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Nirvana started as a live band (don't all bands?).
We played around for two years before the release of Bleach
in June, 1989. At the time, live shows were our bread and butter (this being
prior to the release of Nevermind in September of 1991). We'd hit the
road for months at a time... coming back with one or two grand...to be split
three ways. In those days, that was as much “success” as we thought possible.
The earliest performances on this album are brought to you
courtesy of a sound board cassette recording of a December, 1989 show at
London's Astoria. “Breed” (then called “Imodium”) and “Polly” (the big rock
version) are taken from this show, the last date of a European tour supporting
fellow Sub-Poppers, Tad.
Early in 1991, the band signed with Geffen Records and acquired
professional management D.I.Y. fell by the wayside.
Nevermind was
recorded in the spring of 1991. Following summer tours with Dinosaur Jr. and
the Jesus Lizard, Nevermind was released in the fall. Immediately
following the release, we went on a tour headlining small venues that
culminated with a Halloween homecoming show at Seattle's Paramount Theatre.
This show was filmed and recorded onto multi-track...yielding the version of
“Negative Creep” used in compiling this record.
Two days later, the band left for another European tour.
“School,” “Been A Son,” “Lithium” and “Blew” were all taken from a show at the
Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on November 25, 1991. The show was filmed
and recorded on multi-track for Dutch TV. “Spank Thru,” this version having
been recorded on November 19, 1991 in Rome, was actually the first Nirvana song.
While we were touring Europe, Nevermind was becoming all
the rage back home. Though we were kept informed on the momentum, being so far
away made us pretty oblivious to the extent of what was happening.
We ended the year with a brief West Coast tour. The bill
included Pearl Jam and Nirvana and was headlined by The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The second show on this tour was on December 28, 1991 at the Del Mar
Fairgrounds (just outside San Diego). For whatever reason, our set was
particularly aggressive that night - “Drain You,” “Aneurysm” and “Smells Like
Teen Spirit” were all taken from this recording.
Early in 1992, the band toured Australia and Japan. Later in the
summer, we traveled to Europe to make up some Scandanavian shows we had to
cancel on the previous tour. The touring highlight of the year, however, was a
headlining slot on England's Reading Festival. I have to say that hearing tens
of thousands of people sing along with “Lithium” was a very cool moment in the
history of the band. We were having fun playing and decided to stretch the set
out a bit - enter “tourette's,” a song which had been around for a few years
(and eventually found its way onto In Utero.)
Following the release of In Utero in 1993, we once
again hit the road. Using left-over props from the “Heart-Shaped Box” video
shoot as set dressing (our first foray into the world of stage props), we
concentrated on working up a set that spanned the band's entire career and gave
the audience a longer show than we had done on past tours. In that we were
playing the “big” halls on this tour, it was felt that we needed to bring along
a “big” sound...ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Pat Smear.
“Scentless Apprentice” was filmed and recorded by MTV for their
1993 New Year's special...recorded at a show at a pier in Seattle.
“Heart-Shaped Box” comes from as sound board DAT recording from a show at The
Forum in Los Angeles in December, 1993. We took “Milk It” from a sound board
recording from the Seattle Center Arena. “Sliver” is taken from a board tape
from the Springfield Civic Center (in Massachusetts)
In presenting this record, we hope that the ultimate allure of
Nirvana (and especially Kurt) as well as the passion that we had - and have-
for the music we made is once again brought to the forefront. Let all the
analysis fall away like yellow, aged newsprint. Crank this record up and
realize the bliss, power and passion...TOTAL NIRVANA!
Krist Novoselic
