Ottawa XPress - Music - Spin - Sliver: The Best of the Box

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November 3rd, 2005
Nirvana - (DGC/Universal)

Sliver: The Best of the Box
Jamie O'Meara

If it wasn't on the album, it's usually for a reason, and never was that truer than on the three-CD +DVD Nirvana box set With the Lights Out from almost a year ago, which featured mostly unlistenable-in-any-setting studio and rehearsal demos, live takes and other assorted rarities that would only be of interest to the most extreme, forensically minded Nirvana fan. (Nirvana, even at the height of their powers, weren't exactly musical prodigies, let's recall.) Sliver: The Best of the Box culls 22 "favourites" (according to whom?) from the box set, which are no more listenable than the tracks left behind. And the "boom box" version of Smells Like Teen Spirit here is rank enough to make you regret the history-changing, proper album version. Please, don't encourage any more of this.


	Write your review of this record !

Rare Nirvana

If Kurt Cobain were still alive he would freak out with this release of the box set. I know that die-hard Nirvana fans will buy this but I'm sad to say that those fans are wasting there hard earned money. I listen to this at HMV and I hated the boom box version of the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I hated ever track on this album and 80% of the songs are not worth listening too. It's a sad state of affairs that Kurt Cobain is no longer with us making original music. We miss him so much. I have been a Nirvana fan since 1991 when I first watched their video "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on Musiqueplus. Most of the songs on this box set are demos and you should not waste your time and money on this.

Carmela Sicurella

April 15th, 2007

Ugh

I think that In Utero is better than Nevermind. I think that the Unplugged is the best of that series. I think that the world is a far worse place without the music of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Kris Novoselic. But, even as a big fan who remembers where he was when he heard Kurt died, thinks that this is a crappy album. It smells to high heaven of corporate greed. What a waste of money!

Reuven De Souza

April 4th, 2007

Kurt

I never really liked Nirvana until Kurt died. I know that this is not nice to say but I really did not pay attention to their music until a tragedy happened. Maybe because I listened to the words more closely once he died and finally realized what he was trying to say. He was in pain and was trying to let us know. Either way his tragedy is one of the most saddest in music history as a lot of young people these days can relate to his messages in the music. A great loss.

Louise Lacroix

March 27th, 2007

Nirvana - Long live!

The truckload of Nirvana material continues with a limited, more affordable collection of rarities, demos and alternate versions pulled from last year's "With the Lights Out" offering. I guess we'll never know what Kurt Cobain would have made of this continued exploitation , but an undeniably hungry market still exists. It's a gross injustice that Cobain did not leave a more extensive output before he died. This has led to the flogging a dead horse notion that this collection does in many ways represent with only three unheard tracks offered.

The tracks amassed here give a rough and raw insight to some of the band's songs at the conception stage. Some versions of songs like "Rape Me"' and "Heart Shape Box"' offer a foundation of what was to come and it captures the evolutionary process of some of the band's greatest tracks. The sound quality is sometimes terrible, particularly on the live cover version of "Heartbreaker". Cobain's voice is, at times, beautiful - whether singing a soft song like the acoustic "Lithium"' or the gut-wrenching scream on "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The intensity and emotion in his voice is felt.

In a weird way it almost is sad to hear these songs. Ultimately this is a collection for die-hard fans only. It's an interesting look into the birth of some of the songs that undeniably changed and defined a musical generation. A walk through music history that makes you miss them even more.

Angelo Antonio Vernucci

{1 vote}

December 9th, 2005

Smells Like... A Sham

Ahh, Nirvana. One of the greatest overrated bands in all of history. When on earth will people stop cashing in on the band's success? Honestly, poor Frances Bean having to watch her mother go completely wacko and having to continuously see re-releases of her father's work being put out by money-hungry music moguls.

Don't get me wrong, Nirvana were true trendsetters of the grunge music era and produced some great hits. Who hasn't at least heard of Smells Like Teen Spirit? Not only is the song catchy, but it had a great melody for it's time and contains timeless lyrics that even kids of today can relate to; hence why every teenager owns at least one Nirvana album. Lithium is a beautifully haunting rock song subtly foreshadowing Kurt Cobain's demise as he moans how today is the day he found God, he can't wait to meet you 'there' (perhaps in the land of the dead?) and how he's not gonna crack. Which is obviously and unfortunately ironic considering that he did in fact, crack, and became somewhat reclusive and paranoid during his last days.

