Nick Cave

Death, religion, Elvis . . . the way Nick Cave handles these recurring themes marks him as one of the sharpest alternative rockers out there, at once sophisticated, hard-core, and literary. It makes sense for Bad Seeds newcomers to begin with his most accessible tracks, like the gorgeous, morbid duet with Kylie, "Where the Wild Roses Grow".

Now, take a slow walk over to Next Steps.

Nick Cave's tenure as leader of the Bad Seeds (formed with another ex-member of the Birthday Party, Mick Harvey) began with the outfit's 1984 debut, From Her to Eternity, which contains a fantastic cover of Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto". This doom-laden piece of work sharply set the tone for what was to come, and infected the covers album Kicking Against the Pricks.

Trace the shadows within the darkness of Cave's genius in Deep Cuts.

Welcome to the bleak recesses of the Bad Seeds' sepulchral house of sound, where you will find "The Curse of Millhaven" from Murder Ballads, which mixes new tales of homicide with old. The album was followed, in 1997, by the intense yet brilliantly measured The Boatman's Call, perhaps the band's sharpest, richest album to date. The sombre minimalism of "Black Hair" is characteristic of this pared-down excursion into highly personal territory.

From his formative days, where a love of music replaced his early calling as a junior criminal, to the present, Nick Cave has sustained his reputation as the literary prince of rock 'n' roll darkness. And he assembled the perfect platform for his gothic vision in the Bad Seeds, a fluid lineup of A-list collaborators that has included former Magazine member Barry Adamson and Einstürzende Neubauten's Blixa Bargeld. In our Essentials playlist, Cave will lead you on an intense, harrowing, and often enchanting ride.