Description
Students’ Union, Manchester Polytechnic, Manchester, UK 24th October 1989 STEREO SBD
　This first-generation NIRVANA soundboard album is now available on press CD. This work is a stereo soundboard recording from the Manchester concert on October 24, 1989, recorded at a UK concert approximately four months after their debut album, “BLEACH.” It features NIRVANA’s first overseas tour, with Chad Channing even taking the drum stool. This live album showcases the passionate performance of a new generation band about to take flight on the world stage, bursting with official, premium sound.
　This live performance itself has long been known as an audience recording, but this work is a genuine, direct-to-table soundboard. It was recently suddenly discovered, and although the opening number “School” was not recorded, the rest of the performance was captured on a straight-forward stereo soundboard. Its quality is truly superb. It’s been called “official grade,” but in fact, this is not a compliment, but rather a derogatory term.
　In fact, for better or worse, official recordings go through treatment and careful mixing for everyone, and the resulting sound depends on the engineer’s skill and sense. Frankly speaking, “official quality” varies widely. However, this work is recorded directly from the soundboard desk. It has the same vividness as the sound that was directly fed into the PA on site.
While this may be a good or bad thing for some bands, when it comes to NIRVANA, especially in their era of indie music, where they were driving the times with force, live sound is the true essence. In fact, the ultra-heavy sound on this album was cutting edge, surpassing the cheers of any major label, let alone any sound producer, and the sheer intensity that only a revolutionary could produce leaps out of the speakers. To be honest, the recording was so direct that almost no part of the audience’s enthusiasm was recorded, but the audience (which was said to number between 50 and 100 people) was likely left standing there in awe. Even to modern ears, 27 years after the recording, a sound this heavy, realistic, and chaotic is unimaginable.
　The show unfolding with such sound is… well, so overwhelming that I’m not even sure I should use the word “show.” There are only three people, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals—and yet, even though you can certainly hear only four, it has an incredible presence. This is no longer a “show,” but should be called a “musical phenomenon.” The extremely distorted sound is plugged directly into your ears, discharging electricity and stirring your brain into a mess. At first, I considered calling it a “live version of BLEACH” since seven songs from “BLEACH” were performed, but doing so would be tarnishing this album.
Yes, this “live performance + direct from the desk” sound is a fierce rock that even their historic debut album “BLEACH” pales in comparison. With that sound, they performed “Even In His Youth,” “Stain,” and even the unreleased “Token Eastern Song” and “Spank Thru” (this album also includes bonus recordings of studio demos from the same period, “Even In His Youth,” “Polly,” and “Token Eastern Song”). Apparently, Kurt Cobain declined the encore, saying, “We’re out of songs,” but NIRVANA gave it their all in front of their first foreign audience and left. What else can you call this other than a “phenomenon”?
　At the time, NIRVANA only had “BLEACH” and the single “LOVE BUZZ” to offer the world. The trio crossed the Pacific Ocean to unleash their revolutionary sound in front of just 50-100 people, a chaotic rock performance. This historic excavation, fully recorded on a transcendent, direct-to-the-desk stereo soundboard, is a monumental discovery. The 50 or 100 people who were there had their lives transformed by the sound they witnessed and felt immersed in, and they undoubtedly shared it with the world. This album contains the sound that convinced them, the music that compelled them to do so. This is rock, this is the scene where history was in motion. This weekend, we’ll bring you the “waves of the times” that pulsated in 1989.
(54:38)
1. Scoff 2. Love Buzz 3. Floyd The Barber 4. Dive 5. Polly 6. Big Cheese 7. About A Girl
8. Token Eastern Song 9. Spank Thru 10. Even In His Youth 11. Stain 12. Negative Creep 13. Blew
Bonus Tracks
The Music Source, Seattle, WA. USA September 1989.
14. Even In His Youth 15. Polly 16. Token Eastern Song
