nirvana bootlegs !!
there's a LOT of nirvana bootlegs out there, and luckily my local record store has a lot of them. i own a few, and i wanna get more! if you want really good info on nirvana bootlegs go to Live Nirvana. p.s. if you can, don't buy bootlegs online, people will put absolutely DIABOLICAL prices on them.
the outcesticide series
outcesticide 1: in memory of kurt cobain
the first of the outcesticide series!! it has studio demos, live recordings, and home demos! a lot of the tracks are found easily on other bootlegs (the reciprocal recording tracks, the home demos) but it's a pretty good bootleg anyway, which has tracks which still remain unreleased today (spank thru @ reciprocal).
outcesticide 2: the needle & the damage done
number 2!! this one is mostly live tracks, but still has a few studio tracks (my favorite)! the tracks on this one aren't as common, but because they're mostly live they still can be found on other bootlegs. it has a very early version of breed (titled imodium) from november '89, and the sub pop version of in bloom. it also has an interesting acoustic show (more complete on 'the sun is gone, and i have a light'.
outcesticide 3: the final solution
number 3!!!!! this is the newest one i own, and also my favorite. again, it's mostly live tracks but it's got some REALLY good ones (pennyroyal tea, drain you, serve the servants, tourettes, the money will roll right in, in his hands). the studio tracks it has are good too (marigold [mislabeled as marogold], even in his youth, polly).
live bootlegs
dive into hole
live in early 1990! not my favorite era of nirvana, but the shows are pretty good. it's got some nice tracks (here she comes now, stain, pay to play) which arent as common from shows around this time.
live in del mar, california
recorded on the 28th of december, 1991! aside from the show at the paramount, this is probably my favorite performance from the nevermind era. it is (at least from what i can tell) before they started disliking their popular songs, they're really on top of their game with songs like smells like teen spirit. it is a pretty generic setlist though, but it is high quality (soundboard recording).
greatest hits broadcast collection
a pretty odd bootleg (if it even counts as one). as it sounds it's a compilation of live performances that were broadcasted on radio, and it's kind of all over the place. but when the performances are good they're REALLY good, it has breed, been a son, rape me, and endless nameless from the paramount show. it's probably the newest bootleg on this list, being released in 2024.
roma
recorded on the 22nd of february '94, it's kind of a tragic show considering what happened less than 2 months later, but there's no point in dwelling on everything negative.. it has soundboard quality, and the bands performance is amazing. breed, serve the servants, teen spirit, lithium, pennyroyal tea, very ape, lounge act, heart shaped box, scentless apprentice, and all apologies are all played VERY well. in terms of songs and performances this is probably my favorite era of nirvana. read the liner notes:
A near fatal accident in Rome has brought out the vultures hungry for a corpse. Well tough luck suckers, our boy Kurt is still with us and with only a few weeks off to recover, its back on the road to continue the "In Utero" European tour. None of this "Eddie's got a headache, cancel all engagements for the rest of the year", Kurt nearly dies, but within weeks he's vowed to be back on the boards. It is going to take a lot more than this to knock down Nirvana's wall. Regardless of the relentless media attack Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and Nirvana are here to stay, like it or not. The "In Utero" album delivered everything it promised and more, Kurt Cobain has proved himself as the first classic songwriter of the nineties if only you would look beneath the headlines. What a performer chooses to do in the privacy of his own home, or hotel room, is down to him alone and nobody else. The sad thing is that the people who continually cut down Kurt for his choice of personal treatment always hail the Keith Richards of this world as heroes. Talk about double standards. At the end of the day it is the chords that count, not the chemicals. Nirvana make stunning music and have never failed to deliver the goods. It is time that people checked out Kurt's lyrics and then they might just begin to understand.
it's weird to hear them talk about kurt and nirvana in the present tense, but it's a good bit on the album and context surrounding it (though the rome incident hadn't happened when this show was played, and it wasn't an accident). the demolition is pretty fun too (so in english- or in america, when you get in a lot of trouble and you're gonna go to court, they have a saying that they 'throw the book at you'! so what's my sentence?)
seventh heaven
a few good shows recorded in '91, songs like breed, teen spirit, blew, lithium, and polly are played exceptionally well. similar setlists to the del mar show though.
the sun is gone and i have a light
this starts off with the same show as del mar, but after it is the full acoustic show from outcesticide 2. it has a lot of songs played that would later be played in 1993 at mtv unplugged such as where did you sleep last night, dumb, about a girl, jesus wants me for a sunbeam, and something in the way. it's a pretty interesting show, recorded in 1991.
misc
pay to play
an interesting disc, comprised mostly of tracks from other bootlegs or b-sides. it has the same reciprocal studio demos as outcesticide 1, and opinion though with more of kurt and the host just talking. it has if you must in higher quality and also junkyard. it has turnaround (mislabeled as 'pretty scary'), i hate myself and want to die (mislabeled as 'here I am'), the studio version of here she comes now, and the b-side version of marigold. after gallons of rubbing alcohol it has courtney loves complete eulogy for kurt cobain.