Customer Reviews

Best of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

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Although Nick Cave is a definite album artist, and also not someone with numerous hits, an album like this is needed because he has a large catalog and all of his albums are good. Certainly one could complain that a song is missing here or there, but, all things considered, this is really a fine compilation. It isn't arranged chronologically, but this actually makes for a more cohesive listen, as they are arranged for effect, and the album's general sequencing of ballad/rave-up/ballad/rave-up is very effective indeed. Would you really want the album to start with From Her To Eternity, and close with (Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For? I think the songs are chosen well, and most of the major ones are represented. Let's take it album by album:

From Her To Eternity - This album was a masterpiece, but the title track is the only song that belongs on a compilation like this. Kudos.

The Firstborn Is Dead - Tupelo is the necessary track, and one of Cave's all-time classics. It's here in an edited form, but that was necessary to fit it on the album. Kudos.

Kicking Against The Pricks - Although this album is uniformly excellent, it was an all covers affair, and the songs are not Cave's. It was skipped over for this collection. No bones.

Your Funeral, My Trial - Here we get my first quibbles with the track selection. Where the hell is Sad Waters? Many people consider this to be Cave's best song ever. It should have been included. The Carny... yes, of course; a great and necessary track. Stranger Than Kindness, now, I have always found this to be one of Cave's most overrated tracks, but it's a mainstay in his live set to this day, and appears on this album. It's good, yes, but nothing special. Maybe it's the fact that Cave didn't write it. I would've preferred Sad Waters in its place.

Tender Prey - This is considered by many people to be Cave's best album, and representing it here are two of his finest songs ever. The Mercy Seat... what more can be said? Of course it's an edit here, but we can't have everything. Deanna is, of course, present as well. Kudos.

The Good Son - This ballad-heavy album is represented by two fine songs, The Weeping Song, and perhaps Cave's finest ballad of all, The Ship Song. Kudos.

Henry's Dream - Maligned by some fans and by Cave himself, but no one can argue with the inclusion of the extremely beautiful ballad Straight To You in this collection. Kudos.

Let Love In - Red Right Hand, Nobody's Baby Now, and Do You Love Me?... all excellent songs. There are some great songs from this album not included here, but the whole album is excellent. You should buy it as well. Kudos.

Murder Ballads - This is not an album that can be easily represented by a compilation. The two songs from it included here, Henry Lee and Where The Wild Roses Grow are not the album's best songs, and not representative of it as a whole. However, they were the two singles from the album, and it's most well-known songs. O'Malley's Bar is perhaps the album's standout, but such a song is forever barred from compilation existence (14 minutes of morbid poetry at its best.) One could make a case for Stagger Lee as well, but everybody knew this was as good as we were going to get. A semi-reluctant kudos.

The Boatman's Call - This is one of my favorite albums of all-time, and I could make a case for some of the other songs, but Into My Arms and (Are You)...? were the album's two singles, and two of its best songs. Into My Arms is perhaps my favorite Cave song ever. Kudos.

Overall, my only real gripe is the abscence of Sad Waters. Other than that, I think this is as complete and accurate an assortment as it could possibly be, as long as you stick to one disc. This is not a complete picture, but it gives a fascinating glimpse into the world of one of the most compelling, consistently brilliant, and underrated songwriters of the 80s, 90s, and beyond.

After all these years, this remains my only Nick Cave cd but I still play it frequently whenever I need to cry, brood, or otherwise get freaked out...

Nick Cave is an acquired taste, often it's too much for me to handle, but it's darn good...many of Nick's songs seem to be possessed with a sickness, very gothic tunes for murders, cynical strangers, lonely souls, and shadowy devils seem to be his standard...

That said, on with the basic layout...

You get Nick's most known songs...the spooky, haunting horrofests that travel into the most morbid regions of your psyche..."Red Right Hand" is by far the most accessible of these as well as the most accessible song period out of his whole catalog, and no wonder...it is a brilliant mixture of 60s-style organs and arrangements and his smoky croon, telling the methods and plans of Mr. Lucipher himself...it seems to act as an omen more than a celebration. "Tupelo" is pure insanity reflecting apocalyptic imagery while staying away from Biblical judgement seeming to commend the fact that evil will prevail with his saying that the bird will carry "the burden of Tupelo", the music genuinely unique, a feirce rumble and growling demon vocal that only they could pull off. "Stranger Than Kindness" is a wandering trudge thru the remnants of a world that has ceased to exist, reflected in both the sparce country-style rock and the ghostly lyrics. "The Carny" is another unforgettable classic, it [pulls] you into its twisted Flannery O' Connor-esque cavalcade of cicrcus freaks with its dueling vocals and enchroaching 'carnival passing thru the nine gates of hell' music, it gives you a sense of supernatural karma and peril as the dead carny comes back from the grave to get revenge on the ones that abandoned him. While not the scariest, "From Her To Eternity" is certainly frightening, the cathartic guitars and deranged singing and pounding piano clashing together in spasmodic energy to portray this man's devotion to a girl he is obsessed with...

