Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Heartbreaker (Previously Unreleased From 1987)
2. Anorexorcist (Previously Unreleased From 1987)
3. White Lace And Strange (Previously Unreleased From 1987)
4. Help Me I�m Hungry (Previously Unreleased From 1987)
5. Mrs. Butterworth (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
6. If You Must (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
7. Pen Cap Chew (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
8. Downer (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
9. Floyd The Barber (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
10. Raunchola/Moby Dick (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
11. Beans (Previously Unreleased Undated)
12. Don�t Want It All (Previously Unreleased Undated)
13. Clean Up Before She Comes (Previously Unreleased Undated)
14. Polly (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
15. About A Girl (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
16. Blandest (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
17. Dive (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
18. They Hung Him On A Cross (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
19. Grey Goose (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
20. Ain�t It A Shame (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
21. Token Eastern Song (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
22. Even In His Youth (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
23. Polly (Previously Unreleased From 1989)

Disc 2:

1. Opinion � (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
2. Lithium (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
3. Been A Son (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
4. Sliver (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
5. Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Previously Unreleased From 1989)
6. Pay To Play
7. Here She Comes Now
8. Drain You (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
9. Aneurysm
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
11. Breed (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
12. Verse Chorus Verse (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
13. Old Age (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
14. Endless, Nameless (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
15. Dumb (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
16. D-7 (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
17. Oh The Guilt
18. Curmudgeon
19. Return Of The Rat
20. Smells Like Teen Spirit

Disc 3:

1. Rape Me (Acoustic) (Previously Unreleased From 1992)
2. Rape Me (Electric) (Previously Unreleased From 1992)
3. Scentless Apprentice (Previously Unreleased From 1992)
4. Heart Shaped Box (Previously Unreleased From 1992)
5. I Hate Myself And I Want To Die
6. Milk It (Previously Unreleased From 1993)
7. Moist Vagina (Previously Unreleased From 1993)
8. Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip
9. The Other Improv (Previously Unreleased From 1993)
10. Serve The Servants (Previously Unreleased From 1993)
11. Very Ape (Previously Unreleased From 1993)
12. Pennyroyal Tea (Previously Unreleased From 1993)
13. Marigold
14. Sappy (Re-titled �Verse Chorus Verse� For Release)
15. Jesus Doesn�t Want Me For A Sunbeam (Previously Unreleased From 1994)
16. Do Re Mi (Previously Unreleased From 1994)
17. You Know You�re Right (Previously Unreleased From 1994)
18. All Apologies (Previously Unreleased Undated)

Disc 4:

1. Love Buzz (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
2. Scoff (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
3. About A Girl (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
4. Big Long Now (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
5. Immigrant Song (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
6. Spank Thru (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
7. Hairspray Queen (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
8. School (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
9. Mr. Moustache (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
10. Big Cheese (Previously Unreleased From 1988)
11. In Bloom (Sub Pop Video 1989)
12. Sappy (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
13. School (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
14. Love Buzz (Previously Unreleased From 1990)
15. Pennyroyal Tea (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
16. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
17. Territorial Pissings (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
18. Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam (Previously Unreleased From 1991)
19. Talk To Me (Previously Unreleased From 1992)
20. Seasons In The Sun (Previously Unreleased From 1993)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67870 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-22
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Enhanced

Amazon.co.uk Review
The four discs in With The Lights Outencompass the career of one of those rare bands who genuinely changed things. When Nirvana climbed to number one in 91 with their album Nevermind, they destroyed forever the very concept of 'alternative', ending the rule that edgy and raw music was doomed to mere cultdom.

With The Lights Outlooks at Nirvana's meteoric rise and abrupt implosion with the suicide of frontman Kurt Cobain through a glass darkly: the trajectory of underwhelming debut, glossy produced second album which merged punk fury with pretty melodies and third album where they dirtied everything up to prove they hadn't sold out is accurately presented but via demos, radio performances, live versions, B-sides and outtakes, the vast majority previously unreleased. It's part treasure trove (e.g., unreleased worthy "Verse Chorus Verse") and half trainspotter fare (the band jokingly running through Terry Jacks' '70s corn-fest "Seasons In the Sun" on the fourth, DVD, disc).

