Nirvana Shapes The Future From The Past

Normally, album reviews typically are saved for current bands and current records. However, occasionally a band from the past rears its head back into the mainstream spotlight with a release that leaves listeners wishing there could be more. Such is the case with Nirvana.

Nirvana has seen its fair share of ups and downs since front-man, Kurt Cobain, passed away in 1994. Between the legal battles and infighting throughout years, the remaining band members have been able to provide countless new Nirvana releases for their millions of fans. Through those releases, whether it be the Unplugged album, the live Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah release, the greatest hits record, or the three disc demo box set, Nirvana has been able to remain relevant in the years since Cobain’s death and the disbandment of the group.

Their most recent release “Live At Reading,” accomplishes that and much, much more. “Reading,” recorded at the Reading Festival in 1992, was the stage for one of Nirvana’s most legendary performances that many Nirvana fans had heard about and had been waiting for, for years. It was 100% worth the wait.
The sound on the album is as pristine as ever. On live releases from loud rock bands, it can be difficult to detect the crispness and depth of the group on stage, but this recording maintains that element perfectly. Cobain’s voice is clear as can be, when he wants it to, all the other times it’s loud and destructive, fitting each song like a glove.

The show was deemed legendary for a reason. The set-list encompasses all of the band’s records (Bleach, Incesticide, and Nevermind) up until that point in their history. The album opens with Breed and proceeds through Aneurysm, Sliver, Come As You Are, Lithium, Polly, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Been A Son, Dumb, All Apologizes, and Territorial Pissings. Each of those songs are rocked with a passion and confidence regularly unseen and unheard of in the alternative rock world today. The highlight of the show is a blistering version of Nevermind’s In Bloom. Dave Grohl’s heavy and intense drumming lead the song along with Cobain’s raspy, loud yelling voice and scorching guitar playing. While it is a long-time fan favorite, this version of In Bloom perfectly displays why Nirvana was who they were and why they were so important to the history of music.

Grunge lovers on down to emo-punk fanatics and beyond will appreciate this record by recognizing that without a performance like the one displayed on the “Reading” album, it is possible that the style of music they know and love may have never come to be. There is so much great music out there today and with all of it, it’s hard to find the desire to look back to the past at bands that shaped the present and the future. This album will create that desire in you. It is a true testament to what Nirvana was as a group and how they created a genre of music and defined a generation.