Nirvana: From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (2LP) [DGC]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set comes on 180g vinyl with two printed inserts of photos, credits and a band history by Krist Novoselic. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling nearly 159,000 copies in its first week.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl
• Printed inserts with liner notes by Krist Novoselic
• Download card included
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

MTV Unplugged showed the world Nirvana's quiet side. This is the other half of the story. Krist Novoselic compiled it from shows between 1989 and 1994, and the title nods to the river that runs through Aberdeen, Washington, the town where he and Kurt Cobain grew up. It was meant to show the band's heavier side, a counterweight to the hushed acoustic set that came before it.

The tracks hop from Amsterdam's Paradiso and California's Del Mar Fairgrounds in 1991 to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1993, and the energy never dips. "School" and "Drain You" tear out of the gate, "Aneurysm" became the lead promotional single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sounds even more ferocious in a room full of people, and early gems like "Negative Creep," "Spank Thru" and "Blew" sit beside In Utero's "Heart-Shaped Box" and "Scentless Apprentice." Dave Grohl drums like he's trying to break through the floor, and Novoselic's bass is right there with him all the way.

Rolling Stone's critics named it the ninth best album of 1996. The neighbours may have opinions about side C, but they'll come round.

Also at Kops: more Nirvana on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On DGC (cat# DGC2-25105), a reissue of the 1996 live album.