Customer Reviews

Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [Vinyl]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I suppose that, If you're reading this, there's a high chance that you're already a Nirvana fan, and you might be wondering if this reissue is worth buying. Or maybe you're new into Nirvana, and want to know if this one is a good place to start. Whoever you are, I highly recommend you get this CD, and I'll tell you why.

If you're a Nirvana fan, let me tell you two things. First, the whole record sounds better. Of course, it won't sound "Produced in 2009" better, but the songs do sound better compared with my old Bleach CD. Second, the live tracks and picture booklet are worth the spend just by themselves. I am amazed at how a 1990 Sub Pop live recording sounds that good. "Sappy" is one of my favorite Nirvana songs, and the live version here is just amazing. Again, it's not "2009 produced" sound quality, but hey, 1990, three instruments, one voice. Grunge at its best. What's not to like? Buy it.

If you're new to Nirvana, the obvious advice would be to tell you to get Nirvana's "Nevermind" first. You probably have heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" already. so you should get that one, right? Well, not at all. I think it would be a greater experience if you get Bleach first (this Deluxe Edition, while you're at it), so you can see where this band came from in the first place. You will find yourself attracted to the raw and dark emotion of songs like "Blew", "School", "Negative Creep" or the haunting "Paper Cuts", and you will be amazed that Nirvana could also put some good pop-rock songs like "About A Girl" or "Love Buzz" on the same CD. Or you'll just simply love songs like "Sifting" and "Downer", like I do, just because. Then, you'll have the opportunity to hear some of these songs live, on the same disc. When you have experienced that, and liked that, you'll be in a greater state of mind to buy "Nevermind" and be blown away.

On a more particular note, I own a lot of reissues from other bands, specially from bands that have been around for longer than I have been alive. Usually, they'll throw in 2-4 demos or live tracks, that are ussually not as interesting as the album, and a booklet with plenty of words of wisdom from the band or people close to it. What really makes this Bleach edition stand out is the inclusion of a whole concert, and the booklet with all the pictures that do a good work into bringing you back to that era. As I said before, the bonuses are worth the spend.

I would also like to correct a fellow reviewer. This live show existed on bootleg form, though not complete (look for the bootleg "World Without End"). Needless to say, the bootleg sounds like crap compared to the sound quality of this Deluxe Edition of Bleach.

Again, highly recommended. And a good price too. Get it.

I Picked up this edition of the classic debut from Nirvana today. Really does sound great! All of the original album tracks sound like they have been treated with great respect in the remastering process. The extended packaging is great. Because, lets face it, the original "Bleach" packaging left something to be desired... And to top it all off, an awesome "Bleach" era concert! One that, in all my bootleg collecting years, I have not yet heard.

If you're a fan, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this "20th Anniversary Edition of "Bleach"! You won't regret it ;)

I can say I am not disappointed with the re-release of Nirvana's debut album "bleach". The packaging is very well done and it contains a booklet with a LOT of never seen pictures from the band back in 1989-90. It even contains I believe all the pictures that were taken to promote the album back then. You get one CD with a remastered version of the album that sounds pretty darn good. It is followed by the audio of an entire live concert that was recorded back in 1990. I had never heard live versions of songs like "sappy" and "molly's lips" so I was pretty impressed with this. The sound of the concert is also excellent. Overall a very good product. They didn't mess with the fans.

You can really tell it was remastered.. It sounds great. crisp. high in detail. Buy it now to get the limited wax. Also just so you are clear, the amazon picture shows the CD next to the album, leading you to believe maybe it comes with it. However, it does not. It does come with a digital download registration though, which I won't need since I bought the CD version of this release also. Which sounds great too, noticeably "different" sounding, but in a good way.

I never held Bleach in much esteem. Without the subsequent triumphs of later albums, my thinking went, Nirvana's first studio effort would have most likely drifted out of the public consciousness, and its importance mostly lies as an artifact for die hard Nirvana fans only. Sub-Pop's reissue of Nirvana's first album, then, provides an excellent opportunity, not just to bask in the new high fi sheen of the album, but also to reassess Bleach's place within Nirvana's catalogue and within the rock and roll canon.

Of course, what you'll notice first is the tremendous clean up job Sup-Pop managed on this recording. From the initial intro of "Blew's" rising and falling bass line to Cobain's growl on album closer, "Downer," the entire album sounds much deeper and more compelling. Noveselic's bass and Channing's drums are given the their appropriate place alongside Cobain's lyrics and guitar, a reminder that Nirvana was always more than just a charismatic front man.

The jump in sound quality allowed me to really appreciate some of the slower numbers on the album. Before the reissue, I always considered it hopelessly front loaded-some great tracks in the first half ("Blew," "About a Girl," and "School") but tended to lose itself towards the end. The remastered sound helped me appreciate the way that Nirvana was playing around with texture on the album. "Paper Cuts," for instance, begins with the gnarled sounds of stiffled guitar and feedback while Cobain does a sing-scream call and response. These moments of aggression are offset by twin verses that break into shimmering guitars and a classic Nevermind-like melody, which, of course, are distorted once again into the "ugly" moments. It took the reissue to really show me how much Nirvana could accomplish on a song like this with only three members.

