Nick Cave's got a great deep clear voice that's perfect for his preacher-like delivery. Here he's got a chorus of gospel singers backing him on most of these which I feel mixed about. At times the effect overly-dramatic, but it can also be quite powerful. He does dark-sounding incredibly well, while his more cheerful tracks are just less exciting, for me at least. The blues, country, and gospel influences that come through can be pretty interesting. The two discs have very distinct moods or attitudes. The Lyre of Orpheus is the softer, slower, more acoustic collection of songs. There's a very relaxed feel on the songs, and the focus is on the song-writing. Overall, I preferred this side of Nick. Favorites here: 3, 7, 8. The other disc, Abattoir Blues is the more "rock" half of the project. The songs have nice grooves and are generally more energetic. Can even get funky. Play: 2, 3. Track-by-track inside. –nate jones

The Lyre of Orpheus
1- FCC(fucking)
2- playful flute interspersed, light and adoring
*3- feels like a late van morrison song, spoken word for verses, piano-driven, very relaxed and lulling
4- sounds a little foreboding, sad but quite pretty, nice emotional climax at end
5- jangly piano to start, faster pace, singing is dramatic, more energetic than anything on this disc
6- dreamy, shuffling, I like the semi-exotic instrumentation at end
*7- verses are tense and troubled, but chorus seems reassuring and hopeful. nice effect with the chord changes. ends up feeling spiritual
*8- gospel-like fem chorus, very dramatic, nice closer, about 30 seconds of silence after track fades

Abattoir Blues
1- energetic introduction to album, raucous and passionately religious
*2- there's something funky underlying this, I feel like he's at his best when dark. emotional climax is very satisfying
*3- this has a lot of soul, blues-like, heavy bass and drums, another intense finish
4- a little slower, nice piano. for some reason I want to say Clapton-like
5- has a nice groove, chorus is a little too cheery
6- singing's a little more relaxed and understated, sweet-sounding
7- slow, moody
8- uplifting
9- slow unadorned verses and then brief explosions of gospel, 15 seconds of silence at end