Love Buzz is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue. It was written by Robbie van Leeuwen and first released on the group’s 1969 album At Home. Love Buzz was covered by Nirvana, released as their debut single in November 1988, released on Sub Pop in the USA. It was the first single in the Sub Pop Singles club and was limited to 1000 numbered copies.
A Sub Pop invoice indicates that 1200 sleeves were made, the other 200 having a red slash instead of a number. It was made single of the week in Sounds by John Robb, which was the first mention of the band in the UK press.
The single was reviewed in December 2, 1988 issue of CMJ, in which it stated:
“Nowhere else are you gonna hear such a teeth-rattling Seattle sludgemeister demolition job. Nirvana mixes things up good and choppy, including all the ingredients for primal rock greatness”.
In a 1989 review for British music magazine Melody Maker, Everett True wrote:
“Nirvana are beauty incarnate. A relentless two-chord garage beat which lays down some serious foundations for a sheer monster of a guitar to howl over. The volume control ain’t been built yet which can do justice to this three-piece!”
True also made Love Buzz joint US Single of the Week.
True also described Nirvana‘s Love Buzz single as a “Limited edition of 1,000; love songs for the psychotically disturbed”.
A slightly different mix of the song would also appear on Nirvana‘s debut album, Bleach. This version is missing a 10 second sound collage introduction put together by Kurt Cobain. Love Buzz was later released on Nirvana‘s Blew EP in the UK in December 1989. This was the song’s first release in the UK after being substituted by Big Cheese on the British release of the Bleach album.
Tracklist:
- Love Buzz
- Big Cheese
Nirvana
Kurt Cobain: guitar, vocals
Krist Novoselic: bass guitar
Chad Channing: drums
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 April 5, 1994).
