Search - Nirvana :: Live at Reading

Blog this, kids

Garbageman | the other side of California | 11/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gather round, kids, put away your diaries, log off Twitter for five minutes as I tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was this band who were so sickeningly heavy, so on point, so ridiculously furious and DARK, so in-your-face righteous that they shredded everything in sight. Including the bands that had the unfortunate opportunity to open for them, knowing there was no chance to come close. This album sorta introduces you to what they were capable of, especially the last third of it, where the songs get rampagingly ugly and downright MEAN, starting with a caustic version of "All Apologies", sounding nothing like any version you've heard before. The end of their short career may have shown an even darker side, incapable of even pulling it together long enough to really move, but this set is as close to their peak as you can get, a concert for the ages that is almost laughable when you look at the mind-numbingly BAD bands they played the same festival with, as shown on the inside cover (Charlatans? Curve? Buffalo Tom? The frickin' WONDER STUFF?) See, kids, even bands of their time couldn't hang. So you shouldn't feel all THAT embarrassed that My Chemical Romance, Vampire Weekend, and Deerhoof make noise that sounds like a blender by comparison.



I know, it's rough. I'm getting all generational on you, and that's not fair. As if it wasn't bad enough that they decided to play "On A Plain", "Negative Creep" and "Been A Son" back-to-back-to-back, which is reason enough to buy twenty copies of this and give it to all your friends. If that doesn't convince you of the unfortunateness of your losing the genetic lottery and ending up only reading about this band, then let's rub it all the way in by playing the version of "Aneurysm" here, which basically destroys the version from "Muddy Banks Of the Wishkah", a version I used to think was the best Nirvana recorded moment, a great version which PALES in comparison to the one here, which could kill whole forests. I would also like to draw your attention to the version of "Stay Away", which I plan on playing 7,000 times in a row tonight as I run around my yard revving up a chainsaw. Or how about the version of "School", which you need to be screaming at the top of your lungs next Monday in Algebra as you throw furniture around your classrooms and frighten your overpaid, ignorant teachers out of their similarly unenlightened stupor. Some things never change.



You can call me a snob for rubbing your collective noses in the fact that this band had no equal, and I was lucky enough to witness something like this for the brief moment it was around. But I'm not really a snob, because I have hope, someday, that at least ONE of you could rise up and at least make an EFFORT to sound this mighty, this completely insanely GOOD so we can all sit back in amazement. But I doubt it."

Chaotic excitement, madness, Nirvana

lain4ever | Los Angeles, CA | 11/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Live at Reading" captures the power of Nirvana at its loudest and most electric moment in 1992.



People may wonder why on earth no one has released this album with Cobain radiating with raucous energy as his band crashes through the concert. After all, the entire performance is not just a raucous mess of blasting distortion, cymbal smashes and Kurt Cobain's throating yells and shouts. It is a sheer burst of excitement and infuriating anger.



Most importantly, the band proved that even if a band gets out of tune or out of rhythm, they could set the whole stage ablaze. Literally. Songs like "Aneurysm" explode with fast drums and guitars before slowing to an unsettling steady rhythm. Then Cobain shatters the stage with the funky lyric, "Come on over and do the twist!"



It's rock and roll fed through a power saw. Funk riffs such as those in "School" keep the audience engaged in chaotic violence as Cobain screams, "Won't you believe it's just my luck/NO RECESS!"



More importantly, we can hear in the performance that Cobain's having loads of fun, especially when he sings and chuckles through the first lyrics of "Sliver." He playfully growls through the low notes of "In Bloom." The album captures Cobain on top of the world at the peak of Nirvana's popularity. Nothing is more epic than his screaming through the chorus of "Lithium" with a wave of audience members.



The goofiest mistakes occurs in the parts following the opening power chords of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," in which Cobain literally messes up the two note riff and slides around his guitar as he tries to get the notes right. He even has a legendary anti-solo of chaotic random notes guitar neck sliding after the second chorus.



Even as the band plays through the bittersweet song "All Apologies," Cobain literally makes the song his own as he joyfully sings, "What else could I say?/All my words are great." This concert shows Cobain at his prime. Even if this concert was foreshadowed by his suicide, it will forever be remembered as a benchmark for live albums in the 21st century."

Here's what you get with the "Nirvana: Live At Reading" offi

Zack H. | 04/04/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"One of Nirvana's dignified live shows totally butchered and released with one of the worst modern sound mixes to ever disgrace my ears. If you're the type that endures low-bitrate, compressed to hell mp3s that sound like they're playing straight out of a tin can, you'll be smitten with the audio mix on this CD.



And don't even get me started on the obviously fake crowd inclusion on every beginning and ending of every track herein. It's a nuisance on the legacy of the original recording and the band's performance. The band's screwin' around and occasional bantering are completely excluded, as well as the infamous performance of Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz" in which frontman Kurt Cobain actually takes time to tune his guitar while bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl continue to play through the song.



Yeah, I still own this, despite the sodomy that Geffen put it through. If you're really wanting a nearly-authentic "Live At Reading" experience, get the DVD release, instead."