Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Full title: The Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds includes: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Barry Adamson, Anita Lane, Edward Clayton-Jones, Hugo Race, Thomas Wydler, Kid Congo Powers, Roland Wolf, Martyn P. Casey, Conway Savage, Jim Sclavunos, Warren Ellis.
Additional personnel: Polly Jean Harvey, Kylie Minogue (vocals).
Given Nick Cave's history of great songs but uneven albums, THE BEST OF NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS truly lives up to its name, condensing his most intriguing songs into one excellent collection. Though it lacks a chronological sequence, the seemingly random track listing works surprisingly well, from the opening Van Morrison-gone-bad raucousness of "Deanna" to the final chaotic blast of "From Her to Eternity."
Though the compilation highlights Cave's penchant for morbid narratives, it also includes disarmingly sincere ballads like "Into My Arms," "Are You the One That I've Been Waiting For?," and "Straight to You," with the Bad Seeds providing unusually subtle backing. Cave's trademark dark theatricality is still at the fore, however, on bleak yet driving songs such as "The Mercy Seat," "Tupelo," "Do You Love Me?," and, of course, the sinister classic "Red Right Hand."