Rolling Stone (5/10/01, p.84) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...The best of these tracks are simple, lush torch songs....he can still weave bolts of colloquial clarity into the velvet tapestry that take your breath away."

Q (5/01, p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A foreboding piece of work....this is a flamboyantly musical record that creates the perfect backdrop for Cave's theological, metaphysical musings....never less than utterly riveting."

Alternative Press (6/01, p.70) - 3 out of 5 - "...Where once Cave roared, now he quavers; where once he sighed, now he croons....Sadly grandiose piano ballads have rarely sounded so visual..."

Magnet (12-1/02, p.56) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2001".

Magnet (6-7/01, p.82) - "...A total triumph..."

The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #14 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001".

Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) - Ranked #17 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001".

Mojo (Publisher) (4/01, p.104) - "...As urgent and vital as Cave has ever been....an incredible summation of a singular career..."

NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) - Ranked #20 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001".

NME (Magazine) (3/31/01, p.30) - 8 out of 10 - "...A beatific page-turner of a record which yeilds a rich new tapestry of treasures with each repeat reading..."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.83) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Having found a new sonic intensity through restraint, the expanded Bad Seeds hit upon a different way of infusing the records with the theatrics of yore, while Cave filled the gaps with a regained lyrical weight..."