Happy 25th Anniversary to Nirvana’s From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah, originally released October 1, 1996.
During a year that boasted widely lauded rock albums like Beck’s Odelay, Sublime’s self-titled third album, and Rage Against The Machine’s Evil Empire, among others, Nirvana’s 1996 live album From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It would sustain that success for 25 weeks on the chart, eventually becoming the band’s sixth platinum album. With its title referencing the river that flows through Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, the album consists of live performances captured between the years 1989 and 1994.
As we all know, lead singer and guitarist Cobain passed away in 1994, which makes this live album band’s second posthumous release, following the critically acclaimed MTV Unplugged In New York in late 1994. Along with writing the liner notes on From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah, the live album was assembled by bassist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl.
From The Muddy Banks collects live performances of songs that mostly don’t appear on their MTV Unplugged release, with “Polly” the lone exception. The version included here is much heavier and grungier with Chad Channing on the drums and comes from a 1989 performance at the London Astoria in the U.K.
Many people believe that on December 3, 1989, Nirvana played the show in the U.K. that gained them worldwide underground attention. In fact, Bruce Pavitt, the author of The Subterranean Pop Music Anthology 1980-1988, said that “London was a tipping point for them. After that, they toured the West Coast [of the USA] with Mudhoney in early ’90 and that was when people really started to notice Nirvana. That’s when they started blowing people away.” Three songs were included on From The Muddy Banks from this show alone including “Breed,” “Imodium,” and as mentioned before, “Polly.”
"Negative Creep" is the only song on the album from the band's October 1991 show at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington. This show would eventually be released as Live At The Paramount on DVD in 2011 and later on streaming services and vinyl in 2019.
It was fall of 1991, when Nirvana would reach a new superstar level. They had just released Nevermind in September, which to this day is their biggest-selling album. So, as you can imagine, the demand to see them live would rise expeditiously. As a result of this swift success, in Amsterdam on November 24, 1991, Nirvana was expected to play a live show, but the show sold out so quickly, they had to be rescheduled to a larger venue at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. This rescheduled show took place the next day and four of the songs on the album—“Been A Son,” “School,” “Blew,” and “Lithium”—were taken from this performance.
In December 1991, Nirvana embarked on a new journey, which included a US tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam. Using the term “tour” is loose reference in this case, since it only a few shows took place across a month’s span. Nevertheless, it was during these shows that Nirvana would find themselves at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California on December 28, 1991 and the group’s performances of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Aneurysm,” and “Drain You” are included on From The Muddy Banks.
"Tourette's" is the lone track compiled on From The Muddy Banks from the band's 1992 appearance where they headlined at the Reading Festival in England. This was Nirvana’s second time playing the festival, but first since experiencing their commercial success from Nevermind. A legendary show that began with Cobain using rare comedic relief by mocking rumors of his poor health and being pushed onstage in a wheelchair, wearing a hospital gown and wig.
Grohl’s drum work on "Scentless Apprentice" is impeccable. This live performance is included from the band's December 13, 1993 MTV show at Seattle's Pier 48. Interestingly enough, Nirvana was supported by up-and-coming hip-hop/rock act Cypress Hill for this show. The full set would later be released as Live and Loud on CD and DVD in 2013.
As Novoselic and Grohl aimed to time-travel through the years of Nirvana when putting together this live album, one song is taken from three other separate shows of the band's 1993-94 span from their In Utero tour. All three tracks highlight Pat Smear’s rhythm guitar playing, including "Sliver" taken from the Springfield Civic Center, Springfield on November 10, 1993, "Heart-Shaped Box" from the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles, December 30, 1993 and "Milk It" from the Seattle Center Arena, January 7, 1994. It can be a bit emotional listening to these tracks, since they were only months before Cobain’s unprecedented death.
The 17-track anthology From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah remains a remarkable listen and successfully helps listeners transport back to the early days and, of course, the glory days of Nirvana. It showcases Cobain, Grohl and Novoselic as their authentic selves and in peak form, highlighting all of the band members’ respective attributes that coalesced to make Nirvana such a cohesive, distinctive and dynamic band. Not only is this album one of the best released in 1996, it arguably stands as one of the most compelling posthumous albums of all time.
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