Nirvana - With the Lights Out (3 CD Boxset) (2004)
Audio CD (November 23, 2004) | Number of Discs: 4 | Format: Box set | Mp3 320 kbps | 495 MB
Genre: Grunge, Alternative rock | Label: Geffen Records


Nirvana may have been the biggest thing in the music world in the early '90s, but the trio maintained an uncommon devotion to core fans who knew them when they were still sleeping in a van. Fending off the adoration of punk-rock dabblers in the media and their audience while simultaneously welcoming stalwart underground-music supporters, Kurt Cobain did things on his own terms--until it all came crashing down. A decade after Cobain's 1994 suicide and the band's demise, With the Lights Out remains true to the ethos that defined the band and the alt-rock revolution that rose and fell with them.
Eschewing the standard hits-sprinkled-with-rarities mix, this lovingly compiled three-CD, one-DVD collection is made up almost entirely of previously unreleased selections. The handful of previously heard tracks are obscurities along the lines of the group's cover of "Here She Comes Now," recorded for a 1990 indie-rock tribute to the Velvet Underground. But it's not the B-sides and compilation oddities that define this idiosyncratic set; rather, its spirit is captured in the bedroom demos, radio performances, and sloppy amateur video recordings that catch Cobain and cohorts developing from just another punk- and metal-inspired bunch of grunge rockers pounding away in the bass player's mom's living room into a band that defined an era. --Steven Stolder

Product Description
The box set spans Nirvana's entire career, from a recording of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" at the band's first show in 1987 to solo acoustic performances from singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain in 1994. With The Lights Out features a 60-page color booklet with rare photos and liner notes by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and writer Neil Strauss. The three CDs, arranged largely chronologically contains home and rehearsal demos, including for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (whose lyric "With the lights out" provides the set's title), "Rape Me," "Heart Shaped Box" and a trio penned by legendary bluesman Leadbelly. Heard in the 12 previously unreleased solo acoustic tracks are such gems as "All Apologies," "Lithium" and "Sliver." Six previously unreleased radio performances range from "Anorexorcist" in 1987 to "Dumb" in 1991 (two years before it was on 1993's In Utero). Along with the remaining debuts are a handful of earlier issued, though rare, b-sides and demos as well as the original Butch Vig mix of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Highlighted on the With The Lights Out DVD is a previously unreleased video of nine songs performed in 1988 at bassist Krist Novoselic's mother's house in Aberdeen, Washington; the rare "In Bloom" Sub Pop music video, and 10 never-before-seen live performances. Noteworthy among them are debut renditions of "Pennyroyal Tea", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" both from early 1991. Also premiering is an unlikely performance of Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen's "Seasons In The Sun" shot at a Rio de Janeiro studio.

Disc 1
"Heartbreaker" (John Bonham/John Paul Jones/Robert Plant) – 2:59
From Nirvana's first show (March 7, 1987 in Raymond, Washington)
"Anorexorcist (aka "Annorexorcist")" – 2:44
"White Lace and Strange" (Chris Bond) – 2:09
"Help Me, I'm Hungry" (aka "Vendetagainst") – 2:41
From Nirvana's first radio session (April 17, 1987 at KAOS 89.3 FM in Olympia, Washington)
"Mrs. Butterworth" (aka "Unknown #1") – 4:05
From a boombox-recorded band practice demo tape (summer of 1987 in Washington)
"If You Must" – 4:01
"Pen Cap Chew" – 3:02
From Nirvana's first studio session (January 23, 1988 at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington, produced by Jack Endino)
"Downer" – 1:43
"Floyd the Barber" – 2:33
"Raunchola" (aka "Erectum")/ "Moby Dick" ("Moby Dick" - John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page) – 6:24
From a live performance (January 23, 1988 at the Community World Theatre in Tacoma, Washington)
"Beans" – 1:32
"Don't Want it All" (aka "Seed") – 2:26
"Clean Up Before She Comes" – 3:12
"Polly" – 2:30
"About a Girl" – 2:44
Cobain's 4-track home recordings (1987 and/or 1988 in Aberdeen, Washington)
"Blandest" – 3:56
From a studio session (June 6, 1988 at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington, produced by Jack Endino)
"Dive" – 4:50
From Nirvana's first 24-track studio session (spring 1989 at The Evergreen State College Audio Studio in Olympia, Washington, produced by Greg Babior)
"They Hung Him on a Cross" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 1:57
"Grey Goose" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 4:36
"Ain't It a Shame" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 2:01
From a studio session for "the Jury", a Lead Belly cover band featuring members of Nirvana and the Screaming Trees (August 20 and 28, 1989 at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington, produced by Jack Endino)
"Token Eastern Song" – 3:21
"Even in His Youth" – 3:12
"Polly" – 2:36
From a studio session (September 1989 at Music Source Studios in Seattle, Washington, produced by Steve Fisk)

