Album Review: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Lovely Creatures: The Best Of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds 1984 - 2014

OK, you try saying something entirely new about Nick Cave.

He and his Bad Seeds have been part of the cultural firmament for so long, it's hard to remember when they weren't there. It's equally hard to draw a single narrative arc through their creative excursions, from their dawn in '83 to today. Arguments will doubtless rage on through the night as to which of the best tracks are missing here. Where's Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow? Bring It On? And why is Skeleton Key ignored?

Regardless, Lovely Creatures sheer all-over-the-place-ness is perhaps its greatest strength, as it lurches from the psychopathic blues of I'm Gonna Kill That Woman to the twilight lunacy of The Carny; through the wild storytelling of Papa Won't Leave, Henry and the inspired rambling of We Call Upon The Author, as the resourcefulness of the Bad Seeds conjures whatever vivid backdrop Cave requires, from frontier taverns to candlelit bedsides.

If the likes of Jubilee Street show that you can write an anthem without a chorus, Lovely Creatures ultimately proves that you don't need to sell out to sell records, or achieve musical immortality.