There's no denying that Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have amassed an intimidating amount of music over the past three decades.
Luckily, for those people looking to find a jumping-on point or even just a more efficient means of highlighting the band's most effective (and affecting) work, Cave, longtime band-mate Mick Harvey and the current ranks of The Bad Seeds have picked through thirty years' worth of material to compile Lovely Creatures: The Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 1984-2014.
Originally slated for release in 2015 (and thus omitting last year's acclaimed 16th studio full-length Skeleton Tree), the collected works include the picks of the bunch from the band's first 15 albums, from debut effort From Her To Eternity through 2013's Push The Sky Away.
Among the selection are live favourites Stagger Lee and The Mercy Seat, fan favourites Jubilee Street and We No Who U R, soundtrack efforts such as O Children (as featured in Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt 1) plus well-known track Red Right Hand (which has seen a resurgence of interest following its use in BBC series Peaky Blinders), and even their 1995 hit, Where The Wild Roses Grow.
"There are some people out there who just don't know where to start with The Bad Seeds," Cave said in a statement. "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."
The album comes in four formats — standard CD, triple LP, Deluxe 3CD (with a two-hour DVD featuring rare and unseen footage), and the Super Deluxe Limited Edition package, which is complemented by a wealth of accompanying material from the band members' personal archives, including previously unreleased photos and pieces of memorabilia, all compiled into a hardcover book that also features a series of essays.
Lovely Creatures will be released on Friday 5 May via Mute Records/BMG. Watch a trailer for the release, and see the full breakdown of the various packages, below.
Lovely Creatures: The Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 1984-2014
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.
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