Nirvana - Live at Reading CD/DVD Review

Posted by Marshall Slayton on 11.24.2009

Behold, one of the greatest live albums.... ever.



1. Breed
2. Drain You
3. Aneurysm
4. School
5. Sliver
6. In Bloom
7. Come As You Are
8. Lithium
9. About a Girl
10. Tourette’s
11. Polly
12. Lounge Act
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit
14. On a Plain
15. Negative Creep
16. Been a Son
17. All Apologies
18. Blew
19. Dumb
20. Stay Away
21. Spank Thru
22. Love Buzz
23. The Money Will Roll Right In
24. D-7
25. Territorial Pissings

Nirvana’s latest to be unleashed from the locked vault of the Cobain estate couldn’t come any sooner. It’s one of the best concerts ever captured on film--- this coming from a guy who loves collecting live DVDs.

The commonly bootlegged 1992 Live At Reading Nirvana concert has been circulating collectors for years and it’s finally seeing the light of day as an official CD/DVD set. It’s been given the VIP treatment: taken from the dirt, given a sponge bath, hanged to dry, and handled with delicate cotton gloves for the final polish. The sound has been remastered in awesome DTS surround and the video is color corrected to look vibrant and clear- the whole package plays as though it was filmed no less than a year ago. It’s 90’s rock n’ roll resurrected from the dead and put back on stage, and it’s never been healthier.

The golden goose is, without a doubt, the DVD. The CD sounds remarkable, but it’s only half the experience compared to the visuals. Take Cobain’s entrance, for example, where he’s pushed around a wheelchair by a doctor to the microphone, makes a brave effort to stand and sing, then collapses to the floor. Just as an awkward “WTF?” moment sets in place, Cobain bounces back up, grabs a guitar, and begins the opening riff of “Breed,” and from then on, it’s a full-out assault for the next hour and a half.



Big hits like “In Bloom” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – songs the band would eventually come to despise and vow never to play again – are full-on display and performed with rousing excitement. Same thing goes for “School” and “Territorial Pissings,” both of which illuminate Dave Grohl’s thunderous drums. Yet the highlight of this show goes to “All Apologies,” Cobain’s most sentimental piece, which he dedicates to his wife. At his request, he prompts the crowd to yell “WE LOVE YOU, COURTNEY!!” which he responds to with a warm, honest smile. The stripped-down version of “All Apologies” that follows may be one of their best and most emotional recordings to date.



The DVD includes an extra track, omitted from the CD version: a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz,” which fits in nicely next to a cover of Fang’s “The Money Will Roll Right In” and “D-7” from Wipers. (It appears Cobain really loved his covers.) That, and the asides, interludes, crowd interaction, and corny jokes (“Doc, there’s an invisible man in the waiting room.” “Tell him I can’t see him.”) tell a fuller story than the CD version, which has been fully stuffed to capacity.

Worth the extra money alone is the final ten minutes, where the band goes into apeshit mode by going commando on their equipment. Grohl throws his drums around the stage, Krist Novoselic bangs on the snare, and Cobain plays the national anthem with blood from his hand smearing the guitar. And what good would the show be if it didn’t end with Cobain donating his entire electric instrument to the front row? (Hint: he does.)



I can’t stress how amazing this live album is, from the first minute to the last. It is a gift from the gods. Put in the extra couple bucks and buy the DVD, or even better, the CD/DVD gift pack. Throw the CD in the car, and leave the DVD to your home theater system for maximum rockage. It’s worth every penny.

The 411: Nirvana’s Live At Reading is in the top 10 live videos of all time. It is a show full of great music, amazing performances, and most importantly, it reminds you why you fell in love with the band in the first place. I only have Nirvana’s excellent MTV Unplugged DVD, and this feels like the greater show of the two. Something felt unfulfilled seeing Dave Grohl lightly tapping his drums while Novoselic and Cobain sat comfortably in chairs. Here, the guys run around and sweat like mad while screaming their brains out; it is the total opposite of their acoustic show. This stuff is made of legend.

Final Score:  10.0   [ Virtually Perfect ]