LIVE NIRVANA TOUR HISTORY: A GUIDE TO 12/28/91 RADIO DISCS
INTRODUCTION
NIRVANA's 12/28/91 appearance at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California has found its way onto many different radio CDs. Radio discs contain pre-FM recordings, mastered specifically for radio airplay. Different stations produce different discs and this explains why the quality and completeness of radio discs vary
greatly. This guide has been written to document the merits and pitfalls of different radio discs.
RADIO DISCS
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 92-12
Disc 1: Led Zeppelin
Disc 2: NIRVANA 12/28/91
Setlist: Drain You / Aneurysm / School / Commercial Break / Smells Like Teen Spirit / About A Girl / Polly / Sliver / Breed / Commercial Break / Come As You Are / Lithium / Territorial Pissings
Sound quality: 9.9
Notes: This disc runs at the correct speed and has a realistic level of audience noise. The disc is missing all the noises before 'Drain you' and some tuning breaks before 'Come As You Are'. 'Aneurysm' is censored (the word "shit" is reversed). It was broadcast on the week of 03/15/92. This is one of the best discs. 'Drain You' and 'Aneurysm' were listed as 'Drain Your Aneurysm' on this disc.This disc contains the most complete demolition of any radio disc
Bootleg releases: This broadcast appears in the same (pre-FM) quality on the following bootlegs: 'Pissing In Action', 'Louder', and 'Psychotic Reaction'. It appears in inferior post-FM quality on 'Lithium' and '... and nobody got hurt'.
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 92-42
Disc 1: Roxy Blue
Disc 2: NIRVANA 12/28/91
Setlist: Drain You / Aneurysm / School / Commercial Break / Smells Like Teen Spirit / About A Girl / Polly / Sliver / Breed /Commercial Break / Come As You Are / Lithium / Territorial Pissings
Sound quality: 9.7
Notes: This disc runs at the correct speed but has a slightly worse level of audience noise than 'In Concert: 92-12'. This disc is missing all the noises before 'Drain you' and some tuning breaks before 'Come As You Are'.
It was broadcast on the week of 10/12/92. 'Aneurysm' is censored with a bleep on this disc.
Bootleg releases: This broadcast appears in the same (pre-FM) quality (but incomplete - only 4 tracks) on the bootleg 'See You Soon'.
Title of disc: Rock and the Environment, November 92
Setlist: School / Smells Like Teen Spirit / Lithium / Territorial Pissings
Notes: The concert runs at the correct speed, there is a lot of fake audience noise which is quite intrusive during the songs as it is on ITZ 98-39. The demolition is fairly complete. it was broadcast 11/26/92
Sound quality: 8.8
Bootleg releases: Appears in nice post-FM quality on the bootleg 'Aqua Seafoam Shame' (all copies seem prone to cd-rot).
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 92
Setlist: Smells Like Teen Spirit / Come As You Are / Lithium
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: Aired the week of December 21, 1992. Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood one: Superstars Concert Series 93-26
Disc 1: Soul Asylum
Disc 2: NIRVANA 12/28/91
Setlist: Drain You / School / Floyd The Barber / Commercial Break / Smells Like Teen Spirit / About A Girl / Polly / Sliver / Breed / Commercial Break / Come As You Are / Lithium
Sound quality: 10.0
Notes: This is by far the best sounding radio disc of this concert: the quality is equal to the officially released tracks from this show. The pre-'Drain You' noises are present as is the tuning break before 'Come As You Are'. The disc fades out before Krists "Dantes inferno" speech. The only flaw with this disc is that some fake audience noise has been added between 'Sliver' and 'Breed', whereas in reality the band went straight from 'Sliver' into 'Breed' without a gap.
This broadcast was aired on the week of 6/21/93. 'Drain You' is mislabelled as 'Draw You' on this disc!
Bootleg releases: This broadcast appears in the same (pre-FM) sound quality but incomplete on the following bootlegs: 'Live At Duffy's', 'CA Uberalles' and 'The Lost Concert'.