This is not the place for the uninitiated to start but this set will, for Nirvana fans, be the perfect closure to their glorious, sad career. --Sean Egan

Box Set Description
The With the Lights Out box set spans Nirvana's entire career, from an early 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 colour booklet with rare photos and sleeve notes by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and writer Neil Strauss. The three CDs, arranged largely chronologically, contain home and rehearsal demos, including for the one 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.

CD Description
Spanning Nirvana's entire career, 'With The Lights Out' brings together some of the band's most sought after unreleasedmaterial. Spread across three CD's and one DVD, the collection includes recordings from the band's first ever show in 1987, through to home recordings made by Kurt Cobain in 1994.The DVD features home videos, behind the scenes footage, and live performances including a show recorded in Kris Novoselic's mother's house in 1988.

Customer Reviews

Best band of the last decades
Wow! What a compilation. I could not leave the record store after I started listening to it (as I did not want to spend the 20 minutes it takes me to go home without hearing the songs).

I particularly recommend disc 3. Only Kurt could sing 'Rape me' to his baby daughter Frances. The nearly 10-minute 'Scentless Apprentice' clearly proves that Nirvana are unrivalled even today. M.V. is just a fantastic song with a memorable melody. Do Re Mi is so sad because it indicates all the potential this man had.

I highly recommend Nirvana's anthology to anybody who is interested in listening to Lennon/McCartney like melodies played in Sex Pistols style.

A constant and brilliant surprise..
As a long running fan and someone who has heard pretty much all that was available officially and on bootleg, I figured this would just be a collection of some cleaned up versions of previously bootlegged material and b-sides / compilation rarities. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The first disc is brilliant and finally gives us Bleach-session tracks like Pen Cap Chew and If You Must, the original (but canned) Love Buzz b-side Blandest and the awesome Clean Up Before She Comes with it's layered vocals. Oh, and Beans.. haha.. you will love this one!

Disc two provides my only slight let down - Opinion is an amazing song (short and sweet as it is) and the version here is obviously the better quality pre-broadcast version so it sounds better than any bootleg release - but the tape has obviously suffered over time and warps in the middle of the track. A real shame as I adore this song. Other highlights are the great Verse Chorus Verse and Old Age - nice to hear these finally.

Disc three is also a gem - early demos and mixes of In Utero material - alternative versions of rare tracks like I Hate Myself.. rather than the Beavis & Butthead release are a real surprise. This cd also contains the real star of the set - the quite superb Do Re Mi - rough around the edges but shows amazing promise of where Kurt was taking himself musically and this makes this song even more poignant as it's a real waste he chose to go out on us in the way he did.

The dvd is a great addition and hopefully marks the spot for future - hopefully whole concert - releases by Geffen / Universal as they are great band to watch.

I cannot recommend this enough to both new fans and old alike.

I would only recomend this for an obsessive fan like myself
back in the day the majoirty of the "never before heard" tracks could only be found on the bootlegs "Outcesticide 1-5". during this time i downloaded them. as they are no longer available on the web i would recomend that the most obsessive fan, like myself, buy this box set. as i already have the majority of the tracks i can tell the casual nirvana listener that most of them are poor quality and the fact the good tracks here were never on a studio albums reflects just how good they are. however to the big nirvana fan they really are gold dust. a sample can be heard on www.nirvanabox.com

hopefully this will be the last time geffen rips off the nirvana fans. maybe it will close the lid on the nirvana chapter for good. rather than releasing "the best of". please note the only new track found on the best of is also on this box set.

if youre not a big nirvana fan i wouldnt recomend you spend the near £40 for this. if youre a collector or a fan its probably worth the money as you get a shiny booklet and the dvd too.