Nirvana: Nevermind Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Nirvana: Nevermind Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 18, 2013

The grunge movement came into its own with the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind in late 1991, and the music world underwent a sea change that suddenly saw the “videocentric” stars of the 1980s (like Michael Jackson) suddenly fall by the wayside in favor these decidedly unkempt and musically unruly acolytes. Nevermind wasn’t expected to do blockbuster business, but Nirvana had already achieved a certain renown in the Pacific Northwest, and fueled by a surprising amount of interest in “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, the album became a certified smash within just a few weeks, fueled notably by fans in Seattle and my hometown of Portland, Oregon. It didn’t take long for the entire nation to take notice of Kurt Cobain and company, and by 1992 Nirvana was ostensibly the most important new band in the United States and, some would argue, the world.

Nevermind is a study in contrasts, perhaps even more so than its follow up In Utero. One of the defining characteristics of the album is its huge changes in dynamics, often repeatedly, within the same song. Nirvana can lull the listener into a false sense of sonic security, only to then figuratively bludgeon them with a visceral onslaught unlike anything the music world had experienced, at least since the punk movement. Nevermind contains the following tracks:

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come As You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On a Plain
12. Something in the Way

Nirvana: Nevermind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aside from the static menu screen, there is no video on this Blu-ray disc.

Nirvana: Nevermind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The insert in this audio Blu-ray's keepcase includes the following text:

What is High Fidelity Pure Audio?

High Fidelity Pure Audio combines the vast storage space and bandwidth of a Blu-ray disc with the original high quality recorded material to create a uniquely luxurious listening experience. We take audio in its purest and uncompressed form and master it onto a Blu-ray disc, retaining all of its original sound range and character to deliver you audio as it was meant to be heard. Because none of the disc is used up by video content and we are able to offer audio at its purest form.

As I mentioned in our Blu-ray.com Nirvana: In Utero Blu-ray review, it seems ridiculous to tout the storage capacity of an audio Blu- ray and then to only use a small percentage of its storage capacity, especially when so much supplementary material for Nevermind not only exists, but has been previously released. This seems especially boneheaded when this disc, like In Utero, contains three redundant audio options. However, even that failing may dwindle when listeners realize that this was evidently sourced from an overly compressed master created for the reissue of the album (I have no absolute proof this is the case, but it certainly sounds like it to me). While those new to the album probably won't notice a huge variance, a simple comparison to the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CD shows that this release has a curiously (and sadly) restricted range that especially affects some of Cobain's vocals (like on "Lithium") and Grohl's drums. This therefore seems, rather ironically considering the album's iconic cover image, like a label fishing for money. Louder doesn't necessarily mean better.

Nirvana: Nevermind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this audio Blu-ray.

Nirvana: Nevermind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nevermind is an epochal album, and considering the stellar recent release of In Utero, most were probably hoping for a similarly well done release of this album. Unfortunately, this newly touted "HFPA" can only be as "high fidelity" and "pure" as its source.