...the freight doesn't end there. It continues with no less effective but still notable titles such as "Do You Love Me?" (wild story of a doomed relationship caught behind howling choruses and spiralling road music), "The Mercy Seat" (frantic, intense, wonderful epic about falsely-accused man in jail getting further and further towards the electric chair, the slamming march-style music complets this effect), and "Deanna" (a Beach Boys song on acid, as some other reviewer noted elsewhere, unlike other CAve songs this celebrates the disturbing violence rather than convict or simply observe it)...

THe other half of CAve's collection is devoted to morose love ballads drenched in sadness, despair, and bliss...there's my favorite, "Strait To You", a Dylanesque signal from the approaching apocalypse that promises his girlfriend that he'll be there even when the chariots of angels are colliding; "Nobody's Baby Now", one of his most down-to-Earth creations that serves as a relatively simple tribute to a deceased lover; "Where The Wild Roses Grow", a somnambulant rose-coloured sway that is more of a sign that "all beauty must die" as the protagonist murders his love; "Into My ARms", another simpler ballad that gives its credit to singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen; the mellow dirge "Henry Lee" with Polly Jean Harvey on vocals, telling the unsettling tale of betrayal and murder like the Roses song; "The Ship Song" is one of the more accessible, another Cohenesque track that reflects a complete apathy and bliss with the state of things; "Are You THe One I'm Waiting For?", with its loungy act and tender vox, is also great. All the aforementioned songs could've been released collectively as an album of love songs, which I think was already done with THE BOATMAN's CALL. The only other mellow song which doesn't fit this colletion of romance is "The Weeping Song" which trades dialogue from a father and his son, trying to find out the nature of the sorrow that has plagued Cave's mind for so many years.

All the pretentious reviewing aside, this is mixed bag of all the many chaotic emotions of Nick Cave & tHe Bad Seeds, finding their own place in your ears and mind before the 70-some minutes is complete. An unstable and haunting journey, yes, but one worth traveling on. So sit back, breath in the smell of coffins from the booklet, and watch the world's bridges be burned.

It's late. You take a shot of whisky. You find yourself looking around the bar, bits and pieces of memories past float though your mind.

You see her face. You smell her hair. Part of you wants to cry out for her love, but that last shot is now whispering to you, telling you to forget her. Maybe you don't have a choice.

Nick Cave is the preacher who not only speaks TO us, but who speaks FOR us, as well - for the late night romantics. "Straight to You", "Nobody's Baby Now", "Into My Arms" and "The Ship Song" all reach in and touch something deep inside.

"Where the Wild Roses Grow" is one of the most haunting and UNUSUAL love songs I've ever heard - a murderous love story. "The Weeping song" is an epic tale.

I've always been surprised that not many people have heard of Nick Cave. That's a shame...

I'm always very reluctant to introduce myself to artists through best of cds. It's a survey and I know that if I'm buying a survey that's probably because I'm not interested enough in the artist to get full albums. Nothing wrong with that but I like to be damn sure before I walk down that road that I'm not missing out on something better when I do it.

Nick Cave is a case where I'm glad I didn't go the best of route. He's had such a long career with definate shifts in style that a single disc can't even really give you a proper introduction to all that Nick does. Which is of course what this cd tries to do. It's all over the place. If you're interested in getting into Nick I would recommend just get an album. I know there's an intimidating number of them and honestly alot of them are the sort that don't hit you right away. So if you're still interested I'd recommend starting with Henry's Dream or Murder Ballads if you'd like the more rocking Nick Cave. The Boatman's Call (or as I like to call it "Nick Cave in Love") is the softer more lyrical alternative if you, you know, like your violent references less obvious.

Highlights from:

Henry's Dream
--Papa Won't Leave You Henry
--I Had a Dream Joe
--When I First Came To Town

Murder Ballads
--Stagger Lee
--O'Malley's Bar
--Where the Wild Roses Grow

The Boatman's Call
--Idiot Prayer
--West Country Girl
--People Ain't No Good


So, in summary if you want a survey cool. This isn't a bad one, but if you (like me) know buying a best of means you'll never buy another disc by the band, and think that might not be a good thing, go ahead and check out an album. You won't regret it (unless you do).

