Customer Reviews

B-Sides & Rarities

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Twenty-one years in the making and totaling fifty-six tracks spread over three cds, "B-Sides and Rarities" sounds nothing like many other uneven career overviews. To Cave's credit it sounds more like one REALLY long album. A similar collection from a lesser artist would likely have all the hallmarks that a set like this would usually entail, the raw primordial early tunes leading up to the more refined but often overproduced later material. But with an artist of Cave's caliber, no such problem arises. As his egalitarian concept was formed early on, there is no obvious sea change to be found on the album. Despite its chronological order, it is still difficult to distinguish the earliest recordings from the more recent material.

Whether delivering gutter punk tirades, gospel hymns, folk blues, classic covers, torch songs or orchestrated pop ballads, The Bad Seeds acquit themselves without irony, despite the seemingly incongruous mix of genres. Cave's tendency to extol both the dark and light side of human existence is well documented and rarely so cohesively as it is presented here.

Almost all of the tracks are, as the title indicates, B-sides and are excellent studio recordings, with only a multi-part suite of Radio Broadcasts on "O'Malley's Bar" falling somewhere below the line audio quality wise. An added bonus is the inclusion of numerous compilation and soundtrack pieces that one would have to drop a fortune on to collect in their entirety. An orchestral version of "Red Right Hand," an acoustic version of "Deanna," and a duet with The Pogues' Shane McGowan on "What a Wonderful World" are highlights. Other than a few one off studio improvisations that go nowhere, the bulk of the collection are fully realized songs that sit comfortably along side their respective album counterparts.

Despite its three hour plus running time, one can actually listen to the entire collection straight through as the diversity of material is strong enough to hold ones interest. Newcomers may want to start investigating with something less daunting, but even the casual fan of Cave's work will find this collection indispensable.

Usually, when a record label released a boxed set, I expect -when it comes to an artist I revere- to spend a large amount of money for those few songs that were unreleased or belonging to EPs I did not buy. In general, I am resigned to the fact that the rarities and occasional collaborations will be few and varying in quality, And I if buy these collections is due to my heart being hostage to my passion for having the complete works of someone I respect.
This could not be farther from the truth, when it comes to this collection. The material selected throughout this 3CD set -by the band's Mick Harvey, by the way- finds Cave and his esteemed Bad Seeds show a wealth of great songs. The quality of what's goes from very good and interesting to superb. Actually, some of these songs are inexplicable exclusions from his albums, given their depth and beauty.
On Disc 1, you get a thorough sample of Cave's fiercer output, when a certain "literate Punk" spirit reigned over the Bad Seeds' material. Selections like "The Moon Is In The Gutter," "Rye Whiskey" -which sways like you might, if you ever drank the stuff- or "The Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass, are great examples of such period.
In addition, there are some rare beauties like the stunning acoustic version of "The Mercy Seat," the tender melody of "The Train Song," the somber "Blue Bird." Also noteworthy are his version of Neil Young's "Helpless" and "Cassiel's Song" from the movie "Faraway, So Close."
Disc 2, in my opinion, is dominated by the mood, if not the songs, from Cave's "Murder Ballads" period, in which the acoustic rendition of "Jack The Ripper," the raucous multi-part "O'Malley's Bar," and "The Willow Garden" and the gorgeous "Where The Wild Roses Grow" with the original guide vocals by Herr Bargeld.
And then comes, to my taste, the best of the three CDs which is infused of Cave's most recent material, ranging from the "The Boatman's Call"s atmosphere of "Little Empty Boat," "Right Now I'm A-Roaming," and the band version of "Black Hair," to the moving outtake of "Sheep May Safely Grace," anticipating the hymn-like ballads of No More Shall We Part."
Speaking of this last mentioned album, if you've been moved by the work contained in it as much as I have, you are in for an abundance of gems. Both, "Grief Came Riding" and "Bless His Ever Loving Heart," are Cave's poetry and melodies at their dramatic peak ("where beauty lies exhausted on the streets").
The great songs don't end there, with Nocturama being represented through the B-sides of several singles. Actually, if you already like Cave's most recent album, you may be further enthralled with it when listening to these songs. "Shoot Me Down" is stunning, and "Everything Must Converge" is the band at their most hopeful, a call to hope that has always been part of Cave's vision side by side with his dark denunciations.
All in all this is superb collection of songs that, to many, weren't known nor recognized. It is a tribute to a great band that three CDs worth of more obscure material can hold such depth of graces.
Whether you are a faithful worshipper already or a curious beginner, this collection is an excellent retrospective of an artist who has written some of the most remarkable material recorded over the last twenty years.
Cave's name does not only deserve to be mentioned along Tom Waits, or even Leonard Cohen -both obvious musical comparisons- but also it must be included in any list you may compile of those singer-songwriters whose music may shape your life.
I can't imagine any other future releases this year that can surpass this one, for reissue of the year.