Disc 2
From Cobain's acoustic performance on Calvin Johnson's college radio show (September 25, 1990 at KAOS 89.3 FM in Olympia, Washington)
"Opinion" – 1:34
"Lithium" – 1:49
"Been a Son" – 1:12
From Cobain's boombox-recorded home demos (1990 in Olympia, Washington)
"Sliver" – 2:09
"Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (traditional) – 2:31
From a studio session (April 2 to 6, 1990 at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin; produced by Butch Vig)
"Pay to Play" (early version of "Stay Away") – 3:29
"Here She Comes Now" (John Cale/Sterling Morrison/Lou Reed/Maureen Tucker) – 5:01
From a 4-track demo (April 1991 in San Francisco, California). Features Dale Crover on drums and Dave Grohl on bass.
"Drain You" – 2:38
From a studio session (January 1, 1991 at Music Source Studios in Seattle, Washington; produced by Craig Montgomery)
"Aneurysm" (Smells Like Teen Spirit single b-side) – 4:47
From a boombox-recorded rehearsal demo (March 1991 in Tacoma, Washington)
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" – 5:40
From the studio session for Nevermind (May to June 1991 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California; produced by Butch Vig)
"Breed" (Butch Vig rough mix) – 3:07
"Verse Chorus Verse" – 3:17
"Old Age" – 4:20
From a John Peel radio session (September 3, 1991 at Maida Vale Studios, London, England)
"Endless, Nameless" – 8:47
"Dumb" – 2:35
From a John Peel radio session (October 21, 1990 at Maida Vale Studios, London, England)
"D-7" (Greg Sage) – 3:46
From Nirvana's first post-Nevermind studio session (April 7, 1992 at Laundry Room Studios in Seattle, Washington; produced by Barrett Jones)
"Oh, the Guilt" – 3:25
"Curmudgeon" (Lithium single b-side) – 3:03
"Return of the Rat" (Greg Sage) – 3:09
From the studio session for Nevermind (May to June 1991 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California; produced by Butch Vig)
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Butch Vig mix) – 4:59

Disc 3
Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (May 1991 in Oakwood, CA?)
1. "Rape Me" – 3:23
From Nirvana's second post-Nevermind studio session (October 25–26, 1992 at Word of Mouth Studios [former Reciprocal Recording Studios], Seattle, WA. Producer: Jack Endino).
2. "Rape Me" – 3:01
From a band practice demo tape (Winter 1992 in Seattle, WA)
3. "Scentless Apprentice" (Kurt Cobain/Dave Grohl/Krist Novoselic) (rehearsal demo) – 9:32
From Nirvana's final pre-In Utero studio session (January 19–21, 1993 at Ariola Ltda BMG, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Producer: Craig Montgomery)
4. "Heart-Shaped Box" – 5:31
5. "I Hate Myself and Want to Die" – 4:03
6. "Milk It" – 4:34
7. "Moist Vagina" (a.k.a. "MV") – 1:56
8. "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip" – 7:33
9. "The Other Improv" – 6:24
Cobain's boombox-recorded home demos (Fall or Winter 1992 in Seattle, WA)
10. "Serve the Servants" – 1:36
11. "Very Ape" – 1:52
Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1993 in Seattle, WA)
12. "Pennyroyal Tea" – 3:30
From the studio session for In Utero (February 12–26, 1993 at Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Producer: Steve Albini)
13. "Marigold" (Dave Grohl) (Heart-Shaped Box single b-side) – 2:34
14. "Sappy" – 3:26
From a band practice demo tape (February 5, 1994 at Pavilhao Dramatico, Cascais, Portugal)
15. "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" (Eugene Kelly/Frances McKee) – 3:57
Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1994 in Seattle, WA)
16. "Do Re Mi" – 4:24
Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1993 or 1994 in Seattle, WA)
17. "You Know You're Right" – 2:30
Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1991 or 1992 in Olympia, WA or Los Angeles, California?)
18. "All Apologies" – 3:33










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