Ghosteen

This was quite a peaceful album for an evening on the beach, but I can’t see myself listening to it casually. The lyrics were pretty powerful, especially given the context, but it didn’t justify the long runtime for me.

Bright Horses Sun Forest

The music is like a super soft bed. It is really mystical and spherical.

My first album was Nick Cave and it was shite, so it's amusing to see him pop up again over 400 albums later. Story behind this is very sad, and it comes out completely in the music. Not normally my thing, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much it resonated still. Saved a couple songs, but most aren't the kind of thing you would pop on for a quick listen. Once to absorb fully, though I'm not sure I would again.

No sé qué opinar ... bastante rollo, la verdad ... pero a veces tiene un uauuu.

This album is so theatrical and immersive, but in a really dull way. It doesn't have the down-home kitschy charm that Gris Gris (a few albums prior) does, another very theatrical and strange album. I like Nick Cave's voice, but I always find myself wondering who he is making music for? I don't know anyone who has ever told me he's their favourite artist or even that they like him or think he's cool. He's flying under the radar intentionally I guess? This music is just so cold and inaccessible. But I guess he's living in his own private musical soundscape and it all makes sense to him. Oh wait, wrote it after the death of his son. Omg. Okay, this is grief music, I understand! Listening again through another lens and yeah, I get it. Poor man. My deepest sympathies and condolences. I think this is now a very beautiful hereafter that Nick Cave has created for Arthur. Albeit, boring and not for me. This album cover is absolutely gorgeous. It really does transport you to a magical fairy realm. Just too bad it's so marred by sadness.

No sé qué opinar ... bastante rollo, la verdad ... pero a veces tiene un uauuu.

I feel like there is something of emperors new clothes about Nick Cave. You would look foolish to dislike him. But I can't get past the overwrought lyrics and spoken word like delivery. The music is fantastic though. I would listen to an instrumental version of this no problem and it somewhat saves it. 3*

This album is fucking beautiful. Nick Cave wrote it after his son died. It's super heavy and emotional, understandably so. Favourite songs: Bright Horses, Spinning Song, Sun Forest, Galleon Ship Least favourite songs: Leviathan 3/5

Nick Cave is so intense! You have to be in the mood or proper state of mind, to listen and fully enjoy - - I wasn't this time.

The authors of the 1001 book really love "Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds". Even though I do not consider all their work among my favorites, I can understand why they have so many albums on the list. Each of these albums is so different but also so aligned with each other that it is hard to select just one to represent the whole work of the band. This also creates a problem: wrong choices like this one. I still like the final result of the album with all this speech poetry, but it's far from the best found on the list.

Double album, well produced, first song mentions kings. 2nd song, pianos, strings, ethereal female voices, feels of grief. 3rd song same, no female extra voice or chorus. The wife says this album gave birth to the Nationals.The 4th song has hotel imagery, the female chorus is back along with bells. All these songs are slow, so slow, Nick speaks sometimes instead of singing. I just read, he made the album after his son died, he used loops, synths and no percussion. I'm up to Galleon and suitably depressed. Don't know if I can last a whole double album. His son was 15 when he died, I can't through this.

very challenging record. as someone who really enjoys slow difficult listens like lulu i find this to be charming but i need to listen more to really understand it. im more of a rock fan so the repetitive ambient pop style here gets boring at points which i dont hold against the record as thats more my fault. strong 6/10 for now, will probably go up in the future.

I love Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but Ghosteen is not an album that I enjoyed.

meh

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Lands somewhere between 3 and 4 really. This album has potential and would benefit from closer listening and repeated listens which I'm just not able to do these days. Moving on.

Album follows the death of his 15 year old son, who died falling of a cliff near Brighton having taken LSD for the first time. The tragedy is felt in the lyrics of the songs.

What a sad album. As a parent of a teen boy that kind of freaked me out to listen to.

Terrific album for sad, somber contemplations of love and loss. Big anthemic themes from Nick Cave with delicate soft instrumentations. When listening bring your kleenex for sure... 😪

Low pace is what you need sometimes, and this album is perfectly that, although it can bit melancholic. Art is an expression, and in this album there is only the expression of sadness nothing else. 3/5 Be prepared 3/5

Perfectly whatever. Their other stuff is great this didn't need to make the list

Love some Nick Cave. Lots of soulful lyrics. I would have enjoyed some variety in style and beats.

This album is probably better than the 3 I'm giving it, but this is how I felt about it today, hearing it for the first time. I can hear the songcraft and the arrangements and performances are all great. But it is mostly one mood—and a downer of a mood at that. (yes, I know what the album is about.) I think Nick Cave is a gem and very many of these songs were pretty great, but hearing the whole thing in one go is a lot. So it's probably at least a 4, but it hit me like a 3 today.

Nick Cave has long confused me. I just can't pinpoint how I feel about his music. I guess I'm mostly ambivalent. I listened to this in two parts across two days. I'll admit today's listen was enjoyable. But he is not someone I would veer to on my own.

Not the best album if your starting out on NC

Very interesting. I thought there were some missed opportunities for drums and percussion to bring up the energy, but it wasn’t bad. Kind of long and got boring after a while, but never bad. Not sure why this is so highly acclaimed 6.5/10

Summary says the album is about how his son died, which obviously is very sad, but I couldn’t really get into the music. Weird voice 5/10

I consider this music that Nick Cave is planning on using to haunt people.

This is poetry with background sounds, not really music. Lyrics are tough and beautiful. Great songwriting. Butttttt its as depressive as they come. If I ever end my life, this will be tue album that will be playing when done. Soooo depressing yet such dark and great lyrics.

This benefitted greatly from being on in the background but I don’t know man. It sounded nice but was so long. Also what’s with all the Nick Cave on here? Low 3.

seitsemästoista albumi bändin ja VIHDOINKIN TAJUSI MIKÄ TEKEE MUSIIKISTA MUSIIKIN... tuntemukset.. ärähdykset... ÄRH:.... the fires continued theough the night.. the kid wtit the weird face appeareda nad dissappeared into the headlight... aaaASSÄRH ÄRN ÄRGH ÄRH ÄRH ÄRH........ runoilijapoika.. unelmoijapoika... surupoika... AÄRH ÄRH ÄRH ÄRH ÄRH.... älä odota enään.. elä... elä... LIVE... LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! spinnign song

Album 368 of 1001 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen Rating : 3/ 5 Kind of depressing...but done in Nick Cave style. Can't really listen to this one for enjoyment. If I decide to listen to Nic Cave again, I might listen...but he has others that are better. Written and recorded soon after his son's death, the album "explores themes of loss, death and existentialism, as well as empathy, faith and optimism.". Not really one to dance to.

Knowing what he had just gone through makes this album hit hard. The tragedy carries it. Not sure I like it too much...but it sucked me in from start to finish. Credit where credit is due

It was a grey and rainy day and I enjoyed this melancholy backing track. I can't tell if my enjoyment means this is the best Nick Cave album on the list or if I just needed the right setting for the other albums....

Good album, great listen

Was Waiting for You in the Sun Forest, looking for Fireflies and Bright Horses, but all I found was this album.

I think I’ve had a fair few Nick Cave albums at this point, in his various forms. Honestly, they’ve ben quite hit and miss for me. I’m hopeful for something pleasant today, but there is that part of me that thinks back to how terrible The Birthday Party were. Fingers crossed for something good! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Bright Horses This album wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t blow me away. Perhaps it was my naivety, but the album cover had me expecting something fantastical and different, but this was an album of slow maudlin tracks. For what they are, they are good. However, I think I need to be in a state of real misery to get an other from albums like this, and I’m unfortunately in quite a happy place right now. Ah well.

Música ambiental y Nick Cave hablando. Un poco rollo. Ni fu ni fa.

No sé qué opinar ... bastante rollo, la verdad ... pero a veces tiene un uauuu.

I loved it musically, but the droning vocals began to wear on me a bit by the end. Enjoyed it enough to go back to a couple of tracks in the future.

Even more ambient than Skeleton Tree, but less experimental and less dark. This is Nick grieving at the same time that he opens himself to love. That being said, as poignant as some of these songs can be, I don't think it's as interesting or consistent as its predecessor.

A great tortured, depressive, dark and melancholic output from the prolific Nick Cave. I loved the introspective new age/ambiant aspect of this piece of art. The synth tones were so on point. That said, I can't really tell why it finds its way through this list, as this artist have other very important albums within his career.

Utterly beautiful music that does absolutely nothing for me.

I like several of these songs. I know they were very influential and popular in Australia, but the music is a bit out there for me. Still, it was kind of fun

Heavy album but good somber sound for most of it

atmosphärische musik, packender gesang - und trotzdem nicht meins.

oopsies sorry i fell off for a bit but i'm back listening to ghosteen. this is kind of just like spoken word poetry there's so much emotion and meaning behind it but the music itself isn't really my style

3.5 stars. I have not enjoyed other NC&TBS albums, but this one I did. The singers vocal performance is actually complimented by he arrangements, rather than him simply talking over a more interesting backing track. "Waiting for You," is actually pretty good, and the singer actually sings! The title track is pretty good too. Lyrically the songs are also more story driven and not as vague and abstract like on the album "Abbatoir Blues." At 68 minutes/11 songs, some songs do feel rather drawn out. It was actually beneficial to not listen *too* closely sometimes otherwise it would feel like these were going on forever.

I dunno... It felt like a good album, but not really my style

This is a soundtrack to something... Bleak, haunting and stretched to the limit.

6/10

Is it well made? Definitely. It feels like a portal into the writer's soul. Now would I ever willingly listen to it again? No.

It seems that the author of this project is a huge fan of Nick Cave and Damon Albarn with how many of their albums are on this list. I think both artists each deserve a single album on this list, but not 3,4,5+ albums. They have a unique sound and style that I can appreciate, but they are definitely not on the level of say a Beatles or Led Zeppelin who definitely deserve having multiple albums on this list.

Not sure if this was planned, but Ghosteen was preceded (on this list) by Junkyard, an album from Nick's band, the Birthday Party from 1982 and this album was released 37 years later. A lot has evolved in Cave's sound through the years and Ghosteen is definitely a mellow, haunting and sometimes beautiful album. It's an album of grief and reflection (his son died in 2015) and it comes through in the music quite well. Not a record to spin during a party, but instead a listen in a dark room with headphones would be appropriate.

I am fortunate enough to be in a time in my life where I cannot relate to this album, but it is quite beautiful

I think it's a good album, very atmospheric. Probably the most melancholic music I've heard since I heard the album A Crow Looked At Me by Mount Eerie. Hard to rate and I probably wouldn't listen to it again in a hurry. A 3 I think.

nsomma, alla fine non mi fa impazzire, un po' troppo lagna pure per me

Slow, atmospheric, dark.

Honestly I think I just don't get this. There is obvious intelligence behind the lyrics and artistry in the instrumentation but is it exactly music? Tonal monologuing over movie soundtrack backing.

Pakottaa kuuntelemaan ainakin kuulokkeilla kuunnellessa. Sinänsä tarinat ovat mystisensynkkää perus avaruus-Cavea, mutta tarina ja surutyö tehdään selväksi, ei voi ohittaa. Raastavaa. Olisin kaivannut enemmän melodiaa helpottavaksi kaveriksi, vaikka orkestraalinen ambient on hienon kuuloista.

