Rare Nirvana Liner Notes http://members.aol.com/WPeter4105/index.html The Eternal Legacy Bootleg: They came, they saw, they conquered. Nirvana gave us seven short years of glorius chaos, the likes of which will never be seen again. The group had split up at the begining of April '94 after their long awaited European tour collapsed around them and any thoughts of reconciliations were soon dashed when the body of tragic singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain was found at his home in Seattle on the morning of Friday the 8th of April. Months and months of mounting pressure had taken its toll leaving Kurt seeking a final solution to end his pain and suffering through suicide. The reluctant superstar, with one quick pull of the trigger, had cemented both himself, and Nirvana, into the rock and roll hall of fame for eternity, something he had always been at pains to avoid. Nirvana were the underdog's band, the revenge of street punks, a spanner in the works of the corporate machine and the last great band of the nineties. They will be a very hard act to follow. The untimely demise of Kurt Cobain was the full stop to complete the final chapter in the book of the punk revolution. Control was now regained in America, as well as the rest of Europe, the final heavy tour schedule had broken Kurt and knocked the guts out of the group. Half way through a grueling ten month schedule was to become the straw the broke the camel's back. Kurt could no longer go on with the endless cycle of depression and pain and, to him, there was only one way out. There are lessons to be learnt from the rise and fall of Nirvana. Enter the machine at your own risk because today it is more stronger than it has ever been, it'll eat you up and spit you out as soon as you have out stayed your use. Rock and Roll used to be fun, but in the nineties it's no different to joining the army. Cherish the memories of Kurt Cobain and the legacy of Nirvana. Support Courtney Love and support the true underground. It's time for change. Ignore the machine. Kurt Cobain rest in peace. Into the Black Bootleg: In the end there remained nothing but a note, written in a child like scrawl in red ink. A page of crumpled paper, placed in a potted plant, encapsulating all the pain, the frustration, and the absolute brilliance of a life that lasted a mere 27 years and ended by choice, far too early... In the summer of 1987 the face of rock music was void, and the sound was overproduced and studio inspired. Many thought that rock music had run its course and there was little evidence to prove otherwise. But there was a strange sound coming out of a tiny logging town in Washington. A sound somewhat akin to chainsaws on broken glass. It was music so completely raw and unrefined, that many of us lucky enough to see one of those early shows walked away shaking our heads and wondering what the fuck it was we'd just heard. It was loud and nasty, and if you were lucky it made your ears bleed. Kurt Cobain met Chris Novaselic while attending Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Wa.. They quickly became friends after meeting again at a studio rehearsal for Seattle Punk band The Melvins. Together they formed a sort of "anti-social" alliance that would help them survive their early years. The rest of the world became an inside joke. Aberdeen was a redneck town that wasn't kind to sensitive artistic types. The town was a beautiful place to live, if you could avoid being bored to death. Kurt embarked upon his first musical project and formed a band called Brown Towel with fellow musicians Dale Crover (on drums) and Buzz Osbourne (on bass). They played their first gig in Olympia, Wa. at Evergreen State College in late 1985. Meanwhile Chris became the lead singer for a Melvins side band called The Stiff Woodies. Thankfully Chris sang only a few local frat parties and soon the project fell apart, the collective world of rock music has been breathing a sigh of relief ever since. About this time Kurt began sending a tape of his original songs entitled "Fecal Matter" around to any record company that would listen. Unfortunately few would listen and Kurt never received a call from anyone. It seemed his material was too rough edged for the industry powerbrokers who had been weaned on the sound of Whitney Houston and Billy Joel. Kurt decided, if he never signed a record deal he would have no regrets. He asked Chris to form a band with him. They had no specific name, performing under the moniker of Ted, Ed, & Fred, Bliss and Skid Row among others. They played parties and small shows at clubs like the Hollywood Underground in Seattle and Community World Theater in nearby Tacoma. Unforgettable shows at which it seemed they would play new songs each night. Kurt was becoming more prolific as a songwriter and he was finding his direction as a musician. They went through a variety of drummers never finding the sound, that Kurt "heard in his head". In early 1988 they decided to keep Dale Crover, for better or worse. Together they went to record a demo tape at Reciprocal Studios in Seattle. On January 23, 1988 the band, now calling themselves Nirvana, recorded the demos for what would eventually become their first official release "Bleach". The entire set of demos was recorded in six hours. Jack Endino, who had engineered the session, gave a mixed version to Jonathan Poneman of Seattle's fledling "Sub Pop" records who was immediately interested. On December 24, 1988, after replacing drummers with Chad Channing and adding guitarist Jason Everman, Nirvana recorded their first album at Reciprocal in Seattle. The recording time was five hours and the entire project was completed for the grand sum of $606.17. "Bleach" hit record stores in June of 1989. The sales weren't spectacular, but the "buzz" about this new punk band from Seattle started to spread. The band toured the U.S. for the first time, playing erratic yet inspired concerts. In August of 1989 the band released and EP entitled "Blew" on Sub Pop and began an extensive European tour schedule opening for Seattle "grunge" band TAD. They played thirty six shows in forty two days, and were greeted by adoring crowds. Unfortunately the band, especially Kurt were not prepared to handle the tour. The equipment problems, lack of sleep and Kurt's increasingly nauseous stomach began to push him towards more dangerous methods of escape. The seriousness of his situation would not become apparent for a long time, but the seeds of destruction had been planted. After the "Bleach" tour, Nirvana split company with Sub Pop and began searching for a new Record label. In the meantime, they recorded a demo tape of new songs in April of 1990 at Smart Studios in Madison, WI. Shortly thereafter, the band fired Chad Channing and found a permanent replacement in Dave Grohl, an incredibly powerful drummer with undeniable sense of melody and a beautiful tenor voice. With Dave on board Nirvana entered the studio to began work on their second album. Kurt insisted on using engineer Butch Vig, a producer who was known for his raw and straight forward approach. In May and June of 1991 Nirvana laid down the basic tracks for "Nevermind". No one had any idea how successful the album was going to be, but the band knew it was very good. Kurt had finally found the sound he'd been looking for, thanks to the addition of Grohl's drumming and Vig's production production skill. The tracks to "Nevermind" were about teen angst, alienation and anger of convention. Together with "Bleach", it would come to define the "Seattle Sound", and would be responsible for the term "grunge" being added to the vocabularies of teenagers and music fans. Immediately after completing "Nevermind" the band embarked on a short west coast tour. In August they joined Sonic Youth for a European festival tour. After playing a string of sellout shows, the band returned how and began working on the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit". On September 29, 1991, while the band was touring the U.S. again "Nevermind" was released. Immediately following its release the album began climbing the charts. The band being on tour had no idea as to its success, but they knew something was happening because every show began to sell out. By the time Nirvana returned Seattle's Paramount Theater in October for their landmark homecoming gig, the album was entering the top ten. The music industry had now become aware of this new "Seattle Sound". "Smells Like Teen Spirit" rocketed to number one with MTV's constant air play, followed by "Come As You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". Over night Nirvana had become famous all over the world. Unfortunately all was not what it seemed. Kurt had wanted to be in a band and have his songs heard, but he had no idea what the success of "Nevermind" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would spawn. His life became a fishbowl and rumors ran rampant about drug abuse by Kurt and his then girlfriend Courtney Love of the punk band Hole. Although these rumors were denied by Nirvana's management, they eventually turned out to be true. Kurt was heavily using heroin and had undergone several rehabs with mixed success. His stomach problems were worsening. Socially and emotionally he was a wreck. Kurt Cobain and a pregnant Courtney Love were married in Waikiki, Hawaii, on February 24, 1992. Frances Bean Cobain was born on August 19, 1992. For awhile things got better, with the exception of vicious stories circulating about Courtney that made Kurt furious. To quell rumors of the bands early demise, Nirvana flew to England in August 1992 and performed at the Reading Festival. Their performance was absolutely brilliant, and showed them to have lost nothing artistically. If anything, this may have been their best concert performance of the entire "Nevermind" tour. The band took the rest of 1992 off, and Kurt concentrated on being a father to Frances and husband to Courtney. On February 24, 1993 Nirvana began recording their third studio album with ex Pixies and Breeders producer Steve Albini. Kurt had written a variety of new songs on the Nevermind tour and was anxious to see what Albini's abrasive minimalistic techniques could bring to them. With more studio time and a larger budget, Geffen Records was expecting a bigger and better version of "Nevermind". What they got was a stripped down wiry recording, more reminiscent of "Bleach". Geffen was not happy. So they re-worked certain tracks and changed the title several times. "In Utero" was released on Sept. 14, 1993. It went straight to number one on the Billboard charts, despite MTV's ridiculous refusal to play "Rape Me". This was an album of deep introspection, incredibly personal lyrics on Kurt's part and in retrospect a predictor of things to come. Nirvana once again began a world tour that would cover the U.S. and Europe. They added former Germ's gutarist Pat Smear. The new guitarist helped to take some of the weight off Kurt and made their live performances better than ever. Along the way they agreed to appear on MTV's Unplugged. Their performance included stunning covers of "The Man Who Sold The World", "Plateau" and Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". This may have been the most stirring show in the history of MTV's Unplugged. The band continued the tour, but it was taking its toll on Kurt. He had sworn never to do another stadium tour and his fragile little body began to feel the strain of this tour more than ever. He was in constant pain from his stomach and the scoliosis that had plagued him since childhood