With the Lights Out

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With the Lights Out
With the Lights Out cover
Box set by Nirvana
Released November 23, 2004
Recorded March 1987-March 1994
Genre Grunge
Length 5:15:25
Label DGC
Producer Jack Endino, Greg Babior, Steve Fisk, Butch Vig, Craig Montgomery, Steve Albini, Lance Bangs
Professional reviews
Nirvana chronology
Nirvana
(2002)		 With the Lights Out
(2004)		 Sliver: The Best of the Box
(2005)

With the Lights Out is a box set, containing 3 CDs and 1 DVD, from the American grunge band Nirvana. It was released in November 2004. The title refers to the line "with the lights out, it's less dangerous" from the hugely successful "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single.

Contents

[edit] History

Rumors of a posthumous Nirvana box set, or anthology, first surfaced in the mid-1990s, not long after the death of the band's singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain in April 1994. It was eventually announced that a 45-track box set would be released in September 2001, to mark the 10th anniversary of the band's breakthrough album, Nevermind, but a legal battle between Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, and surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, precluded this from happening.

The dispute - or much of it - centered around "You Know You're Right", a song recorded in January 1994 during the band's final studio session. Grohl and Novoselic had wanted it for the box set, but Love blocked the song's release, and sued them for control of Nirvana's legacy. Love's lawsuit asserted that "the parties have fundamentally different concepts of how to manage the musical and artistic legacy of Kurt Cobain", which resulted "in a stalemate of decision making." [1] She believed that "You Know You're Right" would be "wasted" on a box set, and instead belonged on a single-disc compilation similar to the Beatles' 1. [2]

In 2002, the legal battle was settled, and "You Know You're Right" appeared on the "best-of" compilation, Nirvana. This paved the way for what became With the Lights Out, which arrived in November 2004, over three years after its original release date but with far more music than had first been promised.

With the Lights Out received a lukewarm reception from music critics, many of whom saw it as a valuable glimpse into the band's musical evolution, but also believed it contained too much second-rate material never intended for official release. [3]There were a few other rarities that were considered by some to be missing from the set: a cover of Kiss' "Do You Love Me?" (from the Kiss covers compilation, Hard to Believe), the studio version of "Spank Thru" (originally released in 1988 on the compilation, Sub Pop 200), the studio version of "Moist Vagina" (which was the b-side of the "All Apologies" single; the demo version is listed as "M.V." as it appears on the box set), and a live version of "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" (which had been released on the compilation Home Alive: The Art of Self Defense in 1995); in addition to the audio tracks of "In Bloom" (1990) and "Talk to Me" (a previously unreleased song played live; two videos for these songs appear on the accompanying DVD). The "In Bloom" audio track is only available on a promotional CD titled Selections from With the Lights Out.

It was generally well-received by fans, marking the first time they had heard such legendary recordings as a cover of Lead Belly's "Ain't It a Shame" with Mark Lenegan and Mark Pickeral of the Screaming Trees, the studio versions of "Verse Chorus Verse" and "Old Age", and a recording of Cobain's last known song, "Do Re Mi." It also contained a handful of surprises, such as a rehearsal demo of the previously-unknown "Mrs. Butterworth", as well as a solo Cobain rendition of Lead Belly's "They Hung Him on a Cross", and an acoustic demo of "You Know You're Right".

With the Lights Out opened at #19 on the Billboard 200, setting a box set record for units sold during a single week with 105,760, and is now the highest selling box-set of all time.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc 1

  1. "Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant; Led Zeppelin cover) – 2:59
  1. "Anorexorcist" – 2:44
  2. "White Lace and Strange" (Bond; Thunder and Roses cover) – 2:09
  3. "Vendetagainst" (aka "Help Me, I'm Hungry") – 2:41
  • From a boombox-recorded band practice demo tape (summer of 1987 in Washington)
  1. "Mrs. Butterworth" – 4:05
  1. "If You Must" – 4:01
  2. "Pen Cap Chew" – 3:02
  1. "Downer" – 1:43
  2. "Floyd the Barber" – 2:33
  3. "Raunchola"/ "Moby Dick" ("Moby Dick" - Bonham, Jones, Page; Led Zeppelin cover) – 6:24
  1. "Beans" – 1:32
  2. "Don't Want It All" – 2:26
  3. "Clean Up Before She Comes" – 3:12
  4. "Polly" – 2:30
  5. "About a Girl" – 2:44
  1. "Blandest" – 3:56
  1. "Dive" – 4:50
  1. "They Hung Him on a Cross" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 1:57
  2. "Grey Goose" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 4:36
  3. "Ain't It a Shame" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 2:01
  1. "Token Eastern Song" – 3:21
  2. "Even in His Youth" – 3:12
  3. "Polly" – 2:36

[edit] Disc 2

  1. "Opinion" – 1:24
  2. "Lithium" – 1:49
  3. "Been a Son" – 1:12
  1. "Sliver" – 2:09
  2. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (traditional) – 2:31
  1. "Pay to Play" (early version of "Stay Away") – 3:29
  2. "Here She Comes Now" (Cale, Morrison, Reed, Tucker; The Velvet Underground cover) – 5:01
  1. "Drain You" – 2:38
  • From the studio session which also yielded the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single version of "Even in His Youth" (January 1, 1991 at Music Source Studios in Seattle, Washington; produced by Craig Montgomery)
  1. "Aneurysm" (Smells Like Teen Spirit single b-side) – 4:47
  1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" – 5:40
  1. "Breed" (Butch Vig mix) – 3:07
  2. "Verse Chorus Verse" – 3:17
  3. "Old Age" – 4:20
  1. "Endless, Nameless" – 8:47
  2. "Dumb" – 2:35
  1. "D-7" (Sage; the Wipers cover) – 3:46
  1. "Oh, the Guilt" – 3:25
  2. "Curmudgeon" (Lithium single b-side) – 3:03
  3. "Return of the Rat" (Sage; the Wipers cover) – 3:09
  1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Butch Vig mix) – 4:59

