Maps of Music

Bleach (1989)

Where the lyrics of Bleach take you, and where it was really made.

Nirvana's debut album was renamed Bleach after Cobain saw an AIDS prevention poster while driving through San Francisco. Its working title was Too Many Humans.

Key places

Reciprocal Recording, Seattle (1989)

Recording site Reciprocal Recording — The main recording sessions for Bleach took place here between December 1988 and January 1989. Jack Endino was the local producer. The band had also recorded earlier material at Reciprocal Studios in January 1988. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Bleach: debut studio album by American rock band Nirvana
• Released June 15, 1989 by Sub Pop
• The only Nirvana album released on the Sub Pop label

Background

• Followed the debut single 'Love Buzz' on Sub Pop in November 1988
• Nirvana rehearsed for two to three weeks before recording a full-length album
• Sub Pop had only requested an EP

Recording

• Main sessions at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle, Washington, December 1988 to January 1989
• Local producer Jack Endino
• Recording began with a five-hour session on December 24, 1988, with further sessions on December 29–31 and on January 14 and 24
• 'Floyd the Barber', 'Paper Cuts' and 'Downer' were recorded in January 1988 with Melvins drummer Dale Crover and later remixed for the final version
• 'Big Long Now' was omitted because Cobain felt there was already enough slow heavy material on the album
• Jason Everman paid for the recording time and briefly joined as second guitarist; he is credited and pictured on the cover but did not perform on the album

Cover

• Photographed by Cobain's then-girlfriend Tracy Marander during a concert at the Reko Muse art gallery in Olympia, Washington

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Nirvana is an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987.
• Founded by Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) and Krist Novoselic (bass).
• Went through several drummers, including Chad Channing, before Dave Grohl joined in 1990.

Members

• Kurt Cobain: lead vocals and guitar, principal songwriter.
• Krist Novoselic: bass.
• Dave Grohl: drums, joined in 1990.

Career

• Part of the Seattle grunge scene; debut album Bleach released on Sub Pop in 1989.
• Signed to DGC Records in 1990; Nevermind (1991) became a cultural phenomenon, credited with ending hair metal's popularity.
• In Utero (1993) topped the US and UK album charts.
• Cobain died in April 1994; the band disbanded that year.
• MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 1996 Grammys.
• One of the best-selling music artists of all time; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Did not chart on initial release but was well received by critics
• NME: Edwin Pouncey gave it eight out of ten
• Melody Maker: reviewer Push called Nirvana the only Sub Pop act whose songs consistently matched the standard set by Mudhoney
• Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore found the album primal and melodious but also punk
• The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Charles M. Young wrote it became a moderate hit on college radio and the underground/DIY circuit

Reappraisal

• AllMusic retrospective by Stephen Thomas Erlewine: a debut from a band that shows potential but has not yet achieved it
• The New Yorker: Robert Christgau found Endino's production too dry for grunge but still considered Bleach a major album
• About.com: Anthony Carew said Bleach defined the entire decade of the 1990s
• Rolling Stone ranked it No. 13 on its 50 Greatest Grunge Albums list in April 2019

Records

• The 1992 Geffen reissue reached number 89 on the Billboard 200, number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, number 34 in Australia and number 22 in Finland
• After Kurt Cobain's death in April 1994 it reached number one on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart
• Certified Platinum by the RIAA in February 1995
• Estimated 1.9 million copies sold in the United States by September 2016
• Certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
• Sold 40,000 copies in North America before Nevermind
• Sub Pop's best-selling release to date

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The working title was Too Many Humans; Cobain renamed the album after seeing an AIDS prevention poster while Nirvana was driving through San Francisco
• The poster advised heroin addicts to bleach their needles before use, with the slogan 'Bleach Your Works'
• Everman was never told at the time that he had been fired, and later claimed he had actually quit the group
• 'Floyd the Barber' received airplay on Seattle radio station KCMU
• The 2009 20th anniversary edition added a live recording of a 1990 show at Portland, Oregon's Pine Street Theatre

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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