Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Videos (1998)

It's about the music not the pictures.

Nick doesn't even like making videos. Rent don't buy this one. It's much more worth your while to buy a live performance DVD. April 9, 2006

bad seeds don't fall far from the tree

Videos are, demonstrably, not a strong point for the Bad Seeds. Neither are they a point of interest for the band. If you are interested in inspired and objectively interesting videos, look elsewhere. However, if you like to watch Nick Cave dance around while Blixa Bargeld looks very pretty in the background, you've found your match. The commentary between the videos is entertaining and offers a glimpse into the minds of the otherwise taciturn Bad Seeds. This is a collection for the collectors, or the über-fans. August 2, 2005

Ditto the Mixed Bag

If you have not seen this DVD, it must be restated that Cave and his bandmates admit from the very start that they do not like doing videos. So, if you presumably already have these songs on CD and many of the reviews lean toward the negative, why own this? Well, in my view, The Videos is a great collection precisely because it is so primitive and often silly. I don't like all the songs and would rather that others had taken the place of those I don't like, hence the four stars. But overall, this is a video that any Nick Cave fan should be eager to own because actually watching Cave perform adds so much more to the songs.
The following are my favorites:
1) Staggerlee---Cave in his most menacing stance. The dancing is so silly you may roll on the floor laughing.
2) Where the Wild Roses Grow---Manichean juxtapositions. Cave and Minogue play their roles to the hilt. And then there's that snake...
3) Into My Arms---The imagery is what gets you. Very stark.
4) Henry Lee---The video does not really fit the words, but you can feel the sexual tension generated by PJ Harvey and Cave.
5) Red Right Hand---Always a great song, sinister as Cave can make it.
6) Do You Love Me---Actually, I couldn't care less about the bozos he filmed in a Brazilian dive, but the performance is urgent and bursting with Cave's energy.
7) Jack the Ripper---Full of blood, brings the lyrics to hideous life.
8) Mercy Seat---Somewhat weak, but Cave looks the part of a loser who is about to be fried. Could have been a lot more graphic, but still a great song.
9) The Weeping Song--The set it comical (with the phony water and rocking boat, the guys swilling Retsina), the dancing stupid, and Blixa Bargeld with a voice tailor-made for a song like this.
10) I Had A Dream, Joe---Shows the band at its most manic. No acting per se, but lots of great shots of individual band members frantically playing and Cave working himself into an exhausting frenzy.

What didn't I like? They could have jettisoned What A Wonderful World and In the Ghetto for sure. They stink out loud, particularly that last,the aural stench of which still lingers in my ears.
Addressing one reviewer's complaint, one can skip the commentary before each song by selecting the songs one by one rather than playing the whole thing through. A bit of a pain, but its an option.
So, overall I ditto the mixed bag judgement of several reviewers but reiterate my recommendation of The Videos for anyone who is truly a Nick Cave fan. I plan to enjoy this DVD frequently and you may find that you will too as long as you remember the proviso that these videos are not the acme of the art. April 1, 2005

The bad seeds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bad seeds certainly! I liked Where The Wild Roses Grow, because the video is excellent. Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue are great in this one, but I figure that's just because I like Kylie and nothing else but Nick is good in this one! The only Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds video I like. March 30, 2005

Pretty crappy for such a great artist.

I really enjoy Nick Cave's music and I have almost all of his CDs. He has a deep and poetic lyrical style that is rare in popular music today. So when I saw his DVD of music videos, I was intrigued. Man was I let down. Maybe two or three of the videos are tolerable, most are bad and a few are outright terrible. I am pretty forgiving to low budget productions in most cases. Usually I can get passed the cheap sets and poor camera work on videos, if they are creative. But something about these videos' cheap production was just plain bad. If you like Nick Cave, stick to his audio collection and just pretend you never saw this DVD. November 25, 2004

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