Nevermind - Classic Albums [DVD] [2003]

There has been very little 'official' publications about Nirvana over the years for a string of legal reasons and it was brilliant to finally get the 'With The Lights Out' boxset released last year and then we have this...!
What a fantastic documentary!
The DVD begins by introducing the band and producers and the release of Bleach through SubPop (Nirvana's first album) in a way that non-fans will be able to digest, with some audio clips of some of their best songs off of their debut. After this prolougue leads an amazing look at the majority of the songs off Nevermind; the vocal breakdowns, the success, the melodies and how the songs were built and recorded. There are some real incredible moments when the viewer is treated to some of Kurt's vocals recorded and mixed by Butch Vig simply on their own and then harmonies he built around them, both haunting and beautiful. There are some great anacdotes by Krist & Dave and some informative concepts by the producer, Biographer and various MTV crew, all enigmatic poingant and wonderful. There is an abundance of information here and imagery that has never before been seen (even by hardened avid Nirvana fans). The best parts for me were points when you could really see in Dave and Krist's eyes as they talk, that they really have produced an amazing record with, without doubt, one of the worlds greatest rock legends. The documentary was just long enough, straight to the point, interesting and powerful without over guilding, drawing out and exhausting. There are some fun and more 'laid back' extras to enjoy after the hour long viewing including the 'Nevermind Baby' Spencer Eldon talking and also a live rendition of 'Polly' that most of you guys would have seen before but sits well at the end of the DVD as the song is talked about personally in the main feature. Overall, if you're a faithful Nirvana fan or simply love rock music, this DVD will interest and marvel you - a DVD, because it is an OFFICIAL release, is not jumpy, frayed and of bad quality with no visual clips and sounds, but sharp, intelligent and full to the brim of great live moments and audio punctuations. I didn't feel that the DVD was a total 5 out of 5 as at the end I still felt slightly hungry for something that I believed wasn't totally 'served up' during the course of the documentary. But hey, that's just me... Still pretty damn outstanding!

If you a fan of Nirvana and in particular Kurt's songwriting abilities then this dvd is a must. Don't mistake it for one of those unofficial rip of dvds, This is put together very well and hearing the songs broken down really gives a great insight into how everything came together to produce this album. I avoided buying this dvd at first because I have seen to many other Nirvana documentries and expected it to be too self congratulating and full of stuff I already knew but I was wrong, it was totally absorbing. I have always thought that Kurt was one of the most talented singer/songwriters ever, but after watching this I was left with the feeling that I had under estimated him.

This is a great dvd. As a huge Nirvana/Kurt Cobain fan its great to finally be able to see a dvd that contains real footage of the band, people who were really with the band AND most importantly Krist and Dave!! There are so many unofficial rip off dvd's full of bad pictures, information we already know and people we've never heard of!! This is none of them. It is full of footage of the band, funny stories and interviews and fantastic in depth sections of the songs on Nevermind that make you remember what a great band Nirvana are and what a rare and amazing talent Kurt Cobain was. If you're a Nirvana fan buy it NOW!!!!