Search - Nick Cave & Bad Seeds :: Love Letter

For Cave completists only

Bill R. Moore | New York, USA | 04/09/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Nick Cave is normally very generous with his singles, frequently including on them bonus tracks that are, in many cases, worthy of inclusion on a studio album -- and would be the cream of an album's crop for a lesser artist. Unfortunately, by the time this EP was released, No More Shall We Part's supply of bonus tracks had already been exhausted. Instead, what we have here is the album version of Love Letter (an excellent song which would have been a hit, were there any justice in this world), and alternate versions of four songs that appear on No More Shall We Part. Love Letter is a fine song, but you already have it on the album. The question, then, is whether the alternate versions included here are different enough to warrant purchasing this. If you are a Cave obsessive, of course, you will get this, anyway. However, objectively, the answer is no. The four tracks contain only minimal differences -- a violin during the intro of God Is In The House, additional percussion on And More More Shall We Part and Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow, alternate vocals over the fade of the latter track, etc. - that would go unnoticed by casual fans, if Cave had any. Furthermore, the differences between these versions and the album versions, however slight, favor the album versions. For Cave completists only."