NIRVANA: INTO THE BLACK Bootleg Box Set VIII (1994)

Into the Black is a six-CD box set released by Tribute in 1994, . It’s housed in a glossy box, which includes a 22-page booklet made from thick cardstock. Several recordings were obtained specifically for the set, and it contains a large amount of material that had not yet appeared 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 shows from Seattle; the 1991 Halloween homecoming performance for their North American Nevermind tour and their last American show in 1994.

Following Into the Black, Tribute released the 2-CD companion piece, New Year’s Eve, which features Nirvana‘s performance at 1993 at the Oakland Coliseum, as well as the 1988 Sub Pop 200 record release show in Seattle.

Ultra Rare Demos & Sessions CD 1

Tracklist:

1. Downer
2. Floyd the Barber
3. If You Must
4. Paper Cuts
5. Spank Thru
6. Beeswax
7. Pen Cap Chew
8. Beans
9. Hairspray Queen
10. Lithium
11. Sappy
12. Polly (original mix)
13. Son of a Gun (The Vaselines cover)
14. Dive
15. About a Girl
16. Opinion (includes interview with Calvin Johnson)
17. (New Wave) Polly
18. Aneurysm
19. Something in the Way
20. Been a Son
21. Polly
22. Smells Like Teen Spirit
23. Territorial Pissings

Master Demo Recordings CD 2

Tracklist:

1. Aero Zeppelin
2. Escalator to Hell (short version)
3. Beeswax
4. Mexican Seafood
5. Pen Cap Chew
6. Mr. Moustache (early version)
7. Blandest
8. Downer
9. Floyd the Barber (original mix)
10. Paper Cuts (original mix)
11. Spank Thru
12. Sifting (instrumental version)
13. In Bloom
14. Breed
15. Pay to Play
16. Polly (original mix)
17. Dive (original mix)
18. Lithium (mix 6)
19. Sappy

Paramount Theatre CD 3

Tracklist:

1. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam ( The Vaselines cover)
2. Aneurysm
3. Drain You – School
4. Floyd the Barber
5. Smells Like Teen Spirit
6. About a Girl
7. Polly
8. Breed
9. Sliver
10. Love Buzz (Shocking Blue cover)
11. Lithium
12. Been a Son
13. Negative Creep
14. On a Plain
15. Blew
16. Rape Me (early version)
17. Territorial Pissings
18. Endless, Nameless

All tracks from a near complete soundboard source recorded live on October 31, 1991 at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington. “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam” was later featured on the DVD portion of With the Lights Out. “Drain You” and “School” were issued as b-sides to the “Come As You Are” single. “About a Girl“, “Polly“, “Breed” and portions of “Endless, Nameless” later appeared on Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!. “Been a Son” was issued as a b-side to the “Lithium” single. “Negative Creep” was later included on From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. Several songs from this performance were also featured on Nevermind It’s an Interview. Live at the Paramount, the official blu-ray release of the complete show, rendered this disc obsolete in 2011.

Reading Festival CD 4

Tracklist:

1. Breed
2. Drain You
3. Aneurysm
4. School
5. Sliver
6. In Bloom
7. Come as You Are
8. Lithium
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit
10. On a Plain
11. Negative Creep
12. Been a Son
13. All Apologies (early version)
14. Dumb (early version)
15. Stay Away
16. Territorial Pissings
17. Smells Like Teen Spirit
18. Territorial Pissings

Tracks 1-16: From an incomplete soundboard source recorded August 30, 1992 at the Reading Festival, Reading, England, taken from the second FM broadcast. Although many bootleg CDs feature this performance, they have become somewhat obsolete since the release of Live at Reading. However, most bootleg CD releases maintain better continuity as compared to the official release CD version, which despite maintaining a more complete set list, was heavily edited due to time restraints.
Tracks 17 and 18 recorded for Saturday Night Live at NBC Studios, New York, New York on January 11, 1992.

Last American Show Part 1 CD 5

Tracklist:

1. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
2. Drain You
3. Breed
4. Serve the Servants
5. Come as You Are
6. Smells Like Teen Spirit
7. Sliver
8. Dumb
9. In Bloom
10. About a Girl
11. Lithium
12. Pennyroyal Tea
13. School
14. Polly
15. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle
16. Milk It
17. Rape Me
18. Territorial Pissings
19. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam ( The Vaselines cover)

All tracks from a complete audience source recorded live at the Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington on January 8, 1994, with the six final tracks of the performance featured on Last American Show Part 2.

Last American Show Part 2 CD 6

Tracklist:

1. The Man Who Sold the World ( David Bowie cover)
2. All Apologies
3. Scentless Apprentice
4. On a Plain
5. Heart-Shaped Box
6. Blew
7. Love Buzz ( Shocking Blue cover)
8. About a Girl
9. Polly
10. Spank Thru
11. Son of a Gun (The Vaselines)
12. Molly’s Lips ( The Vaselines cover)
13. D-7 ( the Wipers cover)
14. Turnaround ( Devo cover)
15. Dumb
16. Drain You
17. Endless, Nameless
18. Endless, Nameless (continued)
19. Courtney Love’s Complete Eulogy

Tracks 1-6: From a complete audience source recorded live at the Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington on January 8, 1994, with the first nineteen tracks of the performance featured on Last American Show Part 1.

Tracks 7-18: From BBC radio sessions recorded in 1989 and 1991 at Maida Vale Studios, London, England. The disc is defective, which causes some of the tracks to not play properly. The Complete Radio Sessions on Blue Moon Records and The Eternal Legacy released by Kiss the Stone both contain error free versions of these sessions.

“Love Buzz“, “About a Girl“, “Polly“, and “Spank Thru” remain unreleased.
Track 19: Is Courtney Love‘s complete eulogy for Kurt Cobain recorded at the Seattle Center Flag Pavilion on April 10, 1994.