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 94-26
Disc 1: NIRVANA 12/28/91 + Peel sessions
Disc 2: Smashing Pumpkins
Setlist: Aneurysm / Smells Like Teen Spirit / Polly / Sliver / Breed / Come As You Are / Lithium + NIRVANA 10/26/89 Peel session: Love Buzz / About A Girl / Spank Thru + 09/03/91 Peel session: Dumb / Drain You
Sound quality: 12/28/91 = 8.3 / Peel = 9.9
Notes: This is the best radio disc for 'Spank Thru' (it is available on here without DJ talk), and the second best disc of all for the Peel sessions. The beginning and ends have of the songs have been crossfaded, except for the transition between 'Love Buzz' and 'About A Girl' which is normal.
All westwood one discs have a small tape speed error at the start of 'Love Buzz' and the first note of 'Love Buzz' is ruined by fake audience noise. Luckily the rest of the Peel sessions do not have fake crowd noise al though noradio discs of the Peel sessions sound as good as the trading circle Fm>DAT>CDR Transfer.
The presenter is Jamie Osborn. The 12/28/91 show runs at the correct speed. 'Aneurysm' is bleeped out rather than censored by being reversed. The DJ talks over the first note of 'Aneurysm'. Aired the week of June 20, 1994.
Bootleg release: This broadcast appears in the same pre-FM quality on the bootleg 'See You Soon'.
Title of disc: Westwood One: Out Of Order #95-01
Setlist: TBC
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: TBC
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 95-02 - Best Of 94
Setlist: Smells Like Teen Spirit / About A Girl / Come As You Are
Sound quality: Aired January, 2, 1995
Notes: Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: TBC
Title of disc: Westwood One: Out Of Order #95-03
Setlist: About A Girl
Sound quality: Aired January, 14, 1995
Notes: Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: 95-31
Setlist: TBC
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: TBC
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 95-50
Setlist: NIRVANA 12/28/91: Aneurysm / School / Floyd The Barber / Commercial Break / Smells Like Teen Spirit / Sliver / Breed / Commercial Break / Come As You Are / Lithium / Territorial Pissings / Commercial Break + NIRVANA 10/26/89 Peel session: Love Buzz / About A Girl / Polly / Spank Thru / Commercial Break + 10/21/90 Peel session: Son Of A Gun / D7 / Molly's Lips / Turnaround + 09/01/91 Peel session: Dumb / Drain You
Sound quality: 8.0
Notes: The 12/28/91 show runs at the correct speed, but has the loudest fake audience noise, often louder than the music. 'Aneurysm' is censored ("shit" is reversed). All tuning up noises and banter have been cut, even the intro to 'Territorial Pissings.
All Westwood discs of the 10/26/89 session have small tape speed errors on the first notes of 'Polly' and 'Love Buzz'. The presenter, JJ Jackson, talks over the very end of 'Spank Thru.
Aired the week of December 3rd, 1995
Bootleg releases: None? An FM>>ANA(1) of this broadcast is circulating, but the quality degrades after 'Territorial Pissings'.
Title of disc: Westwood One: #96-42
Setlist: Smells Like Teen Spirit
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: Aired 10/14/96. Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 97-21
Setlist: All three Peel sessions
Sound quality: 9.9
Notes: Features all 11 songs from the three Peel sessions in pre-FM quality.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: Absolutely Live In The Zone 98-39
Disc 1: Hole 11/09/94
Disc 2: NIRVANA 12/28/91
Setlist: Aneurysm / School / Floyd The Barber / Commercial Break / Smells Like Teen Spirit / Sliver / Breed / Commercial Break / Come As You Are / Lithium / Territorial Pissings
Sound quality: 8.2
Notes: The show has been sped up and overdubbed with fake crowd noise.
All tuning up noises and banter have been cut from 12/28/91 even the intro to 'Territorial pissings'.
