Product Description

LET LOVE IN is a powerful but somewhat schizophrenic effort. It alternates between frenzied tales of decadence a la TENDER PREY, and stately, Leonard Cohenesque ballad of the sortfound on HENRY'S DREAM and THE GOOD SON. The one common thread, as always, is the unrelenting horror Cave takes such delight in presenting in his lyrics. From the morbid funeral setting of the gospelly "Lay Me Low" to the sexual abuse scenarios of the driving, profoundly disturbing "Do You Love Me?" LET LOVE IN is not for the timid. The album's highlight iseasily the understated, subtly syncopated "Red Right Hand",a tale of a satanic figure, with appropriate horror-film backing track. LET LOVE IN itself is the audio equivalent of aparticularly engrossing, ultimately unnerving horror film.

Track Listing

1. Do You Love Me
2. Nobody's Baby Now
3. Lover Man
4. Jangling Jack
5. Red Right Hand
6. I Let Love In
7. Thirsty Dog
8. Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore
9. Lay Me Low
10. Do You Love Me

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1557 in Music
• Released on: 1994-12-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ten or so albums into their careers, most artists have subsided into laziness, self-parody or witless second-guessing of the current musical climate. It is entirely in keeping with the wilfulness that has characterised Cave's career that at roughly that point he should start making his very best work. Let Love In is a masterpiece. It sounds both like a summation of everything Cave and his peerless band of virtuosi The Bad Seeds have ever done well--string-laden ballads, gothic blues, brooding gospel-tinged rock & roll--and a cohesive collection in its own right. "Do You Love Me?" might even be the single best thing Cave and The Bad Seeds have ever come up with: he's passionate, literate and funny; they are muscular, sensitive and menacing. --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews

One of God's Sorrier Creatures
I discovered Nick Cave properly after seeing his name appearing in random and varied places - singing with Johnny Cash, on a free magazine compilation CD, on a Jools Holland song... when I bought Cash's American III and heard Mercy Seat, that was the final straw. Away I went to YouTube to listen. And I wasn't disappointed. I went off to buy albums - strting with Boatman's Call, it was good but not the side of Nick Cave I had been intrigued by. Then Murder Ballads and, ecstatically discovering he had a new CD out, Dig! Lazarus Dig! and barely a week ago form today, I bought Let Love In along with 2 other albums. From experience, buying albums together usually means I don't get to know thm well enough, or the songs seem to blur together. Not so on this one.

Let Love In seems more refined than Dig, obviously more intense than Boatman's Call, and more messy and wild than Murder Ballads - all of these of course being qualities that only the likes of Cave could make into 'good points'. A rundown of tracks:

Do You Love Me? - Catchy but glum, a hypnotically dark tale of sinister goings-on with children apparently in Brazil, here from the perspective of the 'customer'. As ever Cave captures his character very well, even verging on sympathising with him at points.

Nobody's Baby Now - Lyrically I find similarities to Into My Arms. Musically a bit more busy, but not massively. AGain, a song you will remember.

Loverman - A very Cave-like sinister verse, with a violent and insane chorus, and lyrics only Nick could write...

Jangling Jack - Delightfully loud and silly and dark and violent. The story is intriguing and imagery vivid, but the humour and cinematography that make Cave & his Seeds stand out shines out here.

Red Right Hand - you've heard enough. Eerie solos, syncopation, more musical cinematography in this song, and after the shouty Jangling Jack a very subdued and quiet vocal performance. As epic as any 2-part 5-hour film.

I Let love In - The title track is a fairly traditional song lyrically and musically (at least for Cave) yet is nevertheless unique. Quite a good song to sing along to... just watch out for the unsettling lyrics come the 3rd verse...

Thirsty Dog - Musically similar to the aggressive Jangling Jack, but definitely not a copy or a filler. The chorus is a repetitive, almost chant-like minor-key shout of "I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry".

Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore - One of those songs where the vocal performance makes oyu think the character isn't quite convinced of what he is singing. It ain't gonna rain anymore now that my baby's gone, he says, but he sings it like he's trying to convince himself through his own tears. And, of course, failing miserably.

Lay Me Low - a fantastically dreary song with a slow pace that draws you into Cave's observations of what will happen when he himself dies - his work being seen in a different light, informative six-page features and relatives spilling the beans on long-gone lovers, for example.

Do You Love Me? (part 2) - Part 2 seems slower than the first. It is pretty much the same song, but from the perspective of the child. Very chilling stuff.

Overall, not a bad track on the album. Recommended if you like (I say it again) musical cinematography, epic songs lined with a multitude of characters, dark humour, catchy songs and amazing musicality all round.

Since 1992
My first Nick Cave record was Henry's Dream, best birthday gift ever big brother, and second was Let love in. I do not have the gift in writing to express my gratitude that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have given us the opportunity to listen to their wonderful work. Artistically, you will not find any better craftmanship than this.

If there were just one album ,this is the one.

Exceptional
I don't think I have ever heard an album better than this - I have had it for three years and I still listen to it more than any other. It's dark punk undertones and amazing melodies make it worth listen after listen.

Not just Nick Cave at his best, but one of the finest moments in rock history. His later stuff is not bad, but this mid-career moment is unbeaten