I first became familliar with Nick Cave through an article in Entertainment Weekly. I found him to be a very interesting person and I seriously considered getting into his music, but I didn't buy one of his album until about a week ago.

"The Best Of The Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds" is a 16 track collection of some of the most amazing songs I've ever heard. Cave's lyrics more often than not approach the same level of complexity and brilliance as those of Dylan and Lennon. Songs like "Red Right Hand", "Tupelo", the achingly beautiful "Into Your Arms" and many other songs here are some of the most vivid musical experiences one can ever have. Other standouts include the wild "From Her To Eternity", the eerie "Stranger Than Kindness" and the heartwrenching "Nobody's Baby Now".

The liner notes makes for a good read and the sound quality is great. Definitely a must for fans of good music.

I never understood Nick Cave's fixation with his uproaring, cheerful sounding song "Deanna", but it is the opening track on an album which is called "The best of Nick Cave" so apparently I must be missing something crusial here.
More understandable choises follow, like the Godfearing thunder of "Tupelo", the instant spoken word classic "Red right hand" and of course Nick's micro-epic tale of a dead horse "The Carny".

A couple of ballads are carefully mixed in, like "Into my arms" and "(Are you) the one I've been waiting for?" from the very overrated "The Boatmans's call", but nothing, I say again, nothing from the sublime "No more shall we part".

More classic songs from the mad preacher catalogue can be found, like "The mercy seat", to me still untouchable, for its message about "good and ungood" and its maniacal tension build-up. There is the omnipresent "The weeping song", which can't be left out of any serious Nick Cave anthology, just as his podium-trasher "From her to etirnity". (Being made an instant classic, partly because of the "live" performance in the movie "Wings of desire")
The real surprise is "Stranger than kindness", not much mentioned where Cave dwellers go, but to me still one of the man's most haunting songs.

But with the inclusion of "Henry Lee" and the cheesy Kylie Minogue duet "Where the wild roses grow" the choises become a little too obvious and less serious. Not only are they really not the best Cave has done in general or on the "Murder ballads" album specifically, they occupy space that should be left open for songs that are infinitely more important. What to think of early Cavian art like "The six strings that drew blood" from "The firstborn is dead" LP, "She fell away" or "Saint Huck"?

The reason for not including these ones are, seeming to me, very simple: these last three songs are, well... let's say... just not so very accessible for any first timer, who might nowadays be a little more straight popmusic orientated. The songs are too experimental, so the editors of the "best of" CD have left those out, knowing that the true fans will remember them and cherish them anyway. A poor excuse.

In the end it's a collection that is perhaps more of a great introduction to the man's vocabulary, than a quintessential "Best of". And, mind you, there is a little difference.

....

I really must say that this is a wonderful introduction to Nick Cave. I was only exposed to his mellower stuff, and thought that Nick Cave's Songs were pretty much in the vein of Into My Arms and Henry Lee types. Was i shocked when i heard Deanna. And Tupelo. I honestly Cringed when i heard him sang the first line of Deanna. Till today, i still never liked the heavier stuff, although i dont think it is too bad, but probably all the heavier songs on these collection would be all i would ever hear from Nick Cave.

Than there are the ballads, which are such a stark contrast to the other songs, often more introspective and sparse in instrumentation. I absolutely adore these.

This is where the compilation works, I would never thought to get Murder Ballads and The Boatman's Call if i had not get this album in the first place, thinking that the Best Of would be sufficient. And to those who like the heavier stuff, than they would most probably prefer Nick Cave's earlier material. Again this compilation serves as a good starting point for which type one prefers. Furthermore, i do like some of Nick Cave's earlier stuff but i would not think of getting a whole album of it. So it's great to have some of these, for eg Mercy Seat and From Her To Eternity (this sounds so sincere) and yes even Deanna(occasionally...

Overall, this compilation is pretty weak...but a good way to get "introduced" to one of the greatest musicians of all time. Misunderstood as they come, Cave has released so many good albums, most of which I've reviewed on here and all of which I own. I felt it was my duty as a fan to go pick up this cd. It doesn't contain enough of his older stuff. Here is what I would consider to be a better collection of 16 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds songs:

From Her to Eternity
The Six Strings That Drew Blood
The Mercy Seat
City of Refuge
Sad Waters
The Weeping Song
Loom of the Land
John Finn's Wife
Straight to You
Jangling Jack
Loverman
Lay Me Low
Into My Arms
Stagger Lee
Brompton Oratory
People Ain't No Good

That's just my opinion. I'd reccommend starting a full Nick Cave collection, beginning with his first cd, rather than buying this "best of."

