No more shall we part (2001)
Then the longest hiatus in Cave's career, with four years until the release of “No more shall we part”, which features such gems as the title track
The heartbreaking “Love letter”
The wonderful “We came along this road”
And the powerful closer, “Darker with the day”.
Nocturama (2003)
Two more years passed before “Nocturama” hit the shelves. It's not one of my favourite Cave albums, although it may be heading into the “Last Chance Saloon” before long, but it does have “He wants you”
“Right out of your hand”
“Rock of Gibraltar”
and “She passed by my window”
The mournfully beautiful “Still in love”
Not to mention “Wonderful life”. Yeah, I'm definitely going to have to give this album another chance!
Only a year later Cave released not one, but two albums, at the same time.
Abbatoir blues/The lyre of Orpheus (2004)
The first of the two, “Abbatoir blues”, is a mostly heavy, rock record, though the title track is slow and bluesy
Then there's the weird “Cannibal's hymn”
But it's “The lyre of Orpheus” that contains the most laid-back, relaxing, slow ballads, like “Babe you turn me on”
The gospel-like “Carry me”
“Spell”
“Easy money”
And a song that apparently featured in one of the Harry Potter movies, though they're not something I'm personally interested in, a track called “O children”.
That brings us to his last, to date, album, released in 2008, “Dig!!! Lazarus, dig!!!”
Dig!!! Lazarus, dig!!! (2008)
It doesn't really have any slow tracks, the closest being “Hold on to yourself”.
So there you are: if you thought all Nick Cave wrote about was death and betrayal and revenge and lost love and devils and murder and agony and loneliness and anger, well you were right. But he has been known to write such material in ballads and slower songs too, as this feature has, I hope, demonstrated. Either way, he's a great artist with a lot to say, a very distinct and unique way of saying it, and if you haven't checked him out before now, well it's high time you made his acquaintance. “Please permit me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...”
