Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Deanna (Acoustic Version)
2. The Mercy Seat (Acoustic Version)
3. City Of Refuge (Acoustic Version)
4. The Moon Is In The Gutter - B-side of the In The Ghetto single
5. The Six Strings That Drew Blood - the B-side of Tupelo
6. Rye Whisky - first available as a flexidisc with Reflex magazine
7. Running Scared - B-Side of The Singer
8. Black Betty - B-side of The Singer 12 Inch single
9. Scum - Flexidisc sold with a poster at Bad Seeds concerts
10. The Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass - B-side of Deanna 12" single
11. The Train Song - B-side of The Ship Song 7" single
12. Cocks 'N' Asses - B-side of The Weeping Song 7" single
13. Blue Bird - B-side of Straight To You 12" single
14. Helpless - first issued on the Neil Young tribute LP, The Bridge
15. God's Hotel - KCRW radio session released on Rare On Air Volume 1
16. (I'll Love You) Till The End Of The World - B-side of Loverman 7�
17. Cassiel's Song -soundtrack of Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close!
18. Tower Of Song - from I'm Your Fan, a Leonard Cohen tribute LP
19. What Can I Give You? - Believed to have been a French promo only

Disc 2:

1. What A Wonderful World � With Shane Macgowan. Single Release
2. Rainy Night In Soho - B-Side Of What A Wonderful World
3. Lucy (Version #2) � B-Side Of What A Wonderful World
4. Jack The Ripper � Acoustic B-Side Of The 7" Of Straight To You, 1992
5. Sail Away - B-Side Of Do You Love Me?, 1994
6. There's No Night Out At The Jail - Previously Unreleased Cover
7. That's What Jazz Is To Me -B-Side Of The Red Right Hand Ltd Ed Single
8. The Willow Garden -B-Side Of Where The Wild Roses Grow Single
9. The Ballad Of Robert Moore And Betty Coltrane (As Above)
10. King Kong Kitchee Kitchee Ki-Mi-O - The B-Side Of The Henry Lee
11. Knoxville Girl - Featured On The Henry Lee CD Single
12. Where The Wild Roses Grow -Unreleased Duet With Blixa Bargeld
13. O'Malley's Bar Pt.1
14. O'Malley's Bar Pt.2
15. O'Malley's Bar Pt. 3 Mark Radcliffe Radio One Session, 1996
16. - Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum - From The TV Soundtrack CD Songs In The Key Of X
17. O'Malley's Bar Reprise - Mark Radcliffe Radio One Session
18. Red Right Hand (Scream 3 Version) - Previously Unreleased

Disc 3:

1. Little Empty Boat - B-Side Of Into My Arms Single
2. Right Now I'm A-Roaming - B-Side Of Into My Arms Single
3. Come Into My Sleep - B-Side Of The (Are You) The One� Single
4. Black Hair (Band Version) - B-Side Of The (Are You) The One� Single
5. Babe, I've Got You Bad - B-Side Of The (Are You) The One� Single
6. Sheep May Safely Graze - Previously Unreleased Outtake
7. Opium Tea - Previously Unreleased Outtake
8. Grief Came Riding - Extra Track From The LP No More Shall We Part
9. Bless His Ever Loving Heart � (As Above)
10. Good Good Day - B-Side Of As I Sat Sadly By Her Side Single
11. Little Janey's Gone - B-Side Of As I Sat Sadly By Her Side Single
12. I Feel So Good - From The Wim Wenders Film The Soul Of A Man
13. Shoot Me Down - B-Side Of Bring It On Single
14. Swing Low - B-Side Of Bring It On Single
15. Little Ghost Song - B-Side Of He Wants You Single
16. Everything Must Converge - B-Side Of He Wants You Single
17. Nocturama - B-Side Of The 7" Inch Single Rock Of Gibraltar
18. She's Leaving You - B Side Of Nature Boy
19. Under This Moon - B Side Of Breathless Single.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35138 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-28
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Enhanced, Box set