Nick Cave is a powerful artist who is not afraid to take a risk. Working with bands like Current 93, he has proven himself to be both experimental and versatile as an artist. But I think he might be somewhat imposing as a musical force (this is a good thing for fans!). Staying just out of the limelight, though he is certainly welcome within it, Nick Cave's music is dark and beautiful. I think this album introduces his material well by not simple providing a timeline but a mix of material from several albums with no regard to release date. This is a great first album to get into Nick Cave and a great compilation for the hardened Nick Cave fan.

The best part about this album is that it is that each song is very listenable and approachable. "From Red Right Hand" to "Carny" and from "Her to Eternity" the tracks are all really diverse yet flow very well as an album. The Sounds are dark, dynamic and cool but each has great energy and STRONG emotion.

Overall I think this an album well worth the money. It is one of the best "Best of" albums I have experienced not just for the tracks as individuals but in the great artistry by which the songs are arranged. If you want to get a first Nick Cave Album this is the one and if you have all of the studio albums get this as well you will enjoy it as a great car album or pre-made compilation of Caves work.

--Ted Murena

The first Nick Cave I experienced was when a friend of mine played me the "Where The Wild Roses Grow" and "Into My Arms" singles just after the release of the latter, and I was somewhat blown away by the beauty of both. When "Best Of..." came out, he bought me a copy as a present, and it's still one of the most commonly played discs in my collection, even as my Cave collection has grown. I keep coming back to these 16 tracks - not only are they representative of the very best stuff Cave and the Bad Seeds ever laid down, they're also perfectly arranged. Chronological arrangements are often mistakes, and in the case of Nick Cave, it most definitely would have been.

All good "Best of" albums should have no shortage of highlights, and this is a very good "Best of" album. There is pretty much not a bad song on it - though, initially, the tracks like 'Deanna', 'The Mercy Seat' and 'From Her To Eternity' did nothing for me, as my musical taste has matured I've realised their charms. 'From Her...' is possibly one of the best love songs I've ever heard (in a wierd way), and 'The Mercy Seat' appeals to the literary buff in me, almost a poem in the style of Forbes - this epic contemplation from a man about to die is something that everyone should hear. Similarily, 'Tupelo' - Cave's frightening lyric backed with Barry Adamson and Mick Harvey's primal backing track - is something that has to be heard to be believed.

But it's not all made up of these more aggressive Cave numbers. Tracks like 'Straight To You', 'Nobody's Baby Now', 'Into My Arms' and '(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For' keep the CD going in more ballad-like sections, with the Nick Cave biography (written by Anita Lane) 'Stranger Than Kindness' providing a nice balance between the ballads and the rock. The only song that I would even contemplate removing is 'The Carny', and that only to put 'Saint Huck' in it's place - but then, if 'Saint Huck' had been on there, I'd have wondered at 'Carny's absence instead! You can't have it all, I guess. It's great, anyway.

The real treasure, however, is the section of the CD running from 'Do You Love Me' - one of Cave's finest ever compositions, though I always did prefer part 2 - through to the end of the album. This section contains 'The Mercy Seat' and 'From Her...', but also four more of the best tracks that the group ever recorded. 'Henry Lee' is an paino/acoustic guitar driven duet between PJ Harvey and Cave, a dark reading of a traditional death poem. 'The Weeping Song', another duet - this time with Blixa Bargeld - reads like something deep and meaningful in the right mood, but at other times is simply a magnificent example of the Bad Seed's ingenuity as rock masters - Mick Harvey's xylophone is magnificent. 'The Ship Song' is still, to this day, my favourite track by Cave - the raw sentiment of it is very personal, rather than the heavy metaphors he tends to surround himself with. And 'Where The Wild Roses Grow' is, of course, a real surprise, with Kylie Minogue really proving her chops as a performer. Who knew she could actually sing?

This album is not just a retrospective - Mick Harvey chose the tracklist, and it's evident that he's thought out an actual ALBUM, and not just a compilation. Some might mourn the absence of tracks like 'I Had A Dream, Joe' and 'Loverman' - both fine songs that deserve a place - but ultimately, these are the best 16 songs the Bad Seeds ever lay down, and they are arranged as if this was an original studio album. This is what "Best of" compilations are all about.