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Product Description
Review
With its title derived from a poster advising heroin users to bleach their needles before use, it’s easy to look back at Nirvana’s debut album of 1989 – famously recorded for just $606 – and conclude that all the warning signs were there. Collapse was inevitable, disaster just over the horizon. But then you listen to the record and fall in love, again, with a collection of scrappy, scratchy songs that comprised the foundation for one of the best rock albums of all time.
That bona-fide classic is Nevermind, of course – Nirvana’s 1991 release elevated the trio of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic (Chris at the time) and Dave Grohl to superstar status, aided in no small way by the runaway success of Smells Like Teen Spirit and the reach of MTV. But Bleach is an angrier, fidgety affair; it’s the sound of a hungry band putting all they’ve got into sessions they couldn’t afford to repeat. As such, compared to its successor it’s a rough-edged listen, and the actual songwriting on show is at a developing stage, a lack of sing-along choruses limiting its mainstream reach. But the promise that sweats out from the cracks between songs, between the fractured riffs and guttural screams of Paper Cuts, the frenetic flailing of Swap Meet and the affectingly understated ardour of About a Girl, is incredible.
Cobain told Spin magazine, four years after Bleach’s release, that many of its lyrics were throwaway, often written hours before recording. He had a point – there’s not a great deal that’s especially memorable – but the way Cobain delivers his syllables is perfectly indicative of how he must’ve felt at the time: disenchanted and disenfranchised, ostracised and alone. Finding love, and seeing his band rise through the ranks, would lead to a different-sounding Nirvana on their next album, but here there’s a real sense that the writing comes from the darkest pit at the bottom of an acid-ravaged stomach. And this was before the heroin really took hold.
Though a historically significant recording given what followed it, Bleach is the least-essential of Nirvana’s three studio albums. What makes this deluxe reissue worth the money, though, is the inclusion of a live set from 1990. Previously unreleased, the band’s set at the Pine Street Theatre, Portland is an arresting listen, featuring pre-Bleach numbers Sappy and Spank Thru. Turn it up loud and lose yourself in the ferment. --Mike Diver
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well first things first Bleach the studio album is still as amazing as it was 20 years ago. Its a great debut album. Some of Nirvana's best songs are on this album: Blew, About a Girl, Love Buzz, Negative Creep and Downer. All of these songs are just as good as anything they recorded later on in their career. In fact Nirvana's early songs are more complex than the more simple pop songs that came later on their second album Nevermind, which gave them world-wide success. That said all of the previously mentioned songs on Bleach are really catchy too. Bleach really has some attitude to it, punk + metal = grunge, whatever you want to call it. It rocks. Now that was the good part, lets move on to the live show that was included in this deluxe 20th anniversary edition. I have heard countless recordings of live Nirvana shows from this era and most of them are really good but it seems the one that has been used for this album is sub standard. It is just not a good show and I think it was a bad choice when there are loads of better live shows from the Bleach tour that could have been used instead.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download
Okay, So all us Nirvana fans already own bleach-So it may seem a little pointless to buy the deluxe edition right? BUT If you really do love nirvana then this really is a must have.
Complete with 15 tracks Live at Pine Street Theatre, Giving fans another look into why Nirvana took the world and turned it upside down.
Complete with 15 tracks Live at Pine Street Theatre, Giving fans another look into why Nirvana took the world and turned it upside down.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Nirvanas first studio album "Bleach" get's the deluxe treatment for it's 20th year anniversary, it now comes complete with a booklet full of early pictures of the band as well as eleven songs recorded live in 1990. It didn't cost that much to make at the time, just over 600 dollars! and would go mainly unnoticed until after "Nevermind" exploded and Nirvana became a household name.
This is the third time i have bought this album, the first time was on tape in 1993, then the cd version in 1997 and now this version, it still sounds as raw as it did way back then, when it's guitars tuned all the way down. It's not like "Nevermind" that got the polished treatment by Andy Wallace. It contains some of the bands best material such as the two opening tracks "Blew" and "Floyd The Barber". There is the brilliant first ever single "Love Buzz" which is a cover of the 1969 song by Shocking Blue. "About A Girl" shows of what a great song writer Cobain was and also shows his sensitive side. "Negative Creep" is still one of Nirvana best songs, the brilliant "School" still sounds great today. "Big cheese" which wasn't included on the original 1989 release but would be for later releases is kept for the reissue as is "Downer".
