I am making a return to very old style of Interference posting, listening to a new album and going through and examining and ranking the tracks and giving overall thoughts!
As I've made quite clear before, I really only came to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with Push the Sky Away. Prior to that, I don't think I could have named a Nick Cave song. When I got into PTSA I did listen to a couple of other NC&TBS records, Dig Lazarus Dig and No More Shall We Part I believe. But have never really paid close attention to anything beyond PTSA, it is an era of their music that I love very dearly and have never really been able to pull myself away from, because I just love the atmosphere and the sonic construction of these three albums, and I know that that sound isn't really present elsewhere in their catalogue, which is unsurprising, given a) lineup changes and b) Nick's personal circumstances.
So, Let Love In.
An album I purchased some years ago and have spun before but I've never really paid close attention to.
Do You Love Me? - 8
I can take or leave some of the lyrics (I'm sure this will be a regular occurrence as I move through their back catalogue) but this is a great song. Really catchy, has a good pace and energy to it. I fucking adore the Lust for Life-esque (album, not song) guitar in the verses. I am sure this would have been a cracker to catch live back when Blixa Bargeld was still in the band.
Nobody's Baby Now - 9
Strange transition into a ballad, but a beautiful song. The first verse is a pretty apt summation of much of his lyrical work, at least what I've heard. Love the organs and the piano. Probably my favourite track on the album.
Loverman - 8
In hindsight feels a bit like the type of song someone who wanted to do a pastiche of NC&TBS might create, but I'm sure it was singular in its time. Of all the raucous, rocking, horny numbers on this album, this is probably the best, the chorus rules, though I could do without Blixa's (I assume) "how much longer" parts.
Jangling Jack - 5
Fun enough. The parts with lyrics and sound effects are better than the do-da-do parts. Would be fun live.
Red Right Hand - 8
Ubiquitous, of course, but my reflections are that it's better than all the overplay, TV and ad use suggests. It's got a really unique musical atmosphere that builds plenty of tension and intensity without the need for over-the-top vocals or rawk. It's fun, too.
I Let Love In - 7
Also a pretty good song, the piano and guitar are both terrific throughout, quite cinematic. A little less infatuated with Nick's performance on this than some of the other songs on this album, but the music carries it through.
Thirsty Dog - 5
I've never been big on this bluesy thrash cock rock style, by anyone. This one is fine and fun enough but goes on a bit long.
Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore - 6
Bit boring imo. Has some nice atmospheric musical touches but doesn't really go anywhere, and feels like lyrical and vocal content that has been trodden already by the album elsewhere.
Lay Me Low - 8
Builds to a pretty great place, some great use of organs, which I'm always a sucker for, and I definitely enjoy the more ballad-y side of this band. Another one that I imagine would be good live.
Do You Love Me? Part 2 - 7
Whilst I appreciate the different take and find it an interesting counterpoint to the opening song, it feels a little unnecessary. Sonically a bit more interesting than the first part, but the silly "jingo / jango" parts in this song, which I can tolerate in part one, stand out like dogs balls in this part and take me out of the song. He does away with these in two of the verses later in the song, and it's much better for it.
Overall, captures a sound quite well. Definitely don't prefer that sound to their current one, but there's a good handful of enjoyable songs here, some of which I've heard take off live. It is a cornerstone of their discography, but it's not something I think I will find myself reaching for often, certainly not in full.
Would love to hear others' thoughts!