Verse Chorus Verse (Nirvana album)
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''Verse Chorus Verse'' is an unreleased live album by the American rock band
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, scheduled for release on November 1, 1994. It was to be a double album comprising a CD of live performances on one CD and Nirvana's ''MTV Unplugged'' performance on the other. It was canceled as Nirvana members
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
and
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
found it overwhelming to compile material so soon after the death of
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
earlier that year. The subsequent track listing differs greatly from the track listing that was eventually released on 1996's ''
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah ''From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah'' is a live album by American rock band Nirvana, released on October 1, 1996. It features live performances recorded between 1989 and 1994. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling ne ...
''. The title of the album is a sarcastic acknowledgement of the band's standard rock-song format and also comes from a Nirvana song of the same name that appeared on 1993's ''
No Alternative ''No Alternative'' is an alternative rock compilation album produced by Paul Heck and Chris Mundy. It was released in 1993 to benefit AIDS relief. The album features original tracks and cover versions from bands who went on to define the alter ...
'' benefit album. Concept art for the album by the band's art director and designer, Robert Fisher, was posted online in late 2019.


Development

Nirvana's record label DGC announced ''Verse Chorus Verse'' in August 1994. It was to be a double album, with live material from throughout Nirