Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

So - which is the best pressing/mastering? This 2014 repress or the 2008 original? Have it on CD and the dynamics, separation, soundstage etc are exceptional. I tend to buy 1st pressing on vinyl also for collectible value but not too fussed about this - just want the best sounding copy.

There's a scene out of the movie Reservior Dogs where Laurence Tierney's character looks at his band of criminal miscreants and states "alright ramblers, let's get ramblin'". This is exactly what I thought when I got a copy of this record. After the warning signs on their last double album, the Grinderman releases revitalized the creative process of Nick and his bad bad seeds. Gone are the cascading almost hymnal influences; the foul stench of AM radio has been eradicated.

What we have here is a Bad Seeds record which is decidedly lo-fi. The arrangements are stripped down, groovy little tunes with Nick being a very dirty man with his lyrics. I can see him in his suit strutting under the glare of studio monitors with their dials turned to eleven.

Another thing to note would be the experimental nature of some of the songs on Dig, Lazurus, Dig! namely "Night of the Lotus Eaters" and "More News from Nowhere". The Bad Seeds have not been this bare-bones and dare I say it, smacked out sounding, since their debut From Her to Eternity. If this is the blues as interpreted by these boys then I want to hear them explore it further. That Blixa Bargeld was not involved in the recording of these two songs in particular surprises me, they have all the tension his contributions to the Bad Seeds ever conjured.

Dig, Lazurus Dig I find myself listening to once and then sitting in silence afterwards for a bit, digesting just how much it has shot out of my speakers. This is an intense record, dear readers. Nick has dropped his incessant need to write love songs and talk about his fatherhood, at last. His voice sounds lowered again, almost to a growl. Unsettling is a word I'd use to describe this new album. The contentedness of maturity has apparently not agreed with our Australian man of the word. He's on the loose again, everyone.

Reviewed 2008

Three copies of it, and all with plenty of unacceptable pops on side C. Sides A and B are excellent, though!

Had this on cd for years and loved it, baught it on vinyl and loved it even more. Vinyl is flat, crackle free and sounds great to these ears (Night of the lotus eaters sounds phenominal). Agree with other reviewer, why leave side four blank though, what a waste!

Agree with the other comments that this is a very good sounding pressing, once the records are cleaned. Unfortunately, they come in paper sleeves that leave a lot of debris. Even after cleaning there was a few clicks and pops.

Awesome pressing! The vinyl is flawless: dead silent, flat, and clean. The dynamics are really good on this cut as well (not sure about the US release). Highly recommended!

My copy fits all identifiers here, except it's not a 45 RPM record.

Looks like a new run of these hit the stores, at least in Norway. Everything looks like it matches with this release, 2014 is the latest year mentioned on the packaging. Side C has some dimples close to the outer edge, but I can't hear any problems, at least on my setup. I'm happy that I managed to get this one on vinyl finally.

What a waste of vinyl! D side should be for the Night Of the Lotus Eaters (Extended Version) + 3 singles B sides from this era :(

Am I really the first person to review this pressing 6 years later?? Well for anyone who is curious, this pressing is outstanding. Seriously perfect. Huge sounding, no surface noise - just beautiful. This is my favorite Nick Cave album and this pressing absolutely does it justice. A+