Photo by Ben Kaye
The impressive and expansive discography of Nick Cave will be highlighted in an upcoming compilation album. Titled Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 1984-2014, it’s slated to hit shelves on May 5th through Mute/BMG.
Compiled by Cave himself with the help of Bad Seeds founding member Mick Harvey, the release includes live favorites “Stagger Lee” and “The Mercy Seat” and recent beloved cuts “Jubilee Street” and “We No Who U R”. There are also songs which have appeared on film and TV soundtracks, such as Harry Potter selection “O Children” and Peaky Blinders inclusion “Red Right Hand”.
Cave spoke about the LP in a press statement:
“There are some people out there who just don’t know where to start with The Bad Seeds. Others know the catalogue better than I do! This release is designed to be a way into three decades of music making. That’s a lot of songs. The songs we have chosen are the ones that have stuck around, for whatever reason. Some songs are those that demand to be played live. Others are lesser songs that are personal favourites of ours. Others are just too big and have too much history to leave out. And there are those that didn’t make it, poor things. They are the ones you must discover by yourselves.”
Lovely Creatures will be available in four different formats: Standard CD, Triple LP, Deluxe 3CD with DVD and the Super Deluxe Limited Edition package. A collection of previously unseen photos, as well as a series of original essays, comes packaged as part of a limited edition “Super Deluxe” version of the album. Both deluxe editions feature a two-hour DVD comprised of rare and archived live footage.
Lovely Creatures Formats:
Double CD
2 CDs (21 tracks) with booklet
Triple Vinyl
3 Heavyweight 12” vinyl (21 tracks) with a triple gatefold sleeve
Deluxe 3CD & DVD
3 CDs (45 tracks) and two hour DVD featuring live performances, rare footage and interviews with a 48 page book
Super Deluxe 3CD & DVD with Hardcover Book
Box set comprised of 3 CDs and two hour DVD with a hardcover book containing original essays, candid and personal photos taken by the band family and friends, and reproductions of band memorabilia
Lovely Creatures Artwork:
Lovely Creatures Tracklists:
Double CD
CD1
01. Loverman
02. Tupelo
03. Deanna
04. From Her To Eternity
05. The Weeping Song
06. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
07. People Ain’t No Good
08. Higgs Boson Blues
09. Straight To You
10. Where The Wild Roses Grow
CD2
01. Into My Arms
02. Love Letter
03. Red Right Hand
04. The Mercy Seat
05. O Children
06. The Ship Song
07. Stranger Than Kindness
08. Jubilee Street
09. Nature Boy
10. We No Who U R
11. Stagger Lee
Triple Vinyl
Side A
01. Loverman
02. Tupelo
03. Deanna
04. From Her To Eternity
Side B
01. The Weeping Song
02. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
03. People Ain’t No Good
Side C
01. Higgs Boson Blues
02. Straight To You
03. Where The Wild Rose Grow
Side D
01. Into My Arms
02. Love Letter
03. Red Right Hand
04. The Mercy Seat
Side E
01. O Children
02. The Ship Song
03. Stranger Than Kindness
Side F
01. Jubilee Street
02. Nature Boy
03. We No Who U R
04. Stagger Lee
Deluxe 3CD & DVD / Super Deluxe 3CD & DVD with Hardcover Book
CD1: 1984 -1993
01. From Her To Eternity
02. In The Ghetto
03. Tupelo
04. I’m Gonna Kill That Woman
05. The Carny
06. Sad Waters
07. Stranger Than Kindness
08. Scum
09. The Mercy Seat
10. Deanna
11. Up Jumped The Devil
12. The Weeping Song
13. The Ship Song
14. Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry
15. Straight To You
CD2: 1994 – 2003
01. Do You Love Me?
02. Nobody’s Baby Now
03. Loverman
04. Red Right Hand
05. Stagger Lee
06. Where The Wild Roses Grow
07. Into My Arms
08. People Ain’t No Good
09. Brompton Oratory
10. (Are You) The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?