WOW that was strangely calming and super weird. Not my genre but an ascending experience

Even though I've never owned one of their albums, I've always been a fan of their style of music. I can never listen to it for more than a handful of songs at a time however, and normally just dive into the song really hard when it comes up in my ipod shuffle playlist. Considering the heaviness and theme of this album and having yet not lost someone close to me, I am having a hard time being critical of its content. It sounds extremely emotionally heavy, but I have a hard time focusing on the lyrics for how slow it moves. One thing I'm noticing listening to a full album instead of just a song here and there is that I really have no clue how to describe the instrumentals of the bad seeds. It's just.... a drone-y keyboard, and that's it really, the backing vocals are pretty nice at times, but mostly it's just Cave. I'm giving this the score I expected at the beginning, mostly because I can't relate to the content even though I know I am in a lucky position for that to be the truth at 34 years old.

Trying too hard to be Leonard Cohen

Later

Probably the best Nick Cave we’ve had but it still wasn’t good, per se. My anger towards his other albums was replaced with pity for a mourning old man. It was sometimes hard to take this as truly genuine given all the different hats that Cave has worn as a songwriter through his other projects on this list but when I was able to do so I had slightly more appreciation for this album. 5/10

Love this album and Nick Cave. I still think albums this recent shouldn't be included here though. Setting that aside, this album is so gorgeous and haunting. One of his better albums for sure.

Devastating listen

Atmospherically it's very good. I'm just not a fan of the spoken word parts. I prefer more melodic vocals. Leviathan also kinda drags on in my opinion because the lyrics are quite repetitive.. Unrelated: the cover art is very pretty and fits well with the feel of the album.

Tough one here – Cave's wrenching, unflinching portrayal of grief is something to be commended for its brutal honesty, sheaving a father's raw loss in shimmering synths and instrumentation. As an art piece it's a triumph, but as a piece of music this album did feel about 10-15 minutes too long. The instrumentation is gorgeous and perfectly executed, but 70+ minutes of synths within a narrow melodic vein + spoken word vocals would is a challenge regardless of the subject matter. I'll be revisiting this one in a clear headspace to take it all in again, as I concede I'm an instrumental listener first and a lyric appreciator second. While I caught glimpses of the narrative Cave was painting throughout the album, the sheer heft of emotion here deserves to be understood and appreciated in full.

A little emotional, a little preachy.

I really like the majority of the songs but every song being very slow and depressive gets a bit much once you're half way through

Very calm and majestic

Loved the music, but not the singing as much. Many of the instrumentals would make great music for big mountain ski touring type films.

Haunting, mellow, and ambient sounds. Vocals add such an ominous touch, in a spoken word style.

Annoying, boring but also profound and beautiful

it sounds like if nick cave made a ambient album.

Хороший альбом Даже шутить не хочется 7/10

I've never really been a Nick Cave fan, and I can't feel emotionally attached to music like this, not music where emotion is mostly rooted in his poetry and subtle vocal expressions. As such, this isn't for me, but I can see the appeal. It's a consistent album with no hits or hooks, and instead is focused on consoling the death of his son from prior years. Lyrics are spread apart as though a stream of consciousness, making it very personal and genuine. The parts of repetition reflect his choking up emotionally, serving as powerful moments. They're highly imaginative and metaphorical, giving the audience tools to empathize with him. The instrumentation is very sparse and ambient, with nothing more than back vocals, a piano, and various synths. The overlaying synths allow them to substute standard instrumentation. For example, one synth would be deep and constant like a bass line, while another would focus on the treble, complimenting Cave's singing. The mood is often dark and hopeless, while other times optimistic and ready to move on. Regardless, I'm not able to like this album. The tracks don't appeal to me, and I can't get emotionally invested. I see the appeal, and I see the comparisons to Leonard Cohen or Antony and the Johnsons, but it's not a record I'll revisit. Good, a bit long and some tracks I don't see much value in, but not for me.

If there were a Grammy for beautifully depressing, this would win forever.

Good

Hauntingly beautiful. Not an everyday listen but in the right mood this is pretty intense.

This was almost too potently sad for me.

I understand the concept behind this album, but the music itself doesn’t do anything special for me

3 stars-y

This might grow on me, 3.5 for now though. It's sad vibes for sure, not sure I really feel much else from/about it though.

Super sad Nick Cave but... not hugely into it, like most Nick Cave.

Need to listen again

Good in the background, really soothing although musically nothing was jumping out

Nice album overall, with some beautiful and melancholic sounds. I read the article on the album and it's heartbreaking to learn about the death of Nick Cave's 15-year-old son in 2015 and how his death drove a lot of the work here. Listening to the songs with that in mind, it's pretty powerful.

A long album that grieves the recent loss of his son. It was always going to be a difficult listen.

I really like the synths on this, and I love how personal this is, even more than The Boatman Calls, but it is definitely too long, and very repetitive. It has me feeling conflicted, because one moment I'll be getting into it, and the next I'll be dying for it to be over. Still, it is not all bad.

Not sure so defaulting to 3

Fine

Valid record, tasteful as usual, just not one of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' best albums, but still well written and performed.

Fucking hell this album is depressing. I mean, that's to be expected as Nick Cave's teenage son had died and then he made this album. Bleak. Best Tracks: Spinning Song; Bright Horses; Waiting For You

Un àlbum que té tant de poesia com de música. Nascut d'una desesperació i profunda tristesa, és com un plor catàrtic de més d'una hora. Plor revestit d'una música espectral, inspirada

Rating: 6/10

Wounded and beautiful - I don’t know when I’d like a re-listen of this again, but I’m happy to know that it’s here for me when I do.

Great emotional album, interesting to see if this remains on the list in years to come especially over Skeleton Tree

Could be higher if it was shorter.

Decent 6/10

Genres: Ambient, electronic Formed: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1983 Run time: 13 songs, 1 hour, 8 min Listening to this reminds me of some of the Doors songs. Nick Cave’s voice has a very similar sound to Jim Morrison’s. The songs are very poetic and melodic – very relaxing and atmospheric, but not my cup of tea. My Rating: ***

Nick Cave has the power to turn an hour into three, how does he do it?