In fact, the reissue brings out much of the metallic psychedelia that pervades the album. Tracks that once seemed like misfits, "About a Girl" and "Love Buzz," now sound like an extension of the 60s psychedelia that clearly influenced the album. "About a Girl" now sounds like one of the pretty songs the Beatles might insert on their later more drug influence (or drug enhanced if you like) work, much like how "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," precedes "Happiness is a Warm Gun" on the White Album. "About a Girl's" twisted use of a love song melody to sing about a prostitute speaks to the death of a sixties, and the album's discontinuity between faux-naivete and pounding metal might be viewed as a continuation of that theme.

Cobain spoke of and wrote about the missed opportunities of the 1960s cultural revolution that appeared to die an ugly death a decade later. And one cannot help but imagine a burnt out hippie when Cobain sings "They make their living with arts and crafts / The kinds with seashells, driftwood and burlap" on "Swap Meet." "Sifting," with its hypnotizingly slow progression and intonation of what "teacher said" and "preacher said," could have been written by Jefferson Airplane in an alternate universe where they were somehow heavily influence by the Melvins. Breaking the five minute mark, "Sifting" is the longest cut on the album and its bridge is augmented by notes bent into ghostly moans and echoes, suggesting the kind of bad trip Peter Fonda experienced in Easy Rider.

Revisiting Bleach after all these years proved to be much more beneficial than I would have thought. The reissue has allowed me to come to terms, unexpected ways, with an album I never truly knew what to do with in. In a sense Bleach provides not only evidence of where Nirvana came from, but also perhaps where the band might return to if only given enough time. I can no longer see Bleach as merely a peripheral album from a band who could go on to do bigger and better things, but can now confidently assert that even without the chart topping sequels, overfilled arenas and countless magazine covers, to this day Bleach would be treated as the diamond in the rough that it truly is.

You must have this AND their "Incesticide" album on vinyl and blast both as loud as you can. It will help vibrate the bugs out of their hiding places in you house! This is what Nirvana truly was before the slick production of "Nevermind" and "In Utero" came along and is true to their post-punk origins. This delux edition is a slap in the face of all the sellers on this website and Ebay that were and are trying to rip off not-so-freakin'-rich Nirvana fans by charging $500+ for an original white vinyl copy of this. To this day, I do not know what kind of crack they were (and still are) smoking.

Chad Channing seems like a nice enough chap. While this certainly isn't Nirvana's best or most recognized lineup, Channing's drumming on these songs just seems right. Maybe it's from having this album memorized, but I think there's something more to it. His playing is unique, and it lends these songs a certain scuffling, amateurish honesty.
On the bonus live material recorded in 1990 in Portland, Nirvana plays a quick set, including Sappy, Molly's Lips, and Dive. There isn't a lot of quality Nirvana live material available from this period, and this is clearly the best live recording I've heard from this period.
All in all, Bleach is a classic record. The remaster crispens it up a bit. And the live tracks are essential for any Nirvana fan. It's a wonder they never thought of this earlier.

The second I heard that Bleach was being remastered I knew that I had to get a copy of it, hearing that an unreleased Live show was also along with it only made my anticipation for this album even greater. What I love about this album is how amazing each song is, and the remastering only makes this album sound even greater. Id have to say my favorites off this album are Blew, About A Girl, School, Negative Creep, Paper Cuts, Floyd The Barber, Scoff, Swap Meet, and Downer, and those are just my personal favorites the rest of the album is awesome too.

The live show which was recorded February 2 1990, is awesome. Hearing Chad Channing on the drums is great for the set they are playing. The live show is actually on the same disc as the remastered bleach, which I was surprised to see because I thought I had heard that the live show would be on a second disc. This show in particular is awesome simply because of set they play. School as always in their live shows is played with hard hitting drums, powerful guitar riff, and awesome bass lines. Along with School, comes a few tracks I was surprised to see, Dive, Sappy, and Molly's Lips. It was cool to hear those songs since you rarely get a chance to hear how great Nirvana sounded playing them live, though out of those 3 I think I liked Dive the most.

Along with the remastered bleach and the live show, Subpop included a bunch of rare photos of the band from the Bleach Era that are very cool and well taken. I had watched an interview with Chad Channing discussing the new photos and he said that one of his favorites is of Krist drenched in blood, which actually is a cool photo lol. One of the photos that I really enjoyed was seeing the contract the band signed with Subpop, little piece of Nirvana history and how it all began.

So definitely go out and buy this album, it is worth the money and you will not be disappointed. Bleach is one of the best grunge albums out there, and with this 20th Anniversary reissue you will most certainly find that like fine wine this album only gets better with age.

I am blown away at how good this remaster is!! I've had the original since 93 or so, but wow! The sound improvement is amazing!! The live portion of the cd is so good I just wanted to play it for the world!! Sound quality excellent, and my fav. song Love Buzz is better on the live portion than the album. The Vasolines song is also played better than the version on the other album. Worth every single cent plus about $50. Seriously good!! I think this might be their best album now that I've heard it remastered.

This is a great album, and I love that it has the original recorded songs plus the live performance recording from the Pine Street Theater show back in '90. Bought it for my husband as a Christmas gift and he totally loved it. The actual records (there are two) are a white vinyl and both come in a plastic covering (instead of the paper sheets that you usually see with records). It also comes with a booklet insert with some pretty cool pictures of the band. A definite must-have for any big Nirvana fan.