Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: "The Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds" (Mute) For the past 13 years the dark, towering songs of Nick Cave have rumbled uncomfortably beneath the shallow surface of pop music, threatening to pull hapless listeners under and plunge them into a world of devils, serpents, madmen and murderers. When you give in to the magnetic pull of Cave's music, however, you discover a rich tapestry of emotions and ideas, and a deep, uneasy feeling underlying each tortured, taboo-breaking tune. This retrospective collection picks up Cave's post-Birthday Party career, charting his fiercely individual course through solo albums like From Her To Eternity, Kicking Against The Pricks, The Good Son and Let Love In, right up to last year's The Boatman's Call. The tracks were chosen by Cave himself, and he chooses to open with the oblique rocker, Deanna, which sounds something like The Dave Clark Five teetering above the third circle of Hades. Soon, however, Cave establishes his awesome emotive power with songs like Straight To You and Nobody's Baby Now, twisted love songs which tug not just at the heartstrings, but at that ragged knot in the soul. The creaking splendour of The Ship Song and the raw retribution of The Mercy Seat show Cave in full, Gothic flight, while Tupelo tosses fire and brimstone on a spaghetti western soundscape. Gentle, gaunt songs like Into My Arms and (Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For, and murder ballads like Henry Lee and Where The Wild Roses Grow amply illustrate the vast, shadowy spectrum of Cave's unique artistry. Kevin Courtney