Library

Live at Reading

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

Live at Reading

Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Albums

  • Artist: Nirvana
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: November 03, 2009
  • Total Time: 78:00
  • Type: Compilation (best of), Live, Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Certain concerts create a legend as soon as the final note ceases to ring. Nirvana's headlining appearance at the 1992 Reading Festival is one of these shows, a concert that arrived at precisely the right moment and stands as testament to a band at the peak of its powers...and right before things started to turn sour within the Nirvana camp. Despite the happy news of the birth of Frances Bean Cobain a mere 12 days before this August 30 festival, rumors swirled around Nirvana right up until the band hit the stage. Kurt Cobain took full advantage of these scurrilous stories, making his entrance in a hospital gown and wheelchair pushed by journalist Everett True. Cobain feebly reached for the microphone to croak out the opening lines of "The Rose," only to collapse onto the stage, milking the drama for a moment before leading Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl through a ferocious "Breed." This impish sense of humor has been obscured over the years, lost under the weight of the band's tragic legacy, along with the fact that Nirvana could actually be fun as well as furious. Live at Reading brings all this roaring back. This is Nirvana's purest blast of rock & roll: there's a boundless, invigorating energy here and, just as importantly, there's a sense of joy to the performances, a joy that bubbles to the surface when Kurt laughs during the intro of "Sliver" but can be heard throughout the show, as the band rushes in tandem, pushing the tempos on "Aneurysm" and "Territorial Pissings," ebbing and flowing as one. Hints of this could be heard on the live comp From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, but this is a complete document of Nirvana in full flight and one of the greatest live rock & roll albums ever. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Previous:Live at Ray's Happy Birthday Bar (Album by Baffle the Cat)
Next:Live at Reading '81 (1991 Album by Samson)
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Live at Reading

Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Live at Reading
Live album by Nirvana
Released November 3, 2009
Recorded August 30, 1992 at the Reading Festival
Genre Grunge
Length 78:00
Label DGC
Producer Nirvana, Michael Meisel, John Silva
Nirvana live albums chronology
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
(1996)		 Live at Reading
(2009)
Nirvana video chronology
MTV Unplugged in New York
(2007)		 Live at Reading
(2009)		 Live at the Paramount
(2011)

Live at Reading is a live CD/DVD by the American grunge band Nirvana released on November 2, 2009, chronicling its 1992 performance at the Reading Festival. Bootlegged for years following the performance, the new issues present the performance for the first time mastered and color corrected.[1]

The performance of the band's 1992 hit single "Lithium" was previously released on the home video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! in 1994. The performance of "Tourette's" was previously released on the live compilation From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah in 1996.

Live at Reading marks the first time on a Nirvana release that Chet Powers receives songwriting credit for the use of his lyrics from the song "Get Together" as the intro for "Territorial Pissings". It features Cobain wheeled out on stage by music journalist Everett True.

Contents

Reception

According to Metacritic, Live at Reading holds a score of 93 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim,"[2] and is ranked seventh on the site's list of best-reviewed albums, along with it being the No. 1 best reviewed alternative album. Krist Novoselic states that it's a great way to look back at his Nirvana memories.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[4]
Blare 4/4 stars[5]
BBC (very favourable)[6]
Drowned In Sound 7/10 stars[7]
Entertainment Weekly (A)[8]
Kerrang! 4/5 stars[9]
Pitchfork Media (9.5/10)[10]
Slant 4.5/5 stars[11]
Spin 4.5/5 stars[12]
Robert Christgau (A) [13]

Sales and Impact

The CD version of Live at Reading debuted at number 37 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.; the DVD version debuted at Number 1 in the top 40 on Billboard's Top Music Video Chart, remaining in the top 40 for 25 weeks.[14] Despite lack of promotion, Nielson SoundScan reports that, as of mid-2010, Live at Reading has sold more than 50,000 copies in the United States alone, with more than 200,000 copies sold worldwide.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Kurt Cobain, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "Breed"   2:57
2. "Drain You"   3:54
3. "Aneurysm" (Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic) 4:34
4. "School"   3:12
5. "Sliver"   2:13
6. "In Bloom"   4:33
7. "Come As You Are"   3:34
8. "Lithium"   4:23
9. "About a Girl"   3:09
10. "Tourette's"   1:51
11. "Polly"   2:48
12. "Lounge Act"   3:04
13. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain, Grohl, Novoselic) 4:44
14. "On a Plain"   3:00
15. "Negative Creep"   2:54
16. "Been a Son"   3:23
17. "All Apologies"   3:25
18. "Blew"   5:23
19. "Dumb"   2:34
20. "Stay Away"   3:41
21. "Spank Thru"   3:05
22. "Love Buzz" (Robbie van Leeuwen) (Shocking Blue cover, appears only on DVD version) 4:56
23. "The Money Will Roll Right In" (Tom Flynn, Chris Wilson) (Fang cover) 2:13
24. "D-7" (Greg Sage) (Wipers cover) 3:43
25. "Territorial Pissings" (Cobain, Chet Powers) 4:30

