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The Deal: Nirvana's legendary Aug. 30, 1992, performance at the Reading Festival is finally released in audio and visual formats.
The Good: Fifteen years after the death of singer Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's concert is released in a CD and DVD format to showcase how far the band had come. One year after playing at the bottom rung of the third stage, Nirvana was headlining the festival. The show begins with a hospital-gown-wearing Cobain being rolled out in a wheelchair before tearing into "Breed." The band breaks into an impromptu "More than a Feeling" before kicking off "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Those in attendance got an early look at "All Apologies," – here dedicated to his daughter and Courtney Love – "Dumb" and "Tourette's" which wouldn't be released until later on the In Utero album. There are also some rarities – "Spank Thru" was a song by Cobain's first band, Fecal Matter, and allegedly the first Nirvana song; "The Money Will Roll Right In" is a cover of the song by Fang, "Love Buzz" by Shocking Blue, which Nirvana covered on Bleach, and "D-7" is a cover of the song by The Wipers. Cobain has his moments of genius and moments of pure feedback obliteration. Bassist Krist Novoselic is always the backbone you'd expect, while Dave Grohl reminds us that he was a hell of a rock drummer in the days before Foo Fighters. The hour-and-a-half set ends with the shredding "Territorial Pissings" as the group trashes instruments and walks off in a feedback haze.
The Bad: The only bad thing is that Cobain isn't around making more music ... That, and the editing can be a little hectic at times, flashing between band members a little too quickly.
The Verdict: It's the band at its live performance peak.
Geffen; Release date: Nov. 3, 2009
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