Nirvana - Bleach (20thAnniversary reissue)

Tue 24th Nov, 2009 in Music Reviews

When Bleach first came out in 1989, it was met with a pretty low-key reception, selling only 40,000 copies. Nobody could have predicted that two decades later, Nirvana would have become one of the greatest rock bands of the century, and Sub Pop would be celebrating the release of such a quietly achieving record’s 20th anniversary.

Bleach may not have made much of a mark at the time (though since the band’s popularity soared it did go on to sell 1.7 million in the US alone), but it’s an important album in Nirvana’s catalogue. Recorded with a budget of just over US$600, the album is quintessential Nirvana, with its layers of feedback and distortion, the Pixies-inspired undertone, the fuzzy, rumbling rhythm section of Chris Novoselic and Chad Channing and Kurt Cobain’s choppy, noisy distorted guitar and signature screaming vocals. These elements underlay some of the album’s classic tracks – the pop-tinged About a Girl, the punk-rock interpretation of Shocking Blue’s psychedelic Love Buzz and the choppy and furious Negative Creep.

With Bleach producer Jack Endino overseeing the new edition’s remastering sessions, the much-lauded debut’s reissue is appropriately understated. Fans especially will appreciate the grainy, vintage-style photo booklet capturing the band – in particular, a striking image of a sweet-looking 22-year-old Cobain – at the cusp of their prime.

The new versions of the album’s original 13 tracks is just one of the features of this release, but regardless of whether you can hear the difference or not (I can’t), the 20th anniversary edition’s highlight is the never-before-released live recording of a concert in Portland in 1990. It captures what many fans will sadly never get to witness: Nirvana, raw and powerful, live in concert. The band’s frenetic energy sounds more pronounced in the crisp recording, which includes a killer live version of the old track Spank Thru and one of their most popular covers, the Vaselines’ Molly’s Lips.

Fans are often divided about which is the better Nirvana record. Bleach may not be their finest, but it’s certainly one of their most significant releases – the hallmark of a band who became legendary, and whose records endure, even 20 years on.

The Bleach reissue is out now through Sub Pop Records.