Bleach (album)
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| Bleach | |||||
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| Studio album by Nirvana | |||||
| Released | June 15, 1989 | ||||
| Recorded | 1988–1989 at Reciprocal Recordings in Seattle, Washington | ||||
| Genre | Grunge | ||||
| Length | 42:14 | ||||
| Label | Sub Pop | ||||
| Producer | Jack Endino | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Nirvana chronology | |||||
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Bleach is the debut album by the American grunge band Nirvana. It was released in June 1989 through the Sub Pop record label. Bleach originally sold only 30,000 copies, but following the enormous success of the band's second album, Nevermind (1991), fans discovered Nirvana's little-known debut album. It has now sold over four million copies worldwide.
The album's working title was Too Many Humans.[1] It was officially named Bleach in February 1989 after the band's frontman Kurt Cobain found an AIDS prevention poster while Nirvana was driving through San Francisco. The poster advised heroin addicts to bleach their needles before use, featuring the slogan "Bleach Your Works".[2]
Contents |
[edit] Recording
The main sessions for Bleach took place at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington, with local producer Jack Endino manning the board. The sessions took place in December 1988 and January 1989. They cost a total of $606.17, which was supplied by soon-to-be second guitarist Jason Everman,[3] though he did not perform on the album. Nine of the tracks on the final album were recorded during these sessions.
The remaining songs on Bleach ("Floyd the Barber", "Paper Cuts", and, on most versions of the album, "Downer") were recorded during a previous session at Reciprocal Studios, with Dale Crover on drums. This session took place on January 23, 1988, with Endino as producer. A total of ten songs were recorded during the brief six-hour session (though Endino only charged for five hours of studio time). The session cost a total of $152.44, which was paid for with money Cobain had saved from his janitorial job and with a loan from Tracy Marander, his then-girlfriend. The band attempted to re-record "Floyd the Barber" with drummer Chad Channing during the main sessions for the album, but preferred Crover's version.[4]
[edit] Songs
The band's punk rock roots are most evident on "Negative Creep" though there is little trace of the direction they would later go in. "School" is about the Seattle Scene at the time, comparing it to high school; the song's lyrics consist of only four lines.[5]
"Floyd the Barber" is a song about small-town America where everyone turns out to be a mass murderer. Cobain once referred to the song in an interview to the Andy Griffith show hence the mentioning of characters like Opie and Aunt Bee.[6]
[edit] Singles
"Love Buzz" was released as Nirvana's first single, with "Big Cheese" as the B-side, in October 1988. This was Sub Pop's first release on their "Single of the Month" club. The version of "Love Buzz" on the single is different than the album version, and features a sound collage introduction created by Kurt Cobain. Only 1000 copies of this single were pressed, each individually hand numbered, making it very sought after by Nirvana fans. In addition to the numbered copies, 100-200 more unnumbered copies exist. Most of them include a red slash where the number is on the official copies.
The "Blew" EP was released through Tupelo Records in December 1989 and included the songs "Blew", "Love Buzz", "Been a Son" and "Stain". The two non-album songs were recorded in September 1989.
[edit] Pressings
In the U.S., the album was released on Sub Pop. The first 1,000 copies were pressed on white vinyl, the next 2,000 on black, and all subsequent pressings were on red and blue vinyl. The first 3,000 copies of the record came with a poster, featuring Jason Everman. The vinyl pressings did not include "Big Cheese" or "Downer".[7]
In the United Kingdom, the record was released via Tupelo Records, in June of 1989. The first 300 Tupelo copies were pressed on white vinyl, the next 2,000 copies were on dark green vinyl. The rest of the copies off of Tupelo are on black vinyl. Also the album contains "Big Cheese" instead of "Love Buzz", and does not contain "Downer".[7]
In Australia, the LP was released on Waterfront Records and later issued on various colored covers and colored vinyl prior to 1992.[8]
Sub Pop released a remastered version of the album on CD and cassette in April 1992.[7]
Warner Music has reissued the album in Europe, Australasia, and Japan.
[edit] Track listing
All songs were written by Kurt Cobain, except where noted.
- "Blew" – 2:55
- "Floyd the Barber" – 2:18
- "About a Girl" – 2:48
- "School" – 2:42
- "Love Buzz" (Robbie van Leeuwen) – 3:35
- "Paper Cuts" – 4:06
- "Negative Creep" – 2:56
- "Scoff" – 4:10
- "Swap Meet" – 3:03
- "Mr. Moustache" – 3:24
- "Sifting" – 5:22
- "Big Cheese" (only on CD version) – 3:42
- "Downer" (only on CD version) – 1:43
[edit] Personnel
- Kurt Cobain – vocals, guitar (credited as Kurdt Kobain)
- Krist Novoselic – bass (credited as Chris Novoselic)
- Chad Channing – drums
- Dale Crover – drums (on "Floyd the Barber", "Paper Cuts", and "Downer")
- Jason Everman – guitarist (credited but did not play on album, paid for majority of recording costs)
- Jack Endino – producer
- Tracy Marander – photography
- Charles Peterson – photography
- Lisa Orth – design
- Jane Higgins – execution
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Billboard Pop Album Catalog Chart | 1 (2 weeks) |
| 1992 | Official Finland Albums Chart | 24 |
| 1992 | Official German Albums Chart | 24 |
| 1992 | Official Austrian Albums Chart | 26 |
| 1992 | Official New Zealand Albums Chart | 30 |
| 1992 | Official UK Albums Chart | 33 |
| 1992 | Official Australian Albums Chart | 34 |
| 1992 | Official Japanese Albums Chart | 46 |
| 1992 | The Billboard 200 | 89 |
[edit] Accolades
- Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Editors Choice #78 (1998)
- Kerrang! magazine "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" - Readers Choice #28 (1998)
- Joe S. Harrington's Top 100 Albums (2001 to 2003) - #97
[edit] References
- ^ Cross, Charles. Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain, p. 105. Hyperion, 2001. ISBN 0-7868-8402-9
- ^ Azerrad, Michael. Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday, 1993. ISBN 0 86369 746 1. p. 91
- ^ Azerrad, 1993. p. 91
- ^ Roberts, Alex; Andrews, Adam; and Furth, Charles. Live Nirvana Sessions History. LiveNirvana.com.
- ^ Azerrad, 1993. p. 100
- ^ Azerrad, 1993. p. 101
- ^ a b c Tuller, Aaron (1996-10-19). Nirvana Discography 3.3. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
- ^ Waterfront Records Discography. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