Chart positions

Album charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[15] 28
Belgian Albums Chart (VL)[15] 71
Belgian Albums Chart (WA)[15] 79
Canadian Albums Chart[16] 17
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 64
French Albums Chart[15] 17
Greek Albums Chart[15] 16
Japanese Albums Chart[17] 7
Mexican Albums Chart[15] 59
New Zealand Albums Chart[15] 33
Norwegian Albums Chart[15] 28
Swiss Albums Chart[15] 97
UK Albums Chart[18] 32
US Billboard 200[16] 37
US Billboard Alternative Albums[16] 11
US Billboard Digital Albums[16] 25
US Billboard Rock Albums[16] 13

DVD charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian DVD Charts[19] 4

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ^ "Nirvana's Legendary Never-Before-Released 1992 Reading Concert Set to Debut in November". PR Newswire. 2009-08-28. http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/08-28-2009/0005084639&EDATE=. Retrieved 2009-08-28. 
  2. ^ "Live At Reading". Metacritic. 2009-09-04. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/nirvana/liveatreading?tag=topslot;title;1. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  3. ^ "All Time High And Low Scores". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 
  4. ^ "Live at Reading". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1661091. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  5. ^ "Nirvana / Live At Reading / Universal". Blare Magazine. http://blaremagazine.com/2009/11/02/album-reviews-2-11-09/. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  6. ^ "Nirvana Live at Reading Review". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/g4rj. Retrieved 2009-11-13. 
  7. ^ "Nirvana Live At Reading Review". Drowned In Sound. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14833/reviews/4138384. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  8. ^ "Live at Reading". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-10-28. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20315889,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  9. ^ Ian Winwood (Wednesday 4 November 2009), "Nirvana - Live at Reading (Geffen) KKKK. Nirvana's legandary Reading performance finally sees the light of day", Kerrang! (1286): 49 
  10. ^ "Nirvana: Bleach [Deluxe Edition/Live at Reading"]. Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13686-bleach-deluxe-edition-live-at-reading. Retrieved 2009-11-13. 
  11. ^ "Nirvana: Live at Reading". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1907. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  12. ^ "Nirvana, 'Live at Reading' (Universal): Ultimate rock gig from ultimate outsider-insiders.". Spin Magazine. http://www.spin.com/reviews/nirvana-live-reading-universal. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  13. ^ "Robert Christgau Consumer Guide Nirvana". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1009. Retrieved 2011-09-29. 
  14. ^ "Live at Reading, Nirvana". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/nirvana/live-at-reading/1294559. Retrieved June 6, 2010. 
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j http://greekcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Nirvana&titel=Live+At+Reading&cat=a Live at Reading @ Greek Charts.com
  16. ^ a b c d e http://www.billboard.com/artist/nirvana/5316#/album/nirvana/live-at-reading/1294559 Live at Reading @ Billboard.com
  17. ^ "Oricon Weekly Album Charts for the third week of November 2009" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/search/result.php?kbn=ja&types=rnk&year=2009&month=11&week=3&submit5.x=25&submit5.y=5. Retrieved 2011-04-19. 
  18. ^ http://www.everyhit.co.uk/searchsec.php EveryHit.co.uk
  19. ^ http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20091105-0000/issue1028.pdf ARIA Chart report 9th November 2009. pandora.nla.gov.au Pandora, Australia's Web Archives
  20. ^ "Catching Up With ... Dancing Tony From Nirvana's Live at Reading DVD". Paste. 2010-02-23. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/02/catching-up-with-dancing-tony-from-nirvanas-live-a.html. 
  21. ^ "An Interview With Antony Hodgkinson, The Guy Who Danced Onstage With Nirvana". rickish.tumblr.com. http://rickish.tumblr.com/post/674022755/an-interview-with-antony-hodgkinson-the-guy-who-danced. Retrieved 2011-09-09. 
Nirvana
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Box sets
Extended plays
Videos
Singles
Related
Articles
Bands
Books
Albums
Documentaries

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Related answers

Why is reading and writing so important in your lives? Read answer...
How is reading the Bible going to help your lives? Read answer...
How many people live in reading berkshire? Read answer...
Is reading berkshire a nice place to live? Read answer...

Help us answer these

Why is reading literature important in your lives?
How many students live in reading?
Do jaguars live in England or in reading?
Where did bill Russell live in reading?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Cite
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more
Cite
Wikipedia on Answers.com This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Live at Reading. Read more

Related answers

Does miss cleo do live readings?
Does reading make you live longer?
How many people live in reading?
Does dani harmer live in Reading?
» More

Answer these

Do you live in a culture that promotes reading?
Where did Jane Asten live in Reading?
How to improve lives in reading efficiency?
Where do you live you who is reading this as we talk you were?
» more

Featured guides

» More

Mentioned in

Cannibal Corpse: Centuries of Torment (2008 Music Film)
Live at Reading '81 (1991 Album by Samson)
Level 42: Live 2001 at Reading UK (2001 Music Film)
Soul Patrol, Vol. 3 (1995 Album by Various Artists)
Dice with the Universe (2002 Album by The Trichromes)
» More