The remastering job does make the album sound better with out over doing it, the booklet full of pictures is a nice touch, even though some lyrics would have been nice, Chad Channing who drums on the majority of the tracks is no Dave Grohl yet his playing suits the album. The highlight of the live concert is the inclusion of "spank Thru", "Molly's Lips which is a cover of a song by The Vaselines and the brilliant "Dive"(a studio version is available on "insecticide".
While "Nevermind" was the coming out party for Nirvana and final album "In Utero" probably contains their best work, "Bleach" is just as essential as either of those albums.
This is the third time i have bought this album, the first time was on tape in 1993, then the cd version in 1997 and now this version, it still sounds as raw as it did way back then, when it's guitars tuned all the way down. It's not like "Nevermind" that got the polished treatment by Andy Wallace. It contains some of the bands best material such as the two opening tracks "Blew" and "Floyd The Barber". There is the brilliant first ever single "Love Buzz" which is a cover of the 1969 song by Shocking Blue. "About A Girl" shows of what a great song writer Cobain was and also shows his sensitive side. "Negative Creep" is still one of Nirvana best songs, the brilliant "School" still sounds great today. "Big cheese" which wasn't included on the original 1989 release but would be for later releases is kept for the reissue as is "Downer".
The remastering job does make the album sound better with out over doing it, the booklet full of pictures is a nice touch, even though some lyrics would have been nice, Chad Channing who drums on the majority of the tracks is no Dave Grohl yet his playing suits the album. The highlight of the live concert is the inclusion of "spank Thru", "Molly's Lips which is a cover of a song by The Vaselines and the brilliant "Dive"(a studio version is available on "insecticide".
While "Nevermind" was the coming out party for Nirvana and final album "In Utero" probably contains their best work, "Bleach" is just as essential as either of those albums.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
This is it!
Forget about `Nevermind'. Forget about `In Utero'. This is where Kurt and the gang really went loose. Read more
Published 3 months ago by millyem
Raw. Loud. Awesome.
It was great putting this on and hearing the first Nirvana album again. Their more famous tracks from Nevermind have a more standard pattern of riff, verse, chorus, verse, solo... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Cal
Buy it, buy it now!
The best Nirvana LP in my opinion in all it's 180gram white vinyl glory. Great photo book too. If you're a fan of the band then this is the record for you
Published 7 months ago by Stringhaussen
Great for Nirvana Fans
The Audio quality is very good considering, a must have for Nirvana fans. the live audio is an added bonus, and adds to the glory of the album itself. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Stuckster
THE BEATLES
This is my favourite Nirvana album,for me Nirvana were what The Beatles were to the 60s.Kurt Cobain one of the most scathing,destructive,contradictive,iconic musicians ever. Read more
Published 10 months ago by mister joe
Great album and great gig, but...
The 1st disc has flaws, it skips a few seconds tree or four times. Bad pressing, do not recommend. The white vinyl is very beautiful though, and the booklet is cool. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Paulo Reis
pure grunge
much heavier album then nevermind and is worth every penny more this is original grunge and yet it has a sort of metal-y sound to it amazing
Published 13 months ago by oli97
Awesome live nirvana album
For any nirvana fan this is the best fiver you'll ever spend.
A really nice package, great 52 page book of rare photos and a remastered 'bleach' plus a whole gig from 1990. Read more
A really nice package, great 52 page book of rare photos and a remastered 'bleach' plus a whole gig from 1990. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ruski
Pert Cobain
Bleach is the first Nirvana studio record and is a stripped down Heavy Riffing episode which relies on little overdubbing or recording treatment. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Nanny Greggy-Pooh
collectible
Beautiful and heavy white lps, very beautiful presentation, a must have for the nirvana collector despite the commercial aspect of it !!!
Published 22 months ago by Nicolas
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