'Aneurysm' is censored. Aired weekend September 26/27, 1998
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: The Vault 99-25
Setlist: Come As You Are
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: For broadcast the week of June 14, 1999. Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 00-09
Setlist: TBC
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: Please email the maintainer of this section if you have any more info on this disc.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: In Concert 00-37
Disc 1: NIRVANA 12/28/91
Disc 2: NIRVANA 12/28/91 (contd) + 10/26/89, 10/26/90 + 09/01/91 Peel sessions
Setlist: Disc 1 - Aneurysm / School / Floyd The Barber / Commercial Break / Smells Like Teen Spirit / About A Girl / Polly / Sliver / Breed / Commercial Break // Disc 2 - Come As You Are / Lithium / Territorial Pissings / Love Buzz / Spank Thru / Son Of A Gun / Molly's Lips / Turnaround / Dumb / Drain You / Endless Nameless
Sound quality: TBC
Notes: The Peel sessions are overdubbed with fake crowd noise, but 'Endless Nameless' is complete.
Aired 09/10th September 2000.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: Absolutely Live In The Zone 01-16
Setlist: Complete 12/28/91 + 10/26/89 Peel session: Love Buzz / Spank Thru + 10/26/90 Peel session: Son Of A Gun / Molly's Lips / Turnaround + 09/01/91 Peel session: Dumb / Drain You / Endless Nameless
Sound quality: 12/28/91 = 10 / Peel sessions = 9.9
Notes: Finally Westwood One give us the whole show! The Del Mar tracks run at the correct speed, with a very small amount of fake audience noise over the end on "About a Girl". 'Aneurysm' is censored but in this case they reversed the word "shit" then layered the reversed version on top of the normal version so you can still hear the word!. Some dead space between songs has been cut, ie: the gap between Krists "Satan" speech and his intro to 'Territorial Pissings'. This disc contains the best version of Floyd the barber of any disc it is absolutely flawless. the disc is missing all noises before Drain you and the tuning break before "Come as you are". Along with 92-12 & 93-26 this is one of the very best discs.The demolition has been severly edited.
All Westwood discs of the 10/26/89 session have a small tape speed error at the very start of 'Love Buzz'.
First broadcast 21/22nd April 2001.
Bootleg releases: None?
Title of disc: Westwood One: Absolutely Live In Concert 02-24
Setlist:Complete 12/28/91 + 10/26/89 Peel session: Love Buzz / Spank Thru + 10/26/90 Peel session: Son Of A Gun / Molly's Lips / Turnaround + 09/01/91 Peel session: Dumb / Drain You / Endless Nameless
Sound quality: 9
Notes: First broadcast 15/16th June 2002.this disc is absolutely redundantit sounds dull and slightly flat, host Doug Podell talks patronizing and in some cses offensive rubbish About Nirvana. the Del mar Tracks have an irritating amount of fake audience noise added.'Aneurysm' is censored but in this case they reversed the word "shit" then layered the reversed version on top of the normal version so you can still hear the word!. Some dead space between songs has been cut, ie: the gap between Krists "Satan" speech and his Intro to "Territorial "Pissings". The Demolition has been severely edited. Missing all the noses before "Drain you" and the tuning break before "come as you are".
Bootleg releases: None
Title of disc: The Album Network (Premiere Radio Network) broadcast number 04-26
Setlist:Complete 12/28/91 + 10/26/89 Peel session: Love Buzz / Spank Thru + 10/26/90 Peel session: Son Of A Gun / Molly's Lips / Turnaround + 09/01/91 Peel session: Dumb / Drain You / Endless Nameless
Sound quality: 10 (12/8/91) /9.5 (Peel Sessions)
Notes:It contains all songs from the full Del Mar show and appears to be missing only a couple of the between song comments (no "Let's Do it" at start, no Grohl "thank you" after SLTS.
Sound on the Peel tracks is pretty good. there is no DJ talk over or overlapping tracks.
Bootleg releases: None
MISCELLANEOUS
The bootleg 'Live', and the inferior 'The Eternal Legacy', are sourced from a broadcast of a Geffen promo tape, remixed by Andy Wallace, and not from Westwood One radio cds as once thought. All the radio discs above seem to be sourced from the Andy Wallace remix, but have been
mixed with different amounts of fake crowd noise and compressed differently for radio play.
Researched, written and maintained by: Tim Bucknall.
With thanks to: John Dionysus, Mike Wilkinson, Nate Roth, Kris Sproul, Adam Andrews, Enrico at www.arkivio.it/nirvana/off-radio.htm and everyone who provided material for comparison purposes.
Last updated: 01/06/05