...and the only thing that keeps this collection from being perfect is the exclusion of a few songs that ought to (in my opinion) have been included. Where is Cave's awesome cover of "Mack the Knife"? How about "Let It Be" and "Here Comes the Sun"? I also greatly miss "To Be By Your Side," a song Cave did for a French movie (which is titled something like "Le Pueple Migrateur," but please don't quote me on that). I also really wish the piano songs from "Secret Life of the Love Song" were included, since that disc is one big long track, and you can't directly access the songs.

Ah, but those are just carps, really. What's here is great ... and there are THREE discs of it!

Disc One begins with an awesome acoustic version of "Deanna." I think my favorite song on this disc is "Rye Whiskey," a Cave arrangement of a traditional song, but there are several standouts, such as "God's Hotel," "(I'll Love You) Till the End of the World," and "What Can I Give You?"

Disc Two has Cave doing a cover of "What a Wonderful World," and while that's an idea that threatens -- in theory -- to tip over into ridiculousness, it's actually quite good; not sufficient to make me (or anyone else) forget Louis Armstrong, but fine in its own right. If you ever wanted to hear Nick doing country music, check out "there's No Night Out in the Jail"; you won;t regret it. The two classics on this disc, though, are "The Ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane" (which is as good a b-side as any I've ever heard) and "Time Jesum Transuentum et Non Revertentum," a marvelously gloomy song that originally appeared as a hidden track on an X-Files-inspired compilaion.

The third disc is easily the best, representing the last four of Cave's albums, three of which are what I would call his best three. And the b-sides aren't much less good, which means that this one disc is better than most bands' greatest hits collections would be. "Little Empty Boat," "Opium Tea," "Grief Came Riding," "Good Good Day," "Everything Must Converge," "She's Leaving You" ... these are all classics. There's not a bum track on the disc, though.

Needless to say, if you're a Cave fan, you HAVE to own this. But if you're not, give this collection a shot, and you may well become a fan.

They may be called B Sides and Rarities but there is nothing sub par about these songs. And even plucked out of different eras and line-ups, they actually form a sort of cohesive, deranged, drunken blues and poetry whole.
There are album offshoots, some unashamedly beautiful like Train Song, acoustic versions and jazzed up remixes of classics, like Red Right Hand, Deanna and Scum, there are cover songs and crazy jam session on a theme, both of which apply to Leonard Cohen's Tower of Song, plus live gems like God's Hotel - just listen to what the band does in the background!
For old faithful, this is a treasure box, even if you thought you had it all. I had almost all of these on CD singles and such, but one was rendered inaccessible by technological progress- the track from the X Files soundtrack; it was hidden before the first song and impossible to play on computer CD players. And it's nice to have the whole collection handy on three CDs.
For new fans this could actually be a great, offbeat introduction to the wonderful world of the Bad Seeds: dark humor and great songwriting, with a touch of inspired insanity, in one cool package. Just sample "The Ballad Of Robert Moore And Betty Coltrane", a three minute Quentin Tarantino movie rolled into a song, and you will be exploring Cave in no time.