I’ve seen Nick Cave’s name thrown around every now and again but I was yet to get around to one of his, and his bands, records so this did slightly peak my interest, even more so considering it was one of his latest records. I’ll say that Nick Cave is great throughout this whole project, he’s got this powerful yet soft voice that can be really emotional, he sort of reminds me of James Blake at times. I can tell the atmosphere that was being aimed for on this record as it does feel a bit dreamy and quite futuristic at points especially on the first track ‘Spinning Song’. However I do find this record way too slow for me, I get it’s a singer-song writer record but it felt like you could easily put this over a montage of space pictures and just zone out for the hour. Also considering how slow this whole album is I really don’t think 2 10+ minute songs were really that necessary, despite the title track being quite good. Overall, I think this album is nice I don’t really have much to say about it but it’s not bad by any means, just not something I’d really come back to.

That was kinda different than I would imagine Nick Cave go in the recent years, but after reading about his last life events, I feel it... it's not an easy-going album...

It's probably the best Nick Cave album but it's still not great. I very much appreciate the change in lyrical direction to one of introspection instead of deviant voyeurism, though. In fact, these are some of the most self-aware songs that I've ever hear Cave write. That's worth a star all on its own. However, in typical Nick Cave fashion, he takes it way too far. The album ends up so far up its navel, it's scraping backbone. It wasn't enjoyable. But then, I didn't expect it to be. But it also wasn't the worst thing ever and I did expect it to be that. So cheers to pleasant surprises, I guess?

not my jam, but if someone wants to hack back an entire pack of american spirits while sipping cheap whiskey this is your jam.

A little too much smooth and melodic slow songs, but I really like them in small doses

Quiet, melancholy, intimate. A very deep album that seems too much like a poem at times.

Sorgligt och mastigt.

Dystert som altid, moderne, virkelig en stemning, lidt for langt

Música ambiental y Nick Cave hablando. Un poco rollo. Ni fu ni fa.

I definitely prefer nick caves more bombastic and operatic stuff but I have to admire how versatile he is even if I was bored by this album for the most part. Like yes the lyrics are very meditative and poetic but that doesn’t make it any more fun to listen to. I liked the minimalist, stripped back production though. This probably would’ve been a good visual album or stage play or something.

I am a big Nick Caves fan and he has some albums that are 4s and 5s, but this album didn't jump out from the background.

Si vous voulez progresser en anglais, vous pouvez soit lancer la vidéo "English Conversaton; Learn while you Sleep with 5000 words", soit cet album de Nick Cave qui y ressemble comme deux gouttes d'eau. Jetez par exemple un coup d'œil à ce passage : « NICK CAVE: Hey The Bad Seeds, how are you doing ? THE BAD SEEDS: We are great. We are getting hungry though. NICK CAVE: Yeah. Me too, what time is your lunch break ? THE BAD SEEDS: In about ten minutes. NICK CAVE: Oh great, I have my break in about ten minutes too. Should we go get something to eat ? THE BAD SEEDS: Yeah, that sounds great. Do you know of any good restaurants around here ? NICK CAVE: Yes. There's a great Chinese restaurant around the corner. THE BAD SEEDS: Oh, we love Chinese food. Let's go! NICK CAVE: Ok let's do it! I can't wait to eat some spring rolls. THE BAD SEEDS: Spring rolls are good, but we love dumplings. NICK CAVE: Me too, let's get an order of both! THE BAD SEEDS: That's a great idea. »

Assurement l'album de l'année 2019. Qui n'a jamais entendu ce bon vieux Nick Cave ces dernières années ? Avec sa ribambelle de hits à ne plus savoir quoi en faire, Nick Cave peut-être retrouvé absolument partout: sur les ondes de sa radio préférée, en faisant ses courses, en showcase dans sa boite de nuit locale... La liste est longue. Un album ayant poru sur marqué sa génération.

Musically it's pretty - lyrically, obvious he was trying to process a lot while writing this album.

Love the ethereal elements, the swelling harmonies, and other worldly sound. Never been a huge fan of Nick Cave's lyrics though, this album included. 3.

3/5. This is a very beautiful album but I feel like I need to be in the mood for it. The lyrics are amazing but it does feel like spoken word poetry with some backing tracks.

It's the weekend and my cheerfulness kept stopping me from getting into this album. I'll have to take it out again on a rainy Monday.

Pretty dark affair, although not unexpected from Nick Cave. Missing some of the swagger and verve of some of his other stuff, this felt all too introspective and didn't really get going.

Goddddd. Would you stop banging on about your dead son? Jeez

Wow a 2019 album! Probably the most modern one I've gotten so far. I didn't realize this list had been updated so recently. I like some Nick Cave &co stuff but haven't listened to this one yet. Had a listen to this while playing a computer game, it's very well produced and emotional, but it just didn't do much for me. I hope I never go through a point in my life where I relate to this.

Ehhh

Probablement celui j'ai le plus aimé de lui à date à cause du gros côté ambiant

Wow, beautiful. Like to hear more of it.

Too sullen and slow for me, but I understand Nick has suffered immense loss and grief so it is to be expected.

Hauntingly beautiful album. Enjoyed listening through as a whole.

Not for me.

A fitting ambient album about losing your son. It's also very peaceful as well despite Nick Cave clearly mourning throughout. Repeated listening is unlikely though.

Good album, but not Nick Cave’s best, in my opinion.

I really enjoyed the ambient sounds on this record. I'm sure a lot of the meaning and depth behind the album are held in the lyrics, but it lost me at some point, and I was satisfied by the music. Nice listen

Talky music

Only familiar with Nick Cave via "Red Right Hand" from Peaky Blinders. First 2 songs are way more ethereal than expected, but given the album cover maybe I should have expected that. A lot of the songs have an almost ambient quality to them and with Nick Cave's powerful voice I didn't see how a whole album could work like this but it's good. Not so much "listen to these songs in your free time" type music but as a project itself the album is enjoyable.