[edit] Disc 3

  • Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (May 1991 in Oakwood, CA?)
1. "Rape Me" – 3:23
  • From Nirvana's second post-Nevermind studio session (October 25-26, 1992 at Word of Mouth Studios [former Reciprocal Recording Studios], Seattle, WA. Producer: Jack Endino).
2. "Rape Me" – 3:01
  • From a band practice demo tape (Winter 1992 in Seattle, WA)
3. "Scentless Apprentice" (rehearsal demo) – 9:32
  • From Nirvana's final pre-In Utero studio session (January 19-21, 1993 at Ariola Ltda BMG, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Producer: Craig Montgomery)
4. "Heart-Shaped Box" – 5:31
5. "I Hate Myself and Want to Die" – 4:03
6. "Milk It" – 4:34
7. "Moist Vagina" (a.k.a. "MV") – 1:56
8. "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip" – 7:33
9. "The Other Improv" – 6:24
  • Cobain's boombox-recorded home demos (Fall or Winter 1992 in Seattle, WA)
10. "Serve the Servants" – 1:36
11. "Very Ape" – 1:52
  • Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1993 in Seattle, WA)
12. "Pennyroyal Tea" – 3:30
  • From the studio session for In Utero (February 12-26, 1993 at Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Producer: Steve Albini)
13. "Marigold" (Grohl, Heart-Shaped Box single b-side) – 2:34
14. "Sappy" – 3:26
  • From a band practice demo tape (February 5, 1994 at Pavilhão Dramatico, Cascais, Portugal)
15. "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" (Kelly, McKee; The Vaselines cover) – 3:57
  • Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1994 in Seattle, WA)
16. "Do Re Mi" – 4:24
  • Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1993 or 1994 in Seattle, WA)
17. "You Know You're Right" – 2:30
  • Cobain's boombox-recorded home demo (1991 or 1992 in Olympia, WA or Los Angeles, California?)
18. "All Apologies" – 3:33

[edit] Disc 4: DVD

  • Rehearsal at bass player Krist Novoselic's mother's house, Aberdeen, Washington in 1988.
1. "Love Buzz" – 2:32
2. "Scoff" – :47
3. "About a Girl" – 3:05
4. "Big Long Now" – 4:22
5. "Immigrant Song" [Led Zeppelin cover] – 1:57
6. "Spank Thru" – 3:03
7. "Hairspray Queen" – 3:37
8. "School" – 2:53
9. "Mr. Moustache" – 3:47
10. "Big Cheese" – 3:13
11. "Sappy" – 4:27 [mislisted as track 12 on the cover]
  • Early version of song/early music video, while on Sub Pop
12. "In Bloom" – 4:28 [mislisted as track 11 on the cover]
13. "School" – 2:33
14. "Love Buzz" [Shocking Blue cover] – 3:40
15. "Pennyroyal Tea" [First ever performance] – 1:55
16. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" [First ever performance] – 6:16
17. "Territorial Pissings" – 2:45
18. "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" [The Vaselines cover] – 3:32
19. "Talk to Me" – 3:35
20. "Seasons in the Sun" [Terry Jacks cover] – 3:40

Alternate versions of "Lounge Act" and "All Apologies" are also featured on the DVD menus.

[edit] Chart positions

Year Chart Position
2004 Top Canadian Albums No. 10
2004 Official Japanese Albums Chart No. 16
2004 Top Internet Albums No. 19
2004 Billboard Top 200 No. 19
2004 Official French Albums Chart No. 20
2004 Official Italian Albums Chart No. 21
2004 Official Irish Albums Chart No. 23
2004 Official Switzerland Albums Chart No. 28
2004 Official Belgium Albums Chart No. 29
2004 Official Norwegian Albums Chart No. 31
2004 Official Austrian Albums Chart No. 34
2004 Official Spanish Albums Chart No. 39
2004 Official New Zealand Albums Chart No. 39
2004 Official German Albums Chart No. 48
2004 Official UK Albums Chart No. 56

[edit] Sales

  • American Sales 1 million, (Certified 1 X Platinum 12/17/04)
  • Japanese sales 5 December 2004, 9 weeks, 54,823.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Additional music is featured in the DVD menus; specifically, a working rough mix of Lounge Act recorded during the Nevermind sessions, a jam recorded at the October 1992 session which yielded Rape Me from Disc 3 of the boxset, two separate portions of a 20-minute jam recorded at Nirvana's final recording session on January 30, 1994 at Robert Lang's Studios in Washington, a sped-up version of the acoustic demo of All Apologies from Disc 3 of the boxset, and the audio from a short jam featured in the 1988 rehearsal on the DVD.
  • Additional video is also included in the DVD menus and credits, specifically, pre-Nirvana footage Cobain made of himself, the band traveling on the road, home video recorded by Cobain of his art, the band playing an October 1990 concert in the UK, outtakes from the video shoots for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come as You Are", and footage of a January 1992 photo shoot of the band.
  • "Easter eggs" are hidden throughout the DVD with even more video footage.
  • The box for With The Lights Out incorporates Thermo-Chrome printing. The back and inner fold of the box appears to be almost black, but changes to reveal a picture full of reel tape boxes and recording sheets when exposed to heat greater than 200°F (recommended using microwave for about 20 seconds).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

  • Nirvanabox.com - The official site promoting the release of With the Lights Out.
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