was making it difficult for him to even hold his guitar. On January 7th and 8th of 1994, Nirvana played their last American shows in Seattle at the Seattle Center Arena. The shows were the pinnacle of punk perfection. They appeared as a fire raging out of control before consuming itself. Kurt was animated and his voice was perfect. But the lyrics from the "In Utero" songs gave away much of what he was feeling. "Teenage angst has paid off well... now I'm bored and old" "Out of the ground, into the sky, out of the sky, into the dirt" "On the bright side is suicide". Kurt's drug addiction, his inability to deal with fame and the carrying of the mantle as spokesman for "Generation X" was becoming unbearable. On February 2, 1994, Nirvana flew to Europe. They performed another set of amazing shows in Paris. By the time they got to Rome, the band had become suddenly listless, performing songs as if they were studio sessions. Kurt hardly spoke between songs and he was becoming more and more withdrawn. Nirvana played their last concert in Offenbach, Germany on April 13, 1994. On March 5, 1994, while staying in Rome's Excelsior Hotel with Courtney, Kurt attempted suicide by taking more than fifty pills. He was rushed to Rome's Umberto Polyclinic, where his stomach was pumped and he entered a coma. Geffen and Gold Mountain once again denied there was anything wrong and stated that Kurt had taken an accidental overdose. Kurt came out of the coma, and together with Courtney he returned to the U.S. On April 8, 1994, police were called to Kurt and Courtney's home by an electrician who had been hired to install a burglar alarm in the couples home. They found Kurt dead of a shotgun blast to the head. Next to him was a suicide note written to Frances and Courtney, and all of us. Kurt Donald Cobain was, in almost every way the unlikeliest of heros, but his songs changed the face of music. Kurt and Nirvana paved the way by kicking down doors and preconceptions that had kept alternative music underground for years. A candlelight memorial was held for Kurt two days after his death at the Seattle Center. It started out as a dark somber mass for a dead rock star, but quickly turned into a celebration of the life and music of a man. Nirvana's music played while kids danced in a fountain in defiance of security and police, they were not hurting anyone, but there were not letting anyone hold they back. It was kind of the way Kurt would have acted, what the hell, he inspired it. I'm sure he was watching it all through those brilliant blue eyes and finally smiling. This is a small history of the music of Nirvana. Listen and enjoy... Hormoaning: (Translated to English) In Billboard, the magazine published December 14, 1991, Nevermind was #6 in the CD hit ranking and the single Smells Like Teen Spirit was #23 in the single ranking. Nirvana used to be described as the hopeful band from Seattle before they produced the first record. However, Nirvana is now one of the most popular bands in the US. The music they play doesn't stick to any formalities and leads heavy metal in the new generation, therefore it is called Alternative Heavy Rock. I will neither write more details about Alternative Heavy Rock, nor investigate their music from professional eyes. Anyway, all I can say is that the music of Nirvana influences a lot of teenagers today. Nirvana's commercial success is the biggest mystery in the music scene. I don't want you to misunderstand. I didn't say Nirvana did not have enough ability to get 'Platinum Disk prize,' but nobody could expect they would be such a famous band. The reason people think Nirvana's success is a mystery is that Geffen (the record label that Nirvana and some other popular bands - such as Guns N' Roses - belong to), sold only a few Nevermind [CD's] at first but a lot of young people bought it and Nirvana got big money even then. But I think Nirvana themselves are very surprised about this incident. Actually, I had a chance to interview Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) during English concert tours (their supporting acts were their favorite groups, Shonen Knife and Captain America, by the way). He said the following: "I didn't expect we would be so famous. I didn't even expect that our CD would be in the top 100 ranking in Billboard. You see, we had been in Europe before the great fuss. I don't want to relate with this fuss because I hate that a lot of fans are waiting for us at the airport." Kurt Cobain seemed like he was saying "Don't lose your mind" to himself during the interview. (personal opinion) Maybe they know a lot of musicians who lost their thoughts and became the toy of mass media. So Kurt Cobain is protecting himself before he goes the same way. Nirvana will come to Japan pretty soon so that you will be able to understand what I am trying to say. Because they will come to Japan, I will advise you about their concert. First thing I have to tell is that the concert is always unsociable. And also they are easily influenced by the environment so it depends on your luck whether the concert is very nice or boring. This CD is released just for Japan [and Australia]. I'd like to introduce each song on this mini-album, but we don't even know what songs will be on the CD. By one Japanese record company's information, two of the songs from the Smells Like Teen Spirit CD single, which are Even In His Youth and Aneurysm. It may also include some songs which were broadcast by BBC Radio-1 in England. It may be just a rumor, but one of them may be their favorite song by the Vaselines. I think that most of the people who bought this mini-CD have Nevermind too. But if it is the first time to buy Nirvana's CD for you, I recommend you to experience Nevermind. I'm sure you'll like it too. Dec. 1991 / Yuichi Masuda / Burrn!