Mute
A quick glance at the tracklisting will reveal the obvious; there have been plenty of singles, 7"records, compilation recordings, and soundtrack appearances from NickCave and the Bad Seeds since they formed in 1983. Another glance willreveal that there's more to this release than just those b-sides orone-off recordings. The inclusion of radio session tracks, unreleasedalternate takes, tribute album songs, and altogether previously unheardpieces have made the near impossible journey of finding all these songsfar easier than it would've been previously. Though I love Nick Caveand the Bad Seeds, I own very few singles by them and have been lesscompelled to go looking for the odd appearances that pop up here andthere (a Neil Young tribute album, the X-Files soundtrack, etc.) and sothis release makes complete and total sense. The first two discs areespecially captivating because they contain roughly 35 tracks ofmaterial I've never had the chance to hear before. Not included aresolo Cave pieces nor Cave guest appearances with other bands (with theexception of "Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum," which wasrecorded with The Dirty Three and "hidden" on the X-Files soundtrack),but that only makes sense seeing how this is billed as a Bad Seedsrelated release. B-Sides from each era of the band's history isrepresented on all three discs, up to and including material recordedduring the Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheussessions. There are raw, maniacal, and completely unhinged songssituated next to some of Cave's signature slow and brooding ballads,but the roughly chronological order of the tunes never sounds toouneven or haphazard. Many of the songs sound as though they belong toone another; "Blue Bird" and a cover of Neil Young's "Helpless" sitbeautifully beside each other before the rough and rumbling "God'sHotel" annihilates the peace and calm of those performances and theentire "What a Wonderful World" single rolls out gently enough, but isthen torn to shreds by an excellent acoustic version of "Jack theRipper." There is a version of "Where the Wild Roses Grow" with BlixaBargeld singing Kylie Minogue's part, a version of "What Can I GiveYou?" with new lyrics, a surprisingly excellent version of "Red RightHand" with Barry Adamson, new orchestral arrangements, and new lyrics,and many other stand-outs all over each disc. The third CD is dividedbetween outtakes and b-sides from The Boatman's Call, No More Shall We Part, and Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus.While this material is less interesting to me than the music on thefirst and second CDs, it is nice having all the songs from the singlesthat were released during that time, as well as a couple extras thatinclude the song "I Feel So Good," which was used for Martin Scorsese'sdocumentary about the blues. There is a wealth of material on thistriple disc set that will be valuable to all but the most obsessive ofcollectors. Even those collectors will find plenty to be happy about.For people like me, this is an outstanding collection of songs that Imay never have had the chance to hear otherwise.
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