jim Sclavunos (drums, percussion); Mick Harvey (drums). Recorded at Abbey Road Studios and Westside Studios, London, England in September & October 2000. Personnel: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (background vocals); Nick Cave (vocals, piano, background vocals); Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld (guitar); Simon Fischer, Rebecca Hirsch, Warren Ellis, Patrick Kiernan, Gavyn Wright, Jackie Shave (violin); Gustav Clarkson, Bruce White (viola); Frank Schaefer, Naomi Wright, Lionel Handy (cello); Conway Savage (organ); Thomas Wydler (drums); James Sclavunos (percussion); Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Kevin Paul; Mick Harvey; Nick Cave; Tony Cohen ; Blixa Bargeld. Audio Remasterer: Simon Heyworth. Liner Note Author: Amy Hanson . Recording information: Abbey Road Studios, London (09/2000); Westside Studios, London (09/2000); Abbey Road Studios, London (10/2000); Westside Studios, London (10/2000). Photographer: Joe Dilworth. This album is closely related to its predecessor, THE BOATMAN'S CALL, in that it mines similarly reserved piano-ballad territory. Cave's been fiddling with this sort of thing since THE MERCY SEAT's "Watching Alice," but he seems to have adopted it here as his prevailing modus operandi. The major difference between NO MORE SHALL WE PART and its predecessor is that the lyrics are less overtly relationship-oriented. Instead, Cave offers Jacques Brel-like denunciation of overzealous Christians ("God is in the House"), morality plays ("As I Sat Sadly by Her Side"), and of course, tall tales of terror in the grand Cave manner ("Hallelujah"). Despite the wide range of subject matter, the lone exception to all the quiet balladry is "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow, a slow-burning snarler that recalls the Bad Seeds' nastier days with its harrowing metaphor for emotional distances (a trick not accomplished so neatly since the Bee Gees' "New York Mining Disaster"). If you're looking for the hellfire-and-brimstone Nick Cave of years past, look elsewhere. But if you're prepared to accept Australia's black sheep troubadour as Brian Ferry's (or Burt Bacharach's) evil twin, step into the deceptively calm waters of NO MORE SHALL WE PART with confidence.
Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/10/01, p.84) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...The best of these tracks are simple, lush torch songs....he can still weave bolts of colloquial clarity into the velvet tapestry that take your breath away." Q (5/01, p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A foreboding piece of work....this is a flamboyantly musical record that creates the perfect backdrop for Cave's theological, metaphysical musings....never less than utterly riveting." Alternative Press (6/01, p.70) - 3 out of 5 - "...Where once Cave roared, now he quavers; where once he sighed, now he croons....Sadly grandiose piano ballads have rarely sounded so visual..." Magnet (12-1/02, p.56) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2001". Magnet (6-7/01, p.82) - "...A total triumph..." The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #14 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001". Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) - Ranked #17 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001". Mojo (Publisher) (4/01, p.104) - "...As urgent and vital as Cave has ever been....an incredible summation of a singular career..." NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) - Ranked #20 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001". NME (Magazine) (3/31/01, p.30) - 8 out of 10 - "...A beatific page-turner of a record which yeilds a rich new tapestry of treasures with each repeat reading..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.83) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Having found a new sonic intensity through restraint, the expanded Bad Seeds hit upon a different way of infusing the records with the theatrics of yore, while Cave filled the gaps with a regained lyrical weight..."
