Nick Cave

The centerpiece of this DVD is a 90-minute concert by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, performing live in Lyon, France, in the summer of 2001 during a European tour in support of the album No More Shall We Part. Its mature and emotive textures dominate this show, which means if you're hoping to see Cave whipping himself into a frenzy while Blixa Bargeld rattles the walls with his guitar, well, you're out of luck. However, this footage proves that, in more subtle form, Cave is still a magnetic and compelling performer and that the Bad Seeds have grown into a singularly gifted ensemble who bring just the right amount of drama and force to Cave's superb songs (with guitarist Mick Harvey and violinist Warren Ellis taking top honors at this performance). Beautifully shot, intelligently edited, and boasting crisp and full-bodied audio, God Is in the House is a fine document of Cave and his collaborators on a good night. Unfortunately, the accompanying documentary No More Shall We Part: The Recording Sessions is an often aimless look at Cave and the Bad Seeds hard at work at London's Abbey Road studio, and while it does offer an insight to the man's creative process in action, it simply isn't very interesting and only loyal fans will feel the need to watch it more than once. It doesn't add much value to this package, and one might say it lessens it. Finally, videos for three tunes from No More Shall We Part are included, and seeing that one isn't likely to see them often on American television, their presence is welcome here, although it's hard to say just what Jarvis Cocker is supposed to be doing in "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow." ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide