It was also the kind of landmark record that can be very difficult to
follow. Cave and his band, the Bad Seeds, released their next studio album in
2001, "No More Shall We Part," a dense, intricately complicated record that had
a few brilliant moments, but for the most part felt overworked, overthought, and
stale. Last year came "Nocturama," a sloppy, indifferently written record that
replaced overthinking with thoughtlessness and was easily the worst that Cave
had ever made. It began to look as though "The Boatman's Call" might have marked
not only the highpoint of Cave's career but also the beginning of its rapid
decline.

Earlier this year, I met with Cave as he prepared to release his two-CD
record set -- "Abattoir Blues" and "The Lyre of Orpheus." He spoke at length
about the progression from "The Boatman's Call" to the present, and while he
didn't, in so many words, say that his last two records were bad, his tone --
and his inability to even remember one of the titles -- made it clear that his
esteem for them may be as limited as mine.