Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds: B-Sides and Rarities

CD, Mute Records 2005

Track list: Deanna (Acoustic) - The Mercy Sea (Acoustic) - City Of Refuge (Acoustic) - The Moon Is In The Gutter - Six Strings That Drew Blood - Rye Whiskey - Running Scared - Black Betty - Scum - Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass - The Train Song - Cocks & Asses - Blue Bird - Helpless - God's Hotel - (I'll Love You) Till The End of Tomorrow - Cassiel's Song - Tower Of Song - What Can I Give You? - What A Wonderful World - Rainy Night in Soho - Lucy (Version 2) - Jack The Ripper (Acoustic) - Sail Away - There's No Night Out In The Jail - That's What Jazz Is To Me - The Willow Garden - Ballad of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane - King Kong Kitchee Kitchee Kee Mi O - Knoxville Girl - Where The Wild Roses Grow - O'Malley's Bar - Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum - Red Right Hand (Scream 3 version) - Little Empty Boat - Right Now I'm A-Roaming - Come Into My Sleep - Black Hair (Band Version) - Babe, I Got You Bad - Sheep May Safely Graze - Opium Tea - Grief Came Riding - Bless His Everloving Heart - Good Good Day - Little Janey's Gone - I Feel So Good - Shoot Me Down - Wing Low - Little Ghost Song - Everything Must Converge - Nocturama - She's Leaving You - Under This Moon

Let's state the obvious first: this is an absolute must-buy collection for anyone who appreciates what Nick Cave has done with the Bad Seeds. There's no Nick Cave solo material, the Bad Seeds are backing him on every track except Time Jesum..., which is done with the Dirty Three (featuring Warren Ellis, a Bad Seed). There are some obvious inferior tracks, who certainly deserve to be left out of the albums, but then again, some b-sides are just excellent. There are also interesting movie soundtrack songs and what not. It would've been pity the miss the acoustic versions of Deanna, The Mercy Seat and City of Refuge, originally published on a bonus 7" in 1990, as they are simply brilliant. And I can't be the only to actually prefer Blixa Bargeld over Kylie Minogue in Where the Wild Roses Grow? *****