Anorexorcising The Vaults: Nirvana unauthorized 5 CD live box set reviewed

 

[review by Bill Glahn]

Nirvana: The Broadcast Recordings 1987 – 1993 (5 CD box set, Sound Stage  SS5CDBOX25)

Venue: (Disc 1) Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA 4/17/87 (disc 2) Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA 10/31/91 (disc 3) Pat O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar Fairgrounds, CA 12/28/91 (disc 4 & 5) Hollywood Rock Festival, Praca Da Apoteose, Rio De Janerio, !/23/93

Tracklist: (disc 1) Love Buzz/ Floyd The Barber/ Downer/ Mexican Seafood/ White Lace and Strange/ Spank Thru/ Anorexorcist/ Hairspray Queen/ Pen Cap Chew (disc 2) Happy Halloween> Jesus doesn’t want me for a Sunbeam/ Aneurysm/ Drain You/ School/ Floyd The Barber/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ About A Girl/ Polly/ Breed/ Sliver/ Love Buzz/ Lithium/ Been A Son/ Negative Creep/ On A Plain/ Blew/ Rape Me/ Territorial Pissings/ Endless, Nameless (disc 3) Intro/ Drain You/ Aneurysm/ School/ Floyd The Barber/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ About A Girl/ Polly/ Sliver/ Breed/ Come As You Are/ Lithium/ Territorial Pissings (disc 4) L’Amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle (Jam)/ School/ Drain You/ Breed/ Sliver/ In Bloom/ Come As You Are/ Love Buzz/ Possibilities (Jam)/ Lithium/ Polly/ About A Girl/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ On A Plain/ Negative Creep/ Been A Son (disc 5) Blew (listed as on disc 4)/ Heart-Shaped Box/ Scentless Apprentice/ Sweet Emotion (Jam)/ Dive/ Lounge Act/ Anheurysm/ Territorial Pissings

Cover: Magnificently presented clamshell box set with an 18 page booklet and individual sleeves, each containing different graphics. The booklet contains period articles from The Seattle Times (November 1, 1991) and Circus magazine (November 1993) mixed with more photos throughout. None of the photographers are credited, but many are easily identified as the iconic photographs of Seattle photojournalist, Charles Peterson.

Sound Quality: C to A (see review)

Review: The “greatest” generation fought against tyranny and oppression to rid Europe of the greatest fascist threat of our lifetime. The same generation also produced McCarthyism and two major wars in Southeast Asia. The next generation, through massive protests, brought an end to the Vietnam War and made great advances in civil rights without firing a shot. And then promptly embraced the Capitalist concepts of property and competition, thus declaring war n the very earth itself. Many wars have followed. It makes you want to scream. There are no great generations, only great deeds, usually communal in nature.

Music is a reflection of society. In 1987 Kurt Cobain screamed.

It was a primal scream, both vocally and instrumentally. An in-studio broadcast was arranged at Evergreen State College’s KAOS radio station, at a time when the band consisted of Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and original drummer Aaron Burkhard. Not having settled on a name yet, they played under the moniker Skid Row. As a historical document, disc one fails significantly. There are no unreleased songs, some of the songs having seen previous release on the pre-death Incesticide compilation or the post-mortem box set, With The Lights Out.  Not to mention the numerous bootleg compilations that preceded With The Lights Out before the major labels decided to play catch up on historical recordings.

On this recording all the songs are returned to their proper order, but it’s still missing the final track, “Help Me, I’m Hungry.” But that’s the least of its problems.

The version of the KAOS broadcast presented on The Broadcast Recordings 1987-1993 (hereafter referred to as TBR) sounds as if it were taken from a 10th generation cassette mastered by a kid on a PC trying to figure out his brand new copy of Cool Edit Pro. All he’s found is the noise reduction tool, massively applied. All the sustain is gone from Cobain’s guitar. There is no room ambience at all. Between songs, and sometimes during them, the recording drops into dead digital silence. The instruments and vocals are all still there but, putting it politely, it comes off sounding like fingernails on a blackboard. 

Combined with the fact that you’ve probably heard better rhythm sections in a thousand different bar bands, this is not a good start for TBR.

Sound improves greatly on disc two. It should. Despite TBR’s claims of being from an October 31st, 1991 broadcast on KNOD, it is the same recording featured on the official Live at the Paramount video. Well, at least now you can play it in your car old CD player. Not much of a recommendation here either. Newer model cars will play the official DVD just fine.

Disc three, also with stellar sound, offers up a common Westwood One radio broadcast from Del Mar Fairgrounds in California. While some of these songs appeared on the official From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah live compilation, the full broadcast has remained in the hands of unauthorized releases, such as a similarly titled 3LP set from a couple of years ago - The Broadcast Collection (Parachute) which combines this recording with an Australian broadcast from 1992, a Seattle broadcast from 1993, and some SNL appearances. Vinyl collectors with deeper pockets might find that one more attractive, but for the budget-minded, it works perfectly fine here.

The Westwood One broadcast, although truncated to fit 1-hour radio slots (with advertisements) doesn’t document the entire concert, it does find the band much more developed than the early days. Now with a competent drummer in Dave Grohl and with Novoselic having learned his instrument, not to mention Cobain’s refinement of his shout/distortion approach to songwriting, this is a powerhouse performance. Young ears were listening and identifying. Recorded shortly after their breakthrough album, Nevermind, the Paramount and Del Mar performances find Nirvana light years beyond the 1987 KAOS days. In fact, they were on their way to super-stardom, a spotlight that not everyone is equipped to deal with. At any rate, the grunge generation had found their representative voice. Nevermind shot up to number 1 in the charts. Bleach, released 2 years prior, would follow to top 100 album chart success upon its re-release in 1992 and a platinum record award.

Onward to discs 4 & 5…

 As recording stalled on a follow-up to Nevermind, worldwide demand for new Nirvana music didn’t. An album of rarities and b-sides, Incesticide, was released in late 1992. Amid Cobain’s various ailments and the band’s increasing dissatisfaction with Steve Albini’s production, Nirvana performed two large-scale South American rock festivals in Brazil, the second in Rio De Janeiro broadcast by MTV-Brazil. On the bill were also The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Flea joins the band on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a trumpet player. Also included in the set list are the, as yet, unreleased “Scentless Apprentice” and “Heart-Shaped Box.” It’s a fine performance with a fine mix, although the stage rust shows. Cobain’s vocals waver in and out on occasion, most likely due to him moving off-mic rather than a problem with the recording. The band, however is not as tight as they were in 1991. Flea’s trumpet playing is more novelty than inspired musicianship. Novoselic’s (?) attempts at witty between-song commentary can be irritating. 

Still, it’s a decent performance from a troubled time and worth inclusion. There are genuine moments of inspired aggression mixed in throughout, no more so than on “Negative Creep.” Easily found on the Internet for around $30 + shipping, I’d give a solid recommendation, despite its flaws. Seasoned collectors will already have this material. But for those younger fans of live music who want to explore what all the fuss was about, TBR is a worthy entry level set, even if you’ll never listen to disc 1 more than once. With four solid discs at a 2 for 1 cost and a packaging you’d expect from a major label, it’s a bargain.

Closing on a philosophical note, an ability to look outward as well as inward might make the current generation the greatest one in my lifetime. Stay involved. Keep marching. Don't despair.