Nirvana: From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah

When Nirvana's Kurt Cobain committed his high-profile suicide in 1994, his musical legacy consisted of three studio albums, a B-sides compilation and a subdued MTV Unplugged performance that would, for several years, be heard as his band's final statement. But Nirvana's long-awaited live post-mortem, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, should remind fans of the raucous, furious, self-destructive energy the group exuded when it plugged in live. Wishkah nicely balances the various phases of Nirvana's existence—from its early material to its glossiest hits—just as it balances Cobain's raw-throated wailings with the catchy, hard-rock intensity that made him so popular with the kids. It's easy to dismiss From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah as a callous milking of a dead cash cow, and maybe it is, but fans will be glad it exists. And doesn't it make sense that Cobain's last album would begin with his insane screams instead of a bunch of shy, unplugged mutterings