Nevermind

by

Nirvana

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Having listened to Nevermind in this remastered form (Super Deluxe Boxset), I must say it is quite good. The sound is very clear when compared to the 1991 CD. The volume has been slightly increased but it luckily is not a victim of the loudness wars. The Smart Sound Sessions tracks show the band's beginning and are decent sound quality but those versions are hardly essential. You won't find yourself using the repeat button. The Boombox Rehearsal tapes, although recorded on what appears to be a crappy tape deck, are cool to hear. There is something genuinely amazing about hearing the band in such an intimate yet powerful way. You wouldn't necessarily put those songs on repeat either but within the context of the boxset, they are a welcomed addition. The finest part of this boxset is perhaps the most anticipated, The Devonshire Mixes a.k.a. The Butch Vig Mixes. This is basically the version of the finished record before mixer Andy Wallace got his hands on it, or the way the band thought it should sound. To be honest, the results aren't all that different. They're the same songs with the polish scrubbed off. If anything they sound less focused and more grungy. I was expecting these to sound radically difference but they really don't. You won't hear it and have a "second-coming-of-Jesus" experience because in truth it wasn't the production that made Nevermind so good. It was the songs and if you need three hours of them to make you realize it then you probably weren't listening closely enough in the first place. The Paramount live tracks are awesome. What I appreciate about this CD is that this time there was no fake crowd noise added in like they did on the Live At Reading cd. The blu-ray isn't the highest quality which is understandable given the film's age and it is anamorphic, meaning that it's technically widescreen but there are two-inch black bars visible on the left and right sides of the screen. It's not too distracting though. If it bothers you, a zoomed-in full widescreen view can be selected from the disc menu but the picture quality is slightly reduced. The sound is amazing. Both the 2 channel stereo and 5.1 surround sound are excellent. To conclude, in truth, I believe the Andy Wallace mix of Nevermind, as originally released, is the essential version. So, while this collection is impressive, unless you are a hardcore fan who needs to have everything, your original version of Nevermind or the remastered single disc version will do just fine.

I have been listening to Nirvana since 92, collecting every thing I could, both official on non-official. My mouth was watering over this release since I now only buy vinyl records...but then I listened to it.

My main problem is with LP 1 (Nevermind Remastered) - This is the worst of it. Compared to my 2009 pressing, the cymbals have been nearly stripped of their presence. The beauty of Dave's crashing has been flattened down. It all sounds more like a badly mixed CD than a high quality vinyl. I thought my ears were playing tricks on me so pulled the remaster off my turntable and threw on my 2009 copy. While the new one made my ears ache, the original drew me right through to the end of a side, like it always does. The new version is devoid of any depth and there are obvious clipping issues. I'm afraid to turn this thing up for fear of that awful overdriven distortion creeping in. Kurt's vocals on parts of Lithium sound especially bad, artificially distorting. I didn't believe it on the first listen, but after comparing to the original there is no mistaking it. I'm am no expert but this does not sound like it is even analog sourced. The 2009 vinyl edition was remastered from the original analog master tapes. Buy that one while you still can.

Aside from this, the track listing shows UME has no idea what a person listening to vinyl records wants. Boombox demos are unnecessary on a audiophile medium, but they took it further and split them across 2 records. Logic would tell you they could have been on one separate LP so you could listen to it once and put it aside, but hey, what do I know? Keep in mind that as someone who owned all the Outcesticide CDs I do appreciate this, the problem is just with the execution. The demos really should have been a bonus download.

For the other material, I'm willing to settle since it's the only way you are going to get this rare material on vinyl. The highlight is actually the last side of the last record. Early versions of Drain You, Something in the Way (loud as hell, in a good way) and the standard Endless Nameless.

All in all, this could have been so much better.