The Boatman's Call (studio album) by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Year: 1997
Overall rank: 389th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 684 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1997 (10th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1990s (72nd)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (389th)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds bestography

The Boatman's Call is ranked 2nd best out of 28 albums by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is Skeleton Tree which is ranked number 388 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,584.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album bestography « Higher ranked (388th) This album (389th) Lower ranked (497th) »
Skeleton TreeThe Boatman's CallLet Love In

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The Boatman's Call track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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The Boatman's Call rankings

The Boatman's Call collection

The Boatman's Call ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 684 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 684 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
5 days ago javicho07  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,97586/100
 
85/100
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04/26/2024 04:35 radio-head  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 48181/100
 
65/100
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04/20/2024 21:05 Tuur  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 93167/100
 
55/100
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04/19/2024 02:00 ScrumpyArbuckle  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,13278/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
04/09/2024 13:28 robtinkham  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 54886/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 81.0/100, a mean average of 80.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

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The Boatman's Call comments

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Rating:  
80/100
From 02/07/2023 21:28
There are better Nick Cave albums than this but it does have its moments however which stand out as some of his greatest. The two big songs on here are probably my favourite Cave has ever made. Both In My Arms and People Ain't No Good just work so well in the style he was going for on this album and the choruses just get stuck in your head. I find myself singing these songs days after finishing the record. He is definitely going for a more ballad sort of style on here and for me it doesn't work as well as his other styles. It feels too slow at times and in my opinion there is a few skippable tracks on here. With that being said I still enjoy the atmosphere of the music and Cave's lyrics and vocal are as strong as ever. Overall, this isn't a personal highlight of his career for me but it is one that I enjoy revisiting when I do and has some outstanding moments.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/17/2022 09:31
Album Rating: 87.92
(1,055/12)

1.Into My Arms. 94
2.Lime Tree Arbour. 91
3.People Ain't No Good. 95
4.Brompton Oratory. 81
5.There Is A Kingdom. 96
6.(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For? 78
7.Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere? 96
8.West Country Girl. 74
9.Black Hair. 86
10.Idiot Prayer. 99
11.Far From Me. 88
12.Green Eyes. 77
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/27/2021 22:44
More piano and ballad based than a lot of his other albums. But I've never heard a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album I didn't like. He's a true legend of the gothic croon. 'There is a Kingdom' & 'Idiot Prayer' being my track picks
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/20/2021 19:11
Sombrio, mas bem palatável. Gothic pop...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/12/2020 16:48
Just hearing this in 2020 - almost hymn like songs. Not heard any other albums from him but based on this I will follow up on his albums
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/06/2020 12:21
Just so beautiful. Not a dud song. Not even any songs below perfection.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 03/15/2020 10:49
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -7 votes (1 helpful | 8 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/13/2019 05:02
Love laid bare. Cave makes his own blood on the tracks or maybe blood in the water would be more apt.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/21/2017 22:26
I take back my previous comment: while still not as good as Let Love In, this is a beautiful album and probably my second or third favourite by him.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
40/100
From 08/09/2017 00:15
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (1 helpful | 4 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1997
1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. Homogenic by Björk
3. Either/Or by Elliott Smith
4. The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse
5. Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spiritualized
6. Perfect From Now On by Built To Spill
7. F♯ A♯ ∞ (LP Version) by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
8. Urban Hymns by The Verve
9. The Colour And The Shape by Foo Fighters
10. The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
11. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One by Yo La Tengo
12. The Mollusk by Ween
13. The Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy
14. Blur by Blur
15. Buena Vista Social Club by Buena Vista Social Club
16. Time Out Of Mind by Bob Dylan
17. Homework by Daft Punk
18. Dots And Loops by Stereolab
19. Mogwai Young Team by Mogwai
20. Portishead by Portishead
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