Nirvana bootleg recordings

The Nirvana bootleg recordings are a number of audio CD recordings of musical performances by the American rock band Nirvana, which were previously not officially released by the band, or under any other legal authority. The recordings consist of both live performances and outtakes from studio sessions unavailable as a legal release.
Overview.
Nirvana was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987, and featured drummer Dave Grohl for the majority of the band's career. They had previously gone through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, Dale Crover and Dan Peters. Jason Everman was briefly added as a second guitarist in 1989. Pat Smear joined the band as a touring guitarist in 1993. Although Nirvana existed for less than a decade, they released three studio albums, starting with 1989's "Bleach", followed by their major label breakthrough album, "Nevermind" in 1991. "In Utero" was released in 1993, just seven months prior to Cobain's death in April 1994. Also released in 1992 was "Incesticide".
As Nirvana's popularity grew following the success of "Nevermind", unreleased recordings of the band began to surface in the form of unofficial bootleg CDs, often originating from companies in Europe and Japan. The sound quality and album art would frequently range from appalling to appealing, sometimes sounding like and resembling something of a legitimate release. Some of the recordings came from "tape trading" circles while others may have been recorded or obtained specifically for the bootleg CD. Material was sometimes gathered from already existing vinyl bootlegs or other bootleg CDs as they became available. Additionally, songs issued only as a b-side or compilation track became frequent candidates for use as filler material. Nirvana would not see any royalties from these releases, nor would they have anything to do with their production. The first Nirvana bootleg CD was released in 1992 by Post Script, simply titled "Europe 1991". Since then, hundreds of recordings of concerts, demos and various unreleased material have surfaced in this format.
The official release "Incesticide" was issued in late 1992, including demos, outtakes and radio sessions, some of which were previously circulating in lower quality on bootleg CDs. Despite "MTV Unplugged in New York" being released less than a year after the performance occurred, it would still become one of the band's most bootlegged shows. After the first several installments of the unofficial "Outcesticide" collection came through, the official live album "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah" was released in 1996, containing various performances recorded between 1989 and 1994. It should also be noted that the official "With the Lights Out" box set was released in 2004, which included many rare, unreleased recordings, while the official "Live at Reading" debuted Nirvana's now classic 1992 Reading Festival performance in 2009, after years of endless bootlegging.
Due to the fact that there is an uncountable number of unofficial releases and their accompanying versions, below is a partial list of the most sought-after and talked about bootleg CD recordings, including the "A Season in Hell Part One" box set, the "Into the Black" box set, and the complete "Outcesticide" series. Since bootleg CDs are notorious for including erroneously listed information pertaining to song titles, dates and venues, the information below has omitted any false listings and replaced them with the correct information.
Outcesticide albums.
The "Outcesticide" albums are the most well known Nirvana bootleg CD series in existence and carry a name recognition second only to Nirvana's official releases. These unofficial compilation albums consisted of live material, demo recordings, television appearances, radio performances and other various unreleased material. Although Blue Moon Records originally produced the series and manufactured multiple pressings throughout the 1990s, they have been endlessly cloned, with counterfeit versions accounting for the majority of the market. Other companies to later issue the series included Darkside Records, Red Robin Records and Kobra Records, among others.
Outcesticide: In Memory of Kurt Cobain.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Outcesticide II: The Needle & the Damage Done.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Outcesticide III: The Final Solution.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Outcesticide IV: Rape of the Vaults.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Outcesticide V: Disintegration.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
A Season in Hell Part One.
"A Season in Hell Part One" is a bootleg CD box set manufactured in Italy and released by Banzai in 1994. The collection is housed in a matte finish, square box that also includes a 7"x7" booklet with 24 pages of photographs and information on the recordings featured in the set. Spanning the three disc, 66-track collection are two shows from 1990, several demos, some rare live material, various b-sides and compilation tracks. This is one of only two bootleg CD releases to feature the Off Ramp Café performance, and the only to feature the Town Pump show. A portion of the box set would later be officially released on "With the Lights Out". In 1996, the inferior "A Season In Hell Part Two" was released by Razor's Edge, containing the 1994 Le Zénith show and an array of miscellaneous material, most of which was lifted from the "Outcesticide" series and official releases.
A Season in Hell Part One, CD 1.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
A Season in Hell Part One, CD 2.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
A Season in Hell Part One, CD 3.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Into the Black.
"Into the Black" is a six CD box set released by Tribute in 1994, which is often considered the preferred Nirvana bootleg box set due to it being compiled by a knowledgeable fan. It is housed in a glossy box, including a 22-page booklet made of thick cardstock. Several recordings were obtained specifically for the set and it contains a large amount of material that had not yet surfaced up to the time of its release. The extensive 116-track collection includes demo recordings, two band-made compilations, the 1992 Reading Festival performance and BBC radio sessions from Maida Vale Studios. The set also contains two Seattle shows; the 1991 Halloween homecoming performance for their North American "Nevermind" tour, and their last ever American show in 1994. Following "Into the Black", Tribute released the 2-CD companion piece, "New Year's Eve", featuring Nirvana's 1993 performance at the Oakland Coliseum as well as the 1988 "Sub Pop 200" record release show in Seattle.
Ultra Rare Demos & Sessions.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Master Demo Recordings.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Paramount Theatre.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Reading Festival.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Last American Show Part 1.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
Last American Show Part 2.
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.
The Chosen Rejects.
"The Chosen Rejects" is a bootleg CD box set put together by John W. Busher in Italy and released November 1, 2006. The set is enclosed in 4 standard jewel cases, each of which have a separate title and cover image. Each CD also came with a track listing on the inside of the cover. This 4 disc box set holds an 80-track collection that are of soundboard quality except for track 15 on disc one, which is a boombox demo, and tracks 4–5, 7, 13–15, 19-20 on disc 4, which were recorded by audience members. The first disc also features 7 Fecal Matter demos, from the album Illiteracy Will Prevail. The bootleg was originally for sale on Discogs, however a copy has not been put up for sale since 2012, and probably never will be again due to their crackdown on sales of bootlegs.
The Chosen Rejects, CD 1, Home Demos.
Tracks 2-8 are Fecal Matter demos, recorded in 1985. Tracks 1 and 14 are 4-Track tape collages created in 1988 that contain random snippets of sounds and clips. Tracks 10-12 are 4-Track demos recorded in 1988. Track 13 is a 4-Track demo from 1992. Track 15 is from a band practice in 1987 and is a cover of a Cher song of the same name.
The Chosen Rejects, CD 2, Studio Sessions.
All these tracks were recorded from between 1988 and 1993 in various locations. They are all demos except tracks 2, 6, 7, 11, and 17 are rough mixes.
The Chosen Rejects, CD 3, Broadcasts.
Tracks 1-3 were performed in 1987 at KAOS FM radio. Track 4 was performed at VPRO FM on November 1, 1989. Tracks 5-8 were performed at BBC FM October 26, 1989. Track 9 was performed September 3, 1991 at the BBC. Track 10 was performed November 9, 1991. Tracks 11,12 were performed on November 25, 1991 at VPRO FM. Track 13 was performed on SNL on January 11, 1992. Track 14 and 15 was performed at MTV on January 10, 1992. Track 16 was also performed at MTV but on September 9, 1992. Track 17 was performed on SNL September 25, 1993. Tracks 18 and 19 were performed February 4, 1994 at the Canal. Tracks 20 and 21 were performed at the Tunnel on February 23, 1994. Track 22 was performed on SNL on January 11, 1992.