11. Come Into My Sleep
12. Love Letter
13. God Is In The House
14. He Wants You
15. Shoot Me Down
CD3: 2004 – 2013
01. Hiding All Away
02. There She Goes, My Beautiful World
03. Nature Boy
04. Breathless
05. Babe, You Turn Me On
06. O Children
07. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
08. Night Of The Lotus Eaters
09. We Call Upon The Author
10. Jesus Of The Moon
11. More News From Nowhere
12. We No Who U R
13. Jubilee Street
14. Higgs Boson Blues
15. Push The Sky Away
DVD:
01. Interview, ‘Kippevel’, Netherlands, 1988
02. Night of the Lotus Eaters, Docks de Suds, Marseilles, France, 2008
03. Red Right Hand, Glastonbury Festival, UK, 1988
04. The Weeping Song, ‘Boxed Set’, Glasgow STV Studios, UK, 2001
05. Interview, New York, USA, 2013
06. Higgs Boson Blues, La Fabrique Studios, France, 2012
07. Interview, ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ documentary, Berlin, Germany, 1987
08. From Her To Eternity, Perkins Palace, Pasadena, USA, 1984
09. Love Letter, ABC Studios, Australia, 2001
10. Interview, ’Bish’s Biz’, Australia, 2013
11. Do You Love Me?, ‘Boxed Set’, Glasgow STV Studios, UK, 2001
12. Interview, ‘Boxed Set’, Glasgow STV Studios, UK, 2001
13. Into My Arms, INmusic Festival, Zagreb, Croatia, 2008
14. We Call Upon The Author, B1 Maximum Club, Moscow, Russia, 2009
15. Interview, ‘Ein Abend in Wien’, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1991
16. The Mercy Seat, Bizarre Festival, Germany, 1996
17. Interview, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 1984
18. God Is In The House, ‘Later With Jools Holland’, London, 2001
19. Interview, ’Bish’s Biz’ Australia, 2013
20. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Globe Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2008
21. Brompton Oratory, ‘MTV Live n Loud’, 1997
22. I’m Gonna Kill That Woman, Posthof, Linz, Austria, 1986
23. Jubilee Street, The Fonda Theatre, LA, USA, 2013
24. The Ship Song, ‘Live at Paradiso DVD’, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1992
25. Interview, Lollapalooza, USA, 1994
26. Loverman, Bizarre Festival, Germany, 1996
27. Interview, Australia, 1988
28. In The Ghetto, Exit, Chicago, USA, 1984
29. Hiding All Away, ‘The Abattoir Blues Tour DVD’, Brixton Academy, London, UK, 2004
30. Interview, Australia, 1992
31. Where the Wild Roses Grow, ‘MTV Most Wanted’, London, UK, 1995
32. Deanna, St Luke’s, London, UK, 2008
33. O Children, Le Trianon, Paris, France, 2013
34. Interview, Festival Crazy Rock, Chile, 1996
35. Stagger Lee, The White Room, London, UK, 1996
36. Interview, ‘Austin City Limits’, Austin, Texas, USA, 2014
37. Interview, Australia, 1995
38. Push The Sky Away, The Fonda Theatre, LA, USA, 2013
39. There She Goes, My Beautiful World, ‘The Abattoir Blues Tour DVD’, Brixton Academy, London UK, 2004
Cave released a more detailed statement on Lovely Creatures via his website:
Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was initially scheduled for release in the autumn of 2015. Thirty years or so had passed since the band had formed and much had happened during that time – the band morphing into as many versions of itself as there were albums to reflect this. It felt, to me, a good time to pay tribute to this unique creation.
The release of Push the Sky Away in 2013 felt, after so many reinventions, not just another incarnation but the throwing open of the doors to a new way for us as a band to make music. I read Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s diary-essay that completes the text for the book and I remember those times in all their creative joy, but from a great distance; for time and sudden fate had since created a different person to inhabit this old skin. Time became ancient history in a heartbeat as circumstances beyond my control took hold. It then became imperative and a matter of great urgency to make a new record and allow this different person to speak.
The Bad Seeds made Skeleton Tree in Paris towards the end of 2015 – in a strange, raw and different present. Whatever Skeleton Tree became, it was a wholly necessary addition to the band’s story. Lovely Creatures lost, for a time, its place in the narrative. Now, it seems the time is right to recognise and celebrate the Bad Seeds and their many achievements. So here, at last, it is: Lovely Creatures.