We'll executed but it's just not quite my thing. I did enjoy some of the melodies though.

like dark for my taste

Often beautiful, haunting ambient music, but really not enough that actually engaged me.

According to Wiki this album was pretty hyped three years ago. As I hardly listen to contemporary music, I haven't heard of it before. The individual tracks sound quite good in themselves, but they're not really engaging enough to fully capture my interest.

This was a tough listen.

Lastig album, mooi maar ook wel langdradig...

Mooie plaat voor zondagmorgen, maar eigenlijk vind ik Let love In een geslaagder werk van hem.

Very somber and haunting.

Never heard of Nick Cave before starting this project, now I've heard a couple of his albums and I think I'm a fan. Love the sound, style and music. 3/5 for now because I need to hear more of it.

Really enjoyed it but it became stale quick. May need to listen again and pay closer attention to the lyrics

Beautiful composition and instrumentation. Didn't impress me a ton at first, but after reading some background and listening a second time, the vocal performances and lyrics are pretty devastating. It's not something I'd put on for myself, but a solid record otherwise.

It's beautiful and the lyrics are fantastic, especially Bright Horses, but I must admit that I have a hard time sitting through over an hour of this kind of somber, more ambient style music. I've heard the constant praise of Nick Cave but never given him a proper shot before now, but this wasn't the one to transform me into a Cave-stan unfortunately. Far from bad but just didn't fully grab me. I've heard he has more rock-focused music though that I'm looking forward to dive into sometime.

I never got into Nick Cave. No reason, just didn’t. Yet, having listened to a number of projects highly influenced by his work, I kinda knew what I was getting into, but I didn’t expect to like it quite this much. I found myself hinging on his every word until I realized this was getting in the way of some fascinating and still almost transitory arrangements that can drift by unnoticed (in the best way possible). I adore the purpose in this kind of minimalism, where creative decisions can demand attention as much as they are asking to be ignored. Ghosteen feels very Bowie-esque to me (in particular his later work), the kind of self-aware art rock that’s at its best when it’s fully committing to the concept. Here, a somber, lonely, reflective foray finds moments of peace along the journey, and still I’m wondering wtf happened to this guy? What’s all this introspection about? I can see this maybe like being “his thing” but I’m curious enough to find out. Cool record. 3.5

Goddamn it this album has to come with a trigger warning. This may be the saddest thing I've ever heard. His telling of heart-wrenching stories paired with the melancholy music is too much. And his VOICE. It SOUNDS like he's in pain. Wow. Need a pick me up. I'm putting Graceland on again.

Quite beautiful! It was lovely to have on in the background while working. There are some deep songs here, and it's definitely worth a re-listen when I'm not multitasking.

I am casually familiar with Nick Cave and his hauntingly sad vocals, but this album somehow seems even more matched for it than what I've previous heard from their discography. The song crafting on this album is undeniable; each song evokes a deep, emotional story. The ambient music techniques used on this album add to the haunting quality, but also make it a fairly peaceful listen. A very unique, moving album that almost feels as if it was intended to be religious. I admittedly wouldn't be able to listen to this often, but I'm glad for the opportunity to experience this.

Wow

I like Nick Cave. I really love Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus - one of my favorite albums. And I also really liked the Grinderman albums and Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - great stuff. But he kinda lost me after that. Push the Sky Away was ok but with every subsequent release his records seem to get slower and more ambient. This is not terrible by any means. He's still got a cool voice and the music is interesting and haunting. With enough listens and the right mind space I could see myself really getting into this record. But I'm rarely in the mind space for this kind of haunting/depressing music. I often listen to music while working and this music just kind fades into the background for me. I think this is the kind of music that demands more from the listener.

Cantautor moderno. Tranquilo de escuchar. Buena voz. Sin estridencias

nice voice, nick

It was okay. Def not my favorite Nick Cave album.

Melancholy personified.

A heartbreaking and intimate album. Feels like it's too private at times and you shouldn't be eavesdropping. I wish I had more context for Nick Cave's sound going in

yeah look, I respect his back catalogue but can only listen in small doses. Some of it is just too depressing and some of it is just rubbish. I did not make it far into this album.

Atmospheric and ethereal

Slow, seemed okay, had some moments I liked

Interesting, I do quite like some aspects of it. However it's very sparse and gloomy, so I think I'd have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it

A bit repetitive.

Weird synthy, religious vibes, very chill

Really awkward experience.

slow but haunting

I listened to this in the background while i was working and didn't pay loads of attention. However it was soothing with lush instrumentation. I like Nick Cave but not enough to listen to him regularly.

Really boring. Not my music style.

I don't know. Heard about them a lot but it's so dreary.

"His son died and that's the main inspiration!" Like I give a shit. 2/5

What a beautiful album cover. Looks like such a pleasant place. I think in a different state of mind I could really vibe to this album. Listening to it while working made it seem rather dark and depressing, or maybe that was just Nick Caves voice and delivery.

Sombre

It's a record you're obviously supposed to sit and listen to closely. Given the subject of the record, it deserves this much, but I wasn't able to do this

Ugh! Can't stand the vocals!

The intense lyrics of this album make up for the repetitive mature of the music itself. However it plays more like an audio recording of a Nick Cave book rather than a true musical work. I did enjoy it but not sure that Nick Cave would even mark this as the work of his that should appear in this list.

I can appreciate and respect the context here. Still a weird fucking album. And frankly that album cover art is comical. On the whole, there are far worse listens, but there are also so many infinitely better ones, including those about loss and grief. So, Mr. Cave misses again. I am sorry man. I truly am.

Are you kidding me? Two Cabes’s albums in that list; particularly this? Come on!

Why are they obsessed with Nick Cave?? This is like the 4th Nick Cave album I've had to listen to. I don't get it. This was a depressing albums. The songs were sad and weirdly religious. I looked it up and it was written after the death of his son which makes the songs make sense. I still didn't like it though.

The poetry is good, but it is not really music. It's more of a nice recital with painfully bad noise in the background.

