Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have announced B-Sides and Rarities Part II, the sequel to their 2005 b-sides and rarities comp. It features 27 rare and previously unreleased songs that were recorded between 2005 and 2020, including one featuring Blondie’s Debbie Harry and one recorded live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Nick said: I always liked the original B-Sides & Rarities more than any of our other albums. It’s the only one I’d listen to willingly. It seems more relaxed, even a bit nonsensical in places, but with some beautiful songs throughout. There is something, too, about the smallness of certain songs that is closer to their original spirit.
B-Sides & Rarities Part II continues this strange and beautiful collection of lost songs from The Bad Seeds. I love the final side of the last disc because it reveals the small and fragile beginnings of some of my favourite Bad Seeds songs. ‘Waiting For You’ complete with bizarre ‘canning factory’ rhythm track, a gorgeous ‘Life Per Se’ deemed too sad for Skeleton Tree, and ‘Earthlings’ that some consider the finest track of the Ghosteen sessions.
The first single released is “Vortex,” which Nick, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, and Jim Sclavunos recorded in 2006 and apparently shelved because they couldn’t decide if they should make it a Grinderman song or a Bad Seeds song. It sounds pretty massive, as you can hear for yourself below.
B-Sides and Rarities Part II comes out October 22nd via self-release. You can pre-order it from Nick Cave’s webstore, and there’s an option that pairs both installments of B-Sides and Rarities as a 7LP set.
Nearly 15 years of lineup changes and recording sessions have produced a host of unreleased songs in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ canon. In October, the band gathered and released “B-Sides & Rarities (Part II). The songs—many of which are previously unreleased studio outtakes and B-sides of singles—are the much-anticipated second installment of the band’s 2005 B-Sides & Rarities collection.
Curated by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the 27 songs that make up the current album comprise recordings from 2006 to 2020, including the track “Vortex”, which was pre-released earlier this year. The album reveals emotionally concentrated songs about love, death, and God—subjects Cave has often explored. However, the songs feel more thoughtful in this collection, finding Cave amidst the evolution from raw rocker to introspective singer.
A live recording of “Push the Sky Away” with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is a poignant performance. Similarly, Cave’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Avalanche” (which he recorded for season two of the TV series Black Sails), is quieter and more pensive than the version on 1984’s “From Her to Eternity“. Cave talked about the songs with affection in an interview on YouTube that came out ahead of the collection: “I always liked the original “B-Sides & Rarities” more than any of our other albums… There is something, too, about the smallness of certain songs that is closer to their original spirit.”
Many of the B-sides and rarities on this album have been long available on the backsides of singles, soundtracks, and YouTube. However, having the songs packaged together is a welcomed addition to any fan’s collection. A limited-edition seven-LP box set is currently available for pre-order, which includes all 83 songs from both “B-Sides & Rarities” collections.
The Fat Angel Sings 