Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

After being available solely on VHS for far too long, two classic entries in the history of the Bad Seeds finally get the DVD treatment in a two-disc collection. Disc one centres on The Road to God Knows Where, a fly on the wall-style documentary from director Uli M. Schueppel. Shot in gritty black and white, the film chronicles a North American tour in early 1989. At this time, Cave was dealing both with recently kicking his heroin addiction and a popularity surge for his music. Having to cope with the latter is more problematic for Cave, as he grudgingly goes through a series of interviews, photo sessions and backstage meet and greets. With the doldrums of endless travel and some conflicts with less than accommodating venues, this could have been a documentary about a tour going off the rails, but thankfully the band shrug off the negatives, kick all kinds of ass live and survive the trek. As they wrap up their final set in Los Angeles, Cave dryly summarises the entire experience on stage when he says, "This is the final song of our tour of America. Thank God for that." Live At The Paradiso, featured on the second disc, captures a furious set in Holland during the Henry's Dream tour in 1992. The show features the Bad Seeds tearing through many of their classics, each introduced by shots of Cave filling an ashtray while markering song titles on white board. One priceless moment occurs when Cave falls off the stage right at the beginning of "Deanna" and it cuts back to him crossing the title out and the show progresses on. This DVD set is a seminal document of a great ensemble and essential to both newcomers and long-time fans. In terms of extras, there are two shorts directed by Schueppel. First off is The Song, which documents the writing and recording of "I'll Love You Until the End of the World." This is followed with City of Refuge, a retrospective of the same tour from The Road to God Knows Where set to an acoustic version of the Bad Seeds song of the same name. (Mute)