This album features a solo acoustic version of Lithium and other Nirvana faves like Rape Me that actually has a home demo and a band demo, and a boom box version of the hit Come As You Are. Only, don't ask me what a boom box version is because I haven't the slightest clue. Smells Like Teen Spirit is also on there in boom box format and there are a whole bunch of other live, demo, and radio versions of 19 tracks. And let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Nirvana produced some good music, and part of it's charm and attraction was the fact that their songs were always slightly imperfect and rough around the edges, but their music wasn't life-altering. It was satisfying grunge rock. But I see no need in re-releasing the same songs once again, this time in various formats. It does nothing for me. Sure, the quality is good, but it offers nothing new. It's a moneymaker unless you're a diehard fan in which case, this is a must-have.

Vanessa Hasid

{6 votes}

November 8th, 2005

Okay this is a bit silly...

i can understand fans buying something like these throwaways in one nice big bundle, but is the company trying to tell me that the public on mass really want or need a condencement of the second rate songs? i think they do and that the public is dumb enough to buy this. I searched to get a cheaper copy of the boxset (which i did) so i felt i would get more of my money's worth out of this. I even remember when Rod Stewart's boxset, Storyteller came out and 6 months later a condensed tape of hits from 1976-1990 surfaced...well, at least that made sense as not everyone likes every point of rod's career. but if the public wanted any of this Nirvana stuff, they would have forked out their money for the boxset and not worry about the cost. I think this was a complete waste of plastic, energy and space.

Ger Madden

{10 votes}

November 7th, 2005

CDspin/Nirvana/Sliver: The Best of the Box

Ah, music industry greed knows no bounds does it? I'm pretty sure that is the record execs could dig a hole into Cobain's coffin, insert a microphone down there and record the unearthly deathrattle noises of his ever decomposing body they'd find a way to release that too. Hell, I'm not altogether sure that Courtney Love wouldn't be spearheading that particular campaign if they did. Sorry folks but some stuff isn't released for a very good reason.

~

If there were such a thing as truth in advertising they'd call this what it really is: Smells like Pointless Corporate Greed for the Christmas Season Buying Rush. Bad idea, poor taste and just plain ugly production value all around. If you buy this you're basically getting whatever you deserve.

Pedro Eggers

{6 votes}

November 6th, 2005

Oh well, whatever, nevermind

All Nirvana fans have great memories of the many live shows and different versions of their favourite tracks they've heard over the years. In my mind it doesn't make sense to release this album but then I guess the big guns thought 'Silver' would make them some money. I can't see how as there's nothing new on here other than unheard demos and the like, which are DEMOS for a reason - they are not really meant to be released to the general public, it's like putting an unfinished film in the cinema.

I've got my albums from the time when I was a much bigger Nirvana fan than I am now (unlike some my musical tastes do evolve) and listen to them occasionally. Don't intend buying this and will be surprised if many other people do.

Ellen Reid

{7 votes}

November 4th, 2005

Nirvana have some respect

Nirvana is great band and yes I agree the box set Is kind of crappy and the dvd should've been a lot better ....i wish there were some interviews on it from mtv muchmusic and the stuff like that ...video footage from festival and award show just fun stuff not video of their jam in the bass players mother house in 1988 the sound and picture suck. They need to put out song that are listenable and interesting interviews on video. The box set has a lot of soul and you can definitely feel and hear how cobain created his songs but over all and think i will still buy the new sliver record just for the 3 new songs.

thank you

ps I sure if cobain was still alive there would not have been a box set .... and anything that dave and chris put for nirvana fans realy sucks the muddy banks of the shit bank.

kurt was the artist from video to image he was the band.

if kurt made a box set or dvd i am sure it would've been this fuck up new art wacky shit movie a collage of chaos.

Mark Snake

{5 votes}

November 4th, 2005

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