This has never been my favourite Nirvana album, but it's an interesting look into the lead up to and actual recording of the album.

It's tough for us mere mortals to understand exactly what happens when a band explodes and suddenly find themselves the It band. Nevermind was so huge and so were the expectations for this band that brought grunge into the mainstream, that it's tough to wrap your head around exactly what they were feeling and experiencing, both from the pressure they put on themselves to create something as vital and viable, as well as the pressure from all the outside forces that have a stake in their success or downfall.

This book gives a fair and balanced view of that time, from producer Steve Albini's initial reluctance to ultimate acceptance and pride for what he got down on tape...that is, a band that wanted an aggressive, in-your-face punk album, and his ultimate judgement of what happened afterward, which was that other hands got on the album and "fucked it up."

And through it all, there's the band members themselves.

An enjoyable and illuminating glimpse into the world of Nirvana, as they spun down to their end. ( )

This is a treatise on my favourite Nirvana album, which is also their last one. It shows Cobain as a considerate and very thoughtful person, who handled almost every aspect of Nirvana, from writing the songs to constructing the videos and dealing with marketing.

This is not a tell-tale tattler tome, but a sincere delving into the material. Steve Albini, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, Courtney Love and others are interviewed about aspects that concern the album. Gaar has a lot of insight into the band, having helped out with collating "With The Lights Out" - the big box with Nirvana material that popped up circa the time of the black compilation album - and among other things shows the evolution of songs from the lyrics to how they were recorded and re-recorded, and, for example, how Cobain rescued a track from a very weird and bad guitar solo, having taken in feedback. He doesn't seem to have been a diva, rather a great punk feminist.

All in all: a very worthwhile dive into the world of Nirvana during the early 1990s up till Cobain's suicide. If you're into music and details around this recording, this is a clear, small 4/5-grade book. ( )