One man's refuse is another's gold. This vast and fulfilling collection reveals an inspired artist who mines gems in his sleep. While others are struggling to sell out to the highest bidder, Cave refuses to compromise while constantly blazing new trails of audible ambrosia.

And I thought I had it all! I've become a fairly rabid fan of Nick Cave over the past several years and have eagerly bought and listened to almost everything I am aware that he's done. Then along comes B-Sides and Rarities and I find that there was all kinds of Nick Cave music out there I had no idea about.
There's lots to like, so I'll give a disc by disc rundown on what I like best.
Disc I contains mostly B-sides, but also alternate versions of songs that can be found on his regularly issued CDs. My favorites are: a spare and barren take on Mercy Seat, a hilarious version of Scum, a raucous The Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass, a plaintive rendition of Neil Young's Helpless, the rollicking God's Hotel and what I think is the best song on this disc, Cave's take on Rye Whiskey.
Disc II gets even better than the first. Standouts are Rainy Night in Soho, the hilarious There's No Night Out In The Jail, Where the Wild Roses Grow, a madman's rendition of the epic slaughterfest O'Malley's Bar, and the Scream 3 version of Red Right Hand on which you can immediately identify former bandmate Barry Adamson's involvement. But, the best song is a haunting, mystical, violin-led and Van Morrison-like stunner Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum. If you like Van Morrison and the Nick Cave of his No More Shall We Part period, you will want to hear that one over and over.
Disc III contains more songs in the style developed by Cave from The Boatman's Call and No More Shall We Part to the present. My favorites are Right Now I'm A Roaming; Babe, I Got You Bad; Sheep May Safely Graze; Opium Tea; Everything Must Converge; and the riotous She's Leaving You. While those are excellent, the best song musically and lyrically is Little Empty Boat.
If you are new to Nick Cave, this is an excellent starter set as it covers a wide variety of styles spanning his career with the Bad Seeds. If you are an old fan, then this should bind you to Cave's music even more, even if you are like the reviewer from Slovenia that found this compilation to be old hat. At around twenty bucks almost any place you can find it, its truly a bargain, so order it while its still cheap. I highly recommend it!

This is Nick Cave's very own favourite album by the Bad Seeds, and this also happens to be my favourite album of all time. I purchased these three discs for about 16 dollars, making it my first Nick Cave CD of purchase. I listened to it all, and it was just perfect.

I've bought a lot more Nick Cave albums since then, in which he has turned out to be my number one favourite artist, but i always look back on this one as my ultimate favourite.

The 3-disc compliation of b-sides and rarities are all good enough to be sprawled across his other albums, but at the same time im happy that this compliation was made. There is too many songs to highlight, but stand-outs included the bluesy jam of God's Hotel with great lyrics, the acoustic versions of Deanna, City Of Refuge, The Mercy Seat and Jack The Ripper, a great upbeat tune called Come Into My Sleep, a magnificent cover of Rainy Night In Soho, Sail Away, and so so SO many more.

This album showed me how good music can get. I highly recommend you should buy it, right now.

p.s although this is under a kids review, i'm not a kid

it's better for me that I scribe in french to explain my love of this album. Toute la discographie de Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds en trois albums montés de manière chronologique, les faces B et reprises inédites, des perles de l'artiste le plus grand de ces derrières décennies aver Tom Waits.

Take your time to listen to this CD, do it over a few weeks and it really grows on you, go on treat yourself to a real gem

I have grown to have a high degree of respect for all of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Cave's other projects such as The Birthday Party, movie scripts etc. This collection has grown on me and grown on me for years. I come back to and every single time somethings are apparent I never had noticed before in the music. In these tough and fast times it is nice to know I can go home and listen to their music. Kudos, Cave and crew.