Cobain Unseen [Hardcover]

Charles R. Cross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2008

An unparalleled look inside the brilliant mind of one of America's most revered rock legends, Cobain Unseen collects previously unseen artifacts and photographs from the estate's archives to form a fascinating portrait of the creativity, madness, and genius of Kurt Cobain.
Personal items and photographs take readers deeper inside Cobain's life than they've ever been before, and interactive features, such as Kurt's handwritten sticker-sheet of Nirvana name tags, facsimiles of unseen journal pages, and gatefolds of his graffiti-embellished guitars make this an essential keepsake. An audio CD showcasing spoken-word material by Cobain, some of it never before released, will be included. Accompanying the previously unpublished images and memorabilia is a compelling biographical narrative by New York Times-bestselling author Charles R. Cross.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

More haunting death album than biography, this book presents the life of the troubled Nirvana front man through a series of never-before-seen candid snapshots, scribbled lyrics and photographs of treasured mementos. Beginning with Cobain's early life in Aberdeen, Wash., Cross includes reproductions of items more intimate than mere family photos: a Thanksgiving card 13-year-old Kurt drew, an array of favorite T-shirts and even a card enabling Cobain to receive food stamps. Cross—who profiled the musician in his authorized biography, Higher Than Heaven—has a fan's adoration of memorabilia both well-known (an early, handwritten draft of Smells Like Teen Spirit) and obscure (Cobain's collection of heart-shaped boxes, which both inspired a song of the same name and was a passion shared with his wife, Courtney Love). Several of the reproductions are designed as replicas of the original items (such as early Nirvana stickers and a mask designed by Cobain), and the tactile quality of the book, in addition to the biographical text, make it imperative for fans to do just as Cobain instructs in one of his diary entries: look through my things and figure me out. (Nov.)
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Review

Praise for COBAIN UNSEEN: -- . 'Lavishly illustrated and beautifully and thoughtfully designed, this is as endlessly captivating as it is heartbreaking, and an essential companion volume to Heavier Than Heaven *****' -- Q Magazine 20091103 'Unbelievable... beautifully put together and completely intriguing... I've never seen a book like this... incredible' -- BBC 6 Music - George Lamb Show 20081103 'frightening, intrusive and engrossing...*****' -- ZOO Magazine 20081021 'the result is a fascinating hotchpotch of material' -- Evening Standard 20081212 'The inclusion of a CD of never-before-heard recordings is a masterstroke' -- GQ 20081103 'An unprecedented insight into the man who added angst 'n' alienation to rock 'n' roll' -- MAXIM 20091103 'A visual reminder of why Cobain had such an impact and why his legacy endures' -- ELLE Magazine 20081107 Praise for Heavier than Heaven -- : 20081107 'Cross pieced together a remarkably revealing visual history of Cobain's private life - It's that intangible thing that made him a star.' -- Rolling Stone 20081107 'I was very glad to read this biography, the result of four years' research and 400 interviews, not to mention the sainted Kurt's police and medical records AND his unpublished journals. I was in hog heaven all the way through - in a caring, wistful way, of course.' -- Julie Burchill, Guardian 20081107 'Cross's portrayal of a shy but prodigiously gifted child, in artistic as well as musical terms, is a joy to read' -- Observer 20081107 'Superbly researched and harrowing...The squalor is ghastly but the sheer sadness of Cobain's brief life is beautifully conveyed here. Cross has painstakingly accumulated a wealth of telling detail.' -- Robert Sandall, Sunday Times 20081107 'A remarkable revealing visual history of Cobain's private life.' -- Rolling Stone 20081022

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 Har/Cdr edition (October 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316033723
• ISBN-13: 978-0316033725
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 1 x 11.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Cobain, Kurt

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Portraits of Cobain October 22, 2008

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Personally I thought Charles R. Cross has wrung Kurt Cobain's musical and personal legacy dry.

But apparently he hasn't, as evidenced by the image-heavy brick that is "Cobain Unseen." It has some basic biographical information about Cobain and attempts to address his inner life, but doesn't really reveal much that we don't already know. The real draw is the seemingly endless slew of pictures, letters and scraps from his all-too-brief lifetime.

After briefly covering the major events of Kurt Cobain's childhood, Cross explores his ramshackle youth and growing musical abilities -- culminating in Nirvana (whose name he says stemmed from Cobain's love of Eastern beliefs), one of the most groundbreaking bands of the 1990s.

But Cobain's life remained pretty tumultuous, as Cross explores quite a few aspects of Cobain's life -- his dark outlook and weird fascinations, his rebellion against his own fame and the widespread adulation of him, his marriage to the crazy rocker Courtney Love, and the birth of their daughter. And, of course, the days leading up to his early death.

Cross's prose portions are serviceable, but it feels more like a longish magazine article instead of a biography. Some of the anecdotes are moderately interesting -- such as Kurt seeing a dying suicide as a schoolboy -- but most of this stuff is a glossy, rapid look over his life. Most of the time, Cross's written stuff simply form a framework for the rest of the book.

The really good stuff is the pictures. There's a brilliant array of personal photos -- a laughing Cobain posing with his baby daughter, in concert, standing beside Japanese Jizo statues, hanging out with Courtney Love or his bandmates, playing with a steering wheel as a baby. They show him from all emotional angles -- happy, miserable, rebellious, mournful, angry, sullen, quirky, and even with a faint, dark fire in his eyes.

Some are unstaged and mildly blurry, while others look like magazine photoshoots -- like a beautiful picture of a blank-faced Cobain posing amongst doll heads, with a blanket of roses over his head. And there are many fragments of Cobain's interests -- odd dolls, masks, heart-shaped boxes, monkeys with batteries, tiger suits, carved-up drawing figures and audio cassettes covered in fruit stickers.

But the most unusual stuff is the assorted fold-outs and removable items -- ads for Nirvana, a copy of Kurt's high school diploma, a CD of old songs, blurry letters, X-rays, handmade cards, and even an old handwritten draft of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It makes the book seem like less of a biography, and more like a collage of various fragments from Cobain's lifetime.

The prose content comes second in "Cobain Unseen," where beautiful pictures and rock'n'roll relics reveal a vibrant personality that still shines from the pages. Definitely worth checking out.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book November 3, 2008

By Chad Carpenter

Format:Hardcover

I just picked this up today and I can't seem to put it down. If your a fan of Cobain and or Nirvana I recommend buying this. It is packed full of very nice pictures and tons of other things.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cobain Unseen December 12, 2008

By Rose

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Charles Cross did a very good job on this book. It is informative and creative. There is a CD included of Kurt reading his journals that is just mesmerizing. The book gives a good detailed picture of Kurt Cobain and his art in it's many forms and leaves the reader wanting more (as do all books about Kurt). I especially would like to see more CD's of Kurt's speaking coming our way.