Review: Nirvana – Live at Reading
Nirvana – Live at Reading (2009) [Universal] // Grade: A
August 30th in 1992, two weeks after the birth of Frances Bean, Kurt Cobain took the stage along with Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and gave their fans at Reading one of the most impassioned performances of their too brief career as Nirvana. The band ran through a long set of classics from Nevermind & Bleach, loads of B-sides (which would make their way to the masses via Insecticide a few months later), covers (Fang’s “the Money Will Roll Right In”) and early performances of the then yet to be released “Tourette’s”, “All Apologies” and “Dumb” (all from In Utero). For that moment in 1992, it was all you could hope a Nirvana concert could and would be.
Bootlegs of Live at Reading have long been one of the favorite convert recordings of the band amongst hardcore fans. These unauthorized CDs and tapes have long been in circulation, most not to long after the concert ended. Hell I bet if you were a teenager in the 90′s you may have even had or heard a dubbed copy at some point… I know it’s where I, and I’m sure many of you around your 30s probably first heard “All Apologies”.
So what makes an official release of an already widely available bootleg so special? Well for one, it means something (at least to me) that Live at Reading is finally being deemed worthy to enter the official canon of Nirvana releases but then there’s the whole remastering of the audio quality and that this (official) release comes packaged with a DVD of the entire performance. I’m positive no bootleg CD or VHS you may have owned in the 90s of this show ever sounded or looked this good. So unless you have some sentimental attachment to them it may be time to bid them goodbye because next to this package I doubt they do the show true justice anymore.
Ultimately the true test of how great a live album is how accurately that record can transport you back to that place in time… Live In Reading does just that. This is the definitive document that captures the band’s energy, intensity and connection with their fans at the pinnacle of Nevermind fever. Crank it loud and you can almost feel the brush of flannel and smell of patchouli in the air
