Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – B-Sides and Rarities

Three discs full of Nick Cave for $30 could never be a bad deal, but I think that your money to satisfaction ratio would probably be bettered by a purchase of Abattoir Blues or Murder Ballads. I probably just had my expectations raised too high by a few b-sides albums that were easily as good as the rest of the bands output by the likes of Muse and System of a Down.

There are a few real gems in this collection, such as a stellar acoustic performance of 'The Mercy Seat' and 'Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum' and 'Little Ghost Song', a pair of sad, haunting songs. Most of the tracks I like come from the third disc, betraying my preference for Cave's later stuff. Most of the other enjoyable songs are silly but entertaining tracks that keep things lively, such as 'There's No Night Out In The Jail', which is pretty much about what the title says, and 'God's Hotel', which has a lot of fun with variations on repetitions of the things that you don't find in heaven.

But the majority of songs on this collection are b-sides for a reason. Even the good ones lack that vital coincidence of design that would make them as transcendently beautiful as the best tracks of Cave and co's other albums.