This is unfortunately my introduction to the vaunted Nick Cave. It’s an hour+ of shimmering ambient whole notes and tentative arpeggios and heavyhanded lyrics sung in a voice which must be an acquired taste. Taking forever to get nowhere. You might appreciate the timbres of these whole notes, the subtle changes the arpeggios and counterpoints undergo, the restraint Cave shows. It’s beautiful at times, but I’m having a hard time finding it interesting.

Ugh. Even more Nick Cave. Now over an hour of him. Just pick the one album that is best. This guy does not feel 5 albums on this list worthy.

Nobody screams pretentious better than Nick Cave.

Ghosteen...an epic about the death of Nick's teenage son. An eerie, atmospheric event. Could be the score to an emotionally charged movie. Despite the deep meaning and work put in, I'm bored. Are the 1st two albums of this series must listens now? I'm hoping they don't take up any precious list spots but I may listen to the threefer in succession one day. Could probably even tuck in The Boatman's Call for a trip down the River Styx before Arthur ascends to the heavens. Rough time for Nick and I give the seeds credit for having range but with multiple of their other records making this list, Ghosty not worthy in my opinion. I'm probably ghosting this one at 1.58 stars.

Really quite dull. There’s a handful of Nick Cave stuff I really like, but a lot of it I find very preachy and maudlin. This one was just a bit too damp for me.

Trying to ignore the timing of this album and the adjustments made subsequent to his son’s death, still find it doesn’t stand well on its own as an album to listen to. Might have been cathartic to Nick himself but I want music to enjoy or at least entertain. The second half must be the most miserably depressing stuff I’ve ever heard. Would rather just read the lyrics (which is more or less what he was doing anyway) and listen to the background music on its own at another time. Perhaps just not in the mood for this and can’t imagine ever being so.

The dreary howls of a haggard man.

I didn’t really connect with this artist or his music, and found that one listen through was plenty. Always try to go in with an open mind, read a bit about the album and the life experiences that served as inspiration, but at the end of the day I was glad when it was over. Can’t see a reason I would seek out any more.

Did I judge a book by its cover with Nick Cave by hearing Murder Ballads first before any of his other music? Possibly, I know I’d have a different opinion of him if I heard this album first, but either way, it’s still not my cup of tea.

I really don't like Nick Cave, and I came to this album expecting his new stuff to definitely be worse than his peak. You know what, I was wrong. I think this style of music matches his voice way better than anything I'd heard previously. I still don't really like it. I probably would have given it a higher score without the Nick Cave background from this list, but it's definitely better than I was expecting.

felt too much like poetry to me. I want to hear songs, not spoken words. I liked the Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus album SO much more

Review - sorry to say this album is boring. Lyrically it may be great but as I often do, I find his singing self indulgent, and the synthy backing is very dull. Score - 4.5/10 Need to listen? NO

This album sounds like the inside of a coffin. I think it successfully portrays the grief and pure unfiltered sadness that Nick was feeling after the loss of his son. However, it's not a very easy listen and I had to, multiple times, take a break before resuming. It's just so heavy and so ambient. I'm going to give it a 5/10.

The only reason its not a 1 for me is that the background music could be nice on its own

Did not enjoy this as much as other Nick Cave albums. Very ethereal & kind of drones on too long

Very critically acclaimed but mostly a downer in my opinion

Goh, Nick Cave, die hebben we nog niet eerder gehad in de lijst ... Ik heb de hele begrafenis uitgezeten. Ergens is het natuurlijk wel indrukwekkend, maar ik had er meer voor open gestaan als dit niet de zoveelste nick cave plaat was. Nu ben ik murw gebeukt en geef ik slechts 2 sterretjes

Νίκο μου έχεις βγάλει και καλύτερα. Και πολύ καλύτερα. Δε λέω είμαι σίγουρη θα έχει στιχαρες, άλλα μουσικά κούρασε πολύ

Extremely boring and depressing album. Easy one to fall asleep to.

I know this album is “good” but I couldn’t get into it

Sun Forest

Also.. meiner Meinung nach hat dieses Album nicht verstanden wie emotionen funktionieren. Aber es kann auch an mir liegen

I usually really dig Nick and his Seeds but this album just leaves me flat. I don’t understand why, and I can’t explain it. But there it is.

I like early Nick Cave- it’s nostalgic as we listened to it at the knitting store I worked at in high school. But this 17th album (!!!)- I found it hard to listen to. It’s dramatic for sure.

More of an hour-long elegy than an album. Very sad and poetic, but next to no musical merit.

Easily the worst of his so far

Not for me

Did not like this. This was just really hard to sit through tbh, and not because of the themes here. I get what this album is about and appreciate the effort, however it connects to me in no way. There's really not much to say here. I feel bad giving it a 1, cause it is trying to create a really imersive experience of the artist. So I'll compromise on a 2 purely for that reason. But it truly is repetitive and lacks a punch to really connect with me. Fav Track: ???

Listening to Nick Cave always feels like fucking work. Like I have to get ready before listening, and give it my full attention. And I just don’t need that on an album about his dead son

I thought it was fine until it wasn’t and then I realized how constantly droning and depressing the whole album was. Maybe there are better Nick Cave albums but this one really wasn’t to my liking

'& you're sitting at the kitchen table / Listening to the radio.' The difference between a record like this & Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is substantial but not all that meaningful, i.e., this one's a failure of a success whereas the latter is a failure of a failure. But failure is failure, however you want to cut it, & Ghosteen embraces prog dimensions far more than I can take, even if Cave demonstrates a believable penchant for the ballad form & often 'sings his heart out.' Don't call it mystical, magical, or spiritual, it's really just Christianity for a Christendom that ought to be obsoleted. Sure, there are moments of beauty ('Night Raid'), but the ethereality is no more than the pangs of his religiosity. Tom Waits & Bruce Springsteen do better.

