Bleach (album)

	Chart positions ; Explanation of the data
	Albums
	Bleach

chronology
Bleach
Studio album by Nirvana
Publication ; (s)	August 8, 1989
Label (s)	Sub pop
Format (s)	CD, LP
Genre (s)	Grunge
Title (number)	13 (1989) and 25 (2009)
running time	42 min 14 s (1989); 76 min 37 s (2009);
occupation	Kurt Cobain : vocals / guitar (as Kurdt Kobain); Krist Novoselić : bass (as Chris Novoselic); Chad Channing : Drums ;
production	Jack Endino
Studio (s)	December 1988 - January 1989; Reciprocal Recording Studios, Seattle ;
November 1, 1988	Love buzz
December 1989	Blew

Bleach (Engl. For bleach ) is the debut album of American rock band Nirvana . It was released on August 8, 1989 on the Sub Pop label. The album was named after a billboard ad calling for heroin addicts to " bleach " their syringes .

background

Bleach was a low budget album, which was produced at a cost of only $ 606. Singer Kurt Cobain came into the recording sessions with little prepared texts and improvised many lyrics on the microphone. Nonetheless (or rather because of it) he managed to incorporate several topics that were important to him: "Small town nihilism, outsiderhood and disgust for his stuffy hometown". In addition, the already existing, but never released on an album songs Downer , Floyd The Barber and Paper Cuts were re-recorded in the album.

Production at Jack Endino's Reciprocal Studio in Seattle took the band three sessions, a total of eleven days, and paid $ 606. Jason Everman , who supported the band as the second guitarist for nine months, took over the studio costs. He is also mentioned on the album out of gratitude as a guitarist, but did not play a single note during the recordings.

success

The record, released in August 1989, only hit the charts in the wake of their second album Nevermind . Bleach first entered the US Top 100 at number 89 on February 22, 1992. On March 7, 1992, the record debuted in the UK charts at number 33. Today the album has been awarded multiple platinum . The song About a Girl also received renewed attention as a single in the version of the concert for MTV Unplugged in New York .

Allmusic noted that "some songs sounded good ... but the album as a whole was too mediocre," and particularly criticized the drumming of then drummer Chad Channing .

Cover

Bleach is printed in two colors silver on black. In its simplicity and darkness, the picture stands out from the follow-up albums, to which Cobain allowed his artistic work to flow more strongly.

The cover of Tracy Marander ( About A Girl ) shows the band at a live concert in Olympia , Washington at the “Reko / Muse”. The photo is shown as a negative. The faces of the head-banging musicians are not recognizable. The cover shows Kurt Cobain and Jason Everman in the front, Krist Novoselic and Chad Channing in the back. No further design has been made.

In the booklet there is a note that the production costs in the "Reciprocal Studio" were $ 600. Producer Endino still says today that the cost imprint could have amazed many trade journalists never to refer to Bleach as one of the groundbreaking grunge albums. "Many journalists cannot imagine that you can make a good record with the money," said Endino in a 2004 letter on his homepage.

Track list

Blew - 2:54
Floyd the Barber - 2:17 (was recorded January 23, 1988)
About a Girl - 2:48
School - 2:42
Love Buzz - 3:35 (recorded in the summer of 1988)
Paper Cuts - 4:05 (was recorded January 23, 1988)
Negative Creep - 2:55
Scoff - 4:10
Swap Meet - 3:02 (initially called White Trash )
Mr. Mustache - 3:23
Sifting - 5:22
Big Cheese - 3:42 (recorded in the summer of 1988)
Downer - 1:42 (recorded January 23, 1988)

Bonus tracks from the remastered re-release from 2009

Intro (live) - 0:53
School (live) - 2:36
Floyd the Barber (live) - 2:17
Dive (live) - 3:42
Love Buzz (live) - 2:58
Spank Thru (live) - 2:59
Molly's Lips (live) - 2:16
Sappy (live) - 3:19
Scoff (live) - 3:53
About a Girl (live) - 2:28
Been a Son (live) - 2:01
Blew (live) - 4:32

Except for Love Buzz (Robby Van Leeuwen) all songs were written by Kurt Cobain.

The album was re-released in a remastered version on November 3, 2009 , including a previously unreleased concert recorded on February 9, 1990 in Portland , Oregon .

Chart placements and singles

As a result of the worldwide success of its successor Nevermind, Bleach entered the German charts on February 17, 1992 at number 82, five weeks later it reached the highest position at number 24 and was in the top 100 for a total of 14 weeks. In the United States, Great Britain and Austria, the album only hit the charts in 1992.

On November 1, 1988, the first single Love Buzz was released. This version of Love Buzz is mixed up a bit differently than the one on the CD. Only 1000 pieces of this single were pressed and each was numbered by hand. The single also contains the song Big Cheese . In December 1989 the EP Blew was released , which also contains the songs Love Buzz , Been a Son and Stain . The latter two songs were written by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. About a Girl was released as a single in the unplugged version of the band's MTV concert in October 1994.

Sales figures and awards

Bleach earned a platinum record for more than one million units sold in the United States in 1995 . Worldwide sales amount to over 4.25 million.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
France (SNEP)	2 × gold	200,000
Canada (MC)	gold	50,000
Poland (ZPAV)	gold	50,000
United States (RIAA)	platinum	1,900,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	platinum	300,000
All in all	4 × gold 2 × platinum	2,500,000