CD Review: Nirvana – Live at Reading
November 13th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - Music by Grimm
CD Review – Nirvana
Live at Reading
Geffen/UMG
Its been a few years since anything Nirvana has been released so you could definitely see this coming. Considered by many to be “Nirvana’s No. 1 Greatest Moment,” Nirvana – Live at Reading has finally been released in it’s entirety and fans of the fab three will definitely not be disappointed. Recorded in 1992 at the Reading Festival (and considered one of the most bootlegged concerts in the annals of rock and roll), this 24 song set captures Nirvana on the crest of their insane career, saving the disheveled, record buying masses from the scourge of posers and hair metal.
Coming half way between the release of Nevermind and In Utero, their 1992 Reading Festival appearance was the perfect opportunity for Nirvana to highlight their current song roster (at the time) and to showcase new songs from the forthcoming album, In Utero. Playing Nevermind almost in its entirety (excluding “Something in the Way”) as well as half of Bleach and three yet to be recorded tracks off of In Utero, this is Nirvana at their peak both creatively and performance wise. Included in their set were the covers “The Money Will Roll Right In” by Fang and “D-7″ by The Wipers, influential artists in Kurt Cobain’s vision. Considering the lows Nirvana eventually went to (especially Kurt Cobain), this 78 minutes is a testament to a band that, in a very short period of time, single handedly defined a generation.
The sound quality here is excellent and the set-list covers Nirvana’s entire spectrum. Between song banter is kept to a minimum, (most words being spoken by bassist Krist Novoselic) and a better quality, more inclusive recording of a Nirvana live performance is not likely to surface. Amidst the turmoil of Kurt’s life at the time, the drug usage and the hospital visit in Rome, the self mockery of being rolled out onstage on a wheelchair by journalist Everett True, its amazing this performance took place at all. Truly one of rock and rolls best performances. Now you can stick it in your ears and blast away in the confines of your own attic, or wherever.
By Grimm “Come As You Are” Culhane
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