This has got to be one of the most boring albums I've ever listened to. It's like 70 minutes long and is basically just a guy reading poems over a theremin

im so sick of this nick cave bullshit

WHAT IS THIS THINGS OBSESSION WITH NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS I HATE IT 😭

Definitely an emotional record with the backstory and you can hear it in Nick's vocal delivery, but I'm just not vibing with it. I'm starting to think Nick Cave is just so aggressively not for my taste. Some beautiful piano though.

A pretty good album, I liked Bright Horses and Galleon Ship the most. Wasn’t that big a fan of a couple songs that were more talking than signing.

Overwrought AND boring.

4/10

Dark and moody but also kind of boring.

Fue lindo de escuchar, pero no hizo en mí el impacto que pareciera que busca generar. Lo sentí más bien como una recopilación de poesías recitadas con música de fondo más que como un todo integrado en canciones. ↑: Waiting for You, Ghosteen ↓: Night Raid, Ghosteen Speaks, Leviathan, Hollywood

Aims for heartfelt, too often hits boring.

I don’t like Nick Cave at all. It’s a unique sound but it’s such a chore to listen to it.

there were some real moments of beauty in here but i found myself unable to care about a lot of it. and it felt a bit corny at times? i can name an album with a similar style of writing that i liked more because it felt like it wasn't taking itself as seriously. is what i mean fave track: sun forest

Somewhat meh. But that is better than pretty much everyone else's meh. 2.5/5

i hate spoken word poetry. like now i just want to listen to Spelling Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: no 2.3

It's another Nick Cave album. Oh Boy

Wasn’t ready for this one. It was heavy, deep and just a lot sounded the same. Tough getting through it other than a couple songs.

Fine but I was mostly just bored

Not as bad as previous records. On the boring side

The album have a heavy sad energy i wouldn't listen to it again 3.77/10 I read its about his kid who died me personally I dont like sad songs

A tough listen. He’s clearly devastated over the loss of his son (who wouldn’t be). I wouldn’t listen to it again

Though I am a big fan of the Birthday Party and 80s and 90s Nick Cave, his recent sad and pensive era doesn't interest me at all.

On a loosing streak woohoo! Had some lcd sound system yesterday and this is alot of the same. I liked some older nick cave somewhat at least. It gets worse with age though. This one i thought was pretty bad. The talk singing is abysmal. I really really hate it. And I dont care about lyrics so I really have nothing to gain from listening to this. And the music sucks too. Its minimal and just plain uninteresting from start to finish. So there really isnt anything for me here. Just a wash all around. I get it if this is your thing. Its not artisticly bankrupt or anything. Its just doing all the things i dont appreciate. I get nothing from anything here. If you do then im happy for you but for me it doesn't have any worth

Instead of giving you a review on yet another average Nick Cave album, here’s a list of notable artists who have less albums on this list than he does (a whopping FIVE): Stevie Wonder Prince Miles Davis Pink Floyd Radiohead R.E.M Metallica Black Sabbath The Cure Madonna Marvin Gaye Kate Bush Joni Mitchell Fiona Apple And COUNTLESS others. What was the author of this book on??

The inspiration behind this album is sad and I feel bad for Nick Cave. However, this is quite droning and dull to me.

Rock, 2019 -> 2

This is a hard album to criticize but, with all sympathy to its author, I just don’t care for it.

Когда на альбоме есть композиции по 15 минут, то ничего хорошего от него не жди. Крайне нудный эмбиент с вокалом

Not into ambient.

Second Nick Cave in a handful of days. This one didn’t work for me. I respect what it is, but for listening enjoyment I found it too long, too slow, and a bit too heavy and dramatic. I struggled to keep my attention on it and not fall asleep frankly. 2.5/5

Yap

I love nick cave and the bad seeds but this was a tired ass album if you ask me. Felt like he was trying to do a black star but didn’t have the conviction. Every track felt sick of itself at some point

I wanted to like this more because it’s basically a good ambient album but with Nick cave talking over it and I love ambient music but god he really doesn’t do wonders for it

Too slow and quiet which is strange because that is what I like.

Wow c'était NUL

not entirely my thing is it 5/10

on ronfle

Faut aller se faire foutre Nick cave, comment ça 14 minutes le dernier son !? C'était mid comme d'hab (quand même mieux que Costello) mais par esprit de protestation ça sera 2

I loved the instrumentals but the vocals killed it for me

2 not for me

This is ... fine but not for me. I like the cover more than the album.

I just can’t get into his singing. He’s creative and all, but the singing (a mix between Elvis and Tom Waits is just too affected. A 2.

Another Nick Cave album. Hurray.

A bit too brooding for me. Was hopeful for the last three songs for some reason, but no.

boring

I researched NC career and he’s a prolific album creator but not for my ears. The operaesque flow isn’t kind to my ears

Not a bad effort per say but it's long, slow, and Nick Cave-y. Not sure exactly what to do with a mourning album, I guess he's trying to do a Leonard Cohen thing and he hired a symphony orchestra so the instrumentation and production is great. But I'm never going to listen to this.

This shit could've just been a poem instead. Bro's just talking over ambient music.

Man, that was a slog. Not really a fan of them to begin with and this is a double album of pain and depression. Beautiful music but depressing subject matter and terrible spoken word style lyrical presentation. Not for me.

Good for film soundtracks but not for a regular listen…at least more tolerable than his murder album

This is better than the murder one but I think I just don't like this vocal style. Never been a big National fan either. 2 for production but just not for me.

I swear this is all the same song. It's like a tone poem by an angsty 16 yr old with a synth.

This was so much more of an uncohesive ramble and I didn't care for it compared to the other Nick Cave albums I've listened to.

hard to shake your ass to nick cave's dead son but whatever

I would have preferred just the instrumental.