Amazon.co.uk Review
With three albums, comprising six discs of music, from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in a little over two years, fans of the enduring, sombre songsters, may be left wondering if they really need more material. But B-Sides & Raritiesis a wonderful testament to the devastatingly romantic, ferocious and exquisitely emotive collective talent that has made Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds music so compelling throughout the 21 years since they rose from the ashes of The Birthday Party. Comprising 56 tracks over three CDs, B-Sides & Raritieswas coordinated by the band's founder member, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey, who has lovingly compiled some of the rarest and delightful material of the bands career.

From the opening bars of the first track, an acoustic version of "Deanna", to the closing notes of the recent B-side "Under This Moon", this mammoth rarities retrospective is packed with songs that chart the development of the band's sound. Alongside alternative versions of NCATBS gems such as "Red Right Hand", "Jack The Ripper", "Where The Wild Roses Go" (with Blixa replacing a certain Miss Minogue) and a stunning stripped-down acoustic version of "The Mercy Seat" come some great covers including a stark version of Leadbelly's "Black Betty" a charming rendition of Neil Young's "Helpless", an irreverent take on Leonard Cohen's "Tower Of Love" and a heartbreakingly forlorn duet with Shane MacGowan on Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World".

Elsewhere rough cuts from raucous radio sessions like "God's Hotel" are interlaced with more considered soundtrack commissions such as "(I'll Love You) Till The End of The World" and "Cassiel's Song". The promotional material boldly leads with the Cave quote: "This is my favourite Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Album." Few will disagree. --Christopher Barrett

Album Description
Spanning the full twenty-one years of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' illustrious career, this comprehensive three CD set, entitled B-Sides & Rarities, presents a thrilling and eclectic retrospective collection of material by the band, some of which has been deleted, featured on a disparate collection of soundtrack albums or has never been officially released before. From the menacing "The Six Strings That Drew Blood", through the distraught "The Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass", the fragile beauty of "Little Empty Boat", the outlaw romance of '(I'll Love You) Till The End Of The World', the plaintive "Bluebird" through to the murderous attack of "The Ballad Of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane", long term Bad Seeds aficionados, recent converts or the merely curious will find much to appreciate and enjoy in this landmark 56-track compilation.

CD Description
Three discs of rare material from the Australian singer-songwriter who formed his Bad Seeds band in the early 1980's. This collection spans three decades of Cave-penned material alongside covers of tracks composed by artists such as Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Leadbelly.

Customer Reviews

An essential album...
Nick Cave fans have been served well with releases recently and this set continues the trend. Coming in a slim box it houses three CDs worth of treasures. It is not complete but it is fairly encompassing. It includes B sides right up to the recent album. There are too many treasures to list them all. There is excellent B sides like Sail Away and The Train Song, rarities like the acoustic version of Jack the Ripper, God's Hotel and Rye Whiskey and unreleased gems such as There's No Night Out in the Jail and the Scream 3 version of Red Right Hand. The sound quality is excellent throughout. For Cave fans this is basically an essential purchase. For others this makes a good and cheap introduction to Nick Cave and would serve as an ideal companion to the best of compilation.

An Extraordinary Collection
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 and the outtake of "Sheep May Safely Grace." which anticipates 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 shaped your life.
I can't imagine any other future releases this year that can surpass this one, for reissue of the year.

So black, So simple, So good...
It's some kind of alternative "Best of..." by Nick cave and Bad Seeds. Three disc in simple white paper packaging, and all in simple shiny black box, but music (in chronological order of publishing)is fantastic. From sticky acoustic tracks like "Deanna" or "Mercy Seat" to last songs on compilation (b-sides of last singles)it's heaven for all Nick Cave fans. This three-discs compilation contains so many little jewels, so many fine songs...i'd like to say again - "Best of Nick Cave,from the other side"