149/1001 First listen. This being my third Nick Cave album on the list it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. It all stays in one slow lane for the full length. I don’t really want to be in a place where I’d want to listen to this again. I’m sorry your son died Nick Cave. 4/10

Maybe it's simply Nick Cave fatigue (really, we HAVE to hear FIVE different Nick Cave albums--two of them DOUBLE albums--before we die? But we can skip every Warren Zevon album?!), or maybe it's simply how relentlessly downbeat every single song here is. This was very close to an actual painful experience.

Some of the instrumentals were cool but he was so dramatic bruh oh my god

i understand the sentiment but i dont enjoy listening to this

nick cave is just slam poetry read over a generic audiobook piano Nick Cave sucks but this is probably his best work that I've been forced to listen to.

559/1001 😴😴🌑🌑🌑

Found it too boring to continue it after a while.

He’s got a nice voice, but so full of sorrow

for some obnoxious ‘real music enjoyer’ from like 2006 this would be a life changing experience

Meh cmon man, this shouldn’t be on here, you could do like 3-4 of their 80s albums on here before this

I personally find some songs a little "bering“. The intros are pretty long and many songs sound really similar.

This was kind of a weird one. At first I thought that I was going to like it as the music was kind of haunting. But as it ent on, it became difficult to tell one song from the next…too much of the same thing. Two stars.

bleh. probeert heel erg episch en tragisch te zijn maar komt gewoon ERG pretentieus over. just drags on and on and on

Interesting parts, very depressing. Drags on especially the second disc Standout song: Bright horses

This album is a combination of everything I dislike on songs, specifically the talking. However, the lyrics are deep and a bit thought provoking and when the choir like parts start playing it tickles my brain just right. Being told the story of this album and how it’s different the any other album by him because of a tragedy makes this album stand out more to me. But this album is definitely not one I’m listening to again.

Halfway through this album I was ready to give it one star, and leave it at that. That is until I started actually reading on the of this album, and man... it's downright depressing. I try not to let the context of the album influence my ranking, but in this case without the story the album just doesn't hit the mark. In this album Caves seems to be channeling his inner Leonard Cohen, and not really in an effective or appealing way to me. I thought the stronger songs of the first part were "Night raid", parts of "Sun forest", and "Leviathan", but this is more than offset by how the album feels so much longer than its already too long 68 minute runtime, and how the second part endlessly floats away. Even after reading that songs like "Hollywood" are much shorter than the original recordings, I kept wishing that most of the album had been left off of the studio album. There's a definite disappointment here, and it certainly doesn't make me want to seek out the earlier albums in this trilogy, though I actually did like "Skeleton Tree" when I listened to it a few years back. I feel guilty giving only two stars to this album, especially given how much of it revolves around the untimely death of his son years earlier, and how this dramatically affected the way he approached his music, but this album just didn't do it for me. Did I need to listen to this before I die? No, but I do think this album is a profound statement o loss and grief and others would.

It’s giving slam poetry at a drum circle

that was depressing

not my style

Too spacey n slow. Nice songwriting n that, just not my vibe

I always have this problem with Nick Cave. I really like him as a person, and his music and lyrics can be hauntingly beautiful, but I also find it impossible to listen to except in very small doses. It's too subdued and slow and I feel like I might fall into a coma. It's also quite a lot of the same sound over and over again.

This was long and tedious. Was there a point to it?

Leviathan feels especially self-indulgent on a generally pretty self-indulgent album. We've really been put off Nick Cave, possibly because he has somehow got FIVE albums listed on 1,001 albums, which really just does not feel deserved. Perhaps that clouds our ability to judge this album fairly, but it was not for us.

Call me a basic bitch, but I prefer my music to be less atmospheric. There is nothing wrong with this but it felt like I was watching a slow tv drama musical.

okay o children man let’s go -kinda long -first song ain’t giving me hope -okay what is this it’s giving christian music -BRO YAWNFEST -okay wait galleon ship the instrumental is giving stranger things im lowkey emo this is good im sad -okay this song is beautiful why is it reminding me of stranger things ending im gonna kms -wait ghosteen speaks is kinda good too -wait why is ghosteen lowkey byler and WOLFSTAR CODED LIKE COME ON -lots of lows with a few highs

Honestly the album is beautiful, I am just rarely in a mood for this type of melancholy.

This is Phoebe Bridgers for middle aged ppl

Really truly I do not understand the Nick Cave glazers. Lyrically it is wonderful, yes, but maybe I’m just old fashioned in that I believe music should sound…yknow…good.

It feels a bit glib scoring someone's almost unimaginable grief out of five but I guess that's the task. It's easy to connect with the human suffering and emotions that drive this record while not necessarily loving the music that carries them. The problem I have with much of Nick Cave's latter-day output is that he and Warren Ellis have struck on a mode of composition that I don't think is anywhere as impressive as they think it is. Everything has a relatively pedestrian synth drone and/or loop, Nick intones his lyrics on top in a predictable way and often some tasteful backing vocals are added. For me it just isn't enough to carry the weight of what they're trying to express on this album and on the songs from previous albums written before Arthur Cave's death. It feels a bit mean writing this but yeah that's the task. I liked the change in intensity from the synths halfway through Hollywood.

I was completely whelmed by that. He has a nice voice, but isn't singing about anything I find interesting, or in a way I find interesting.

I think context is very important in understanding Ghosteen. The album is clearly not meant to be enjoyed or to be listened more than once. It’s a heavy album and extremely solemn. That being said, I still give it this score because at the present moment I can’t find much to resonate to, and I guess I’m pretty fortunate to. Though I’m sure any similar experience would really make me open up to this album. There’s some beauty throughout, but as a whole, it was a difficult listen.

Mostly boring though calming and tranquille enough for me to give it a 2. Barely.

Just not for me at the moment.

I like some Nick Cave, but this isn't great at all. It's not bad by any means, but not for me. Usual melancholy, poorly delivered poetry.

👎

Couldn't wait for it to be over. Did not like it at all.

Alas. Did not manage to like it. Too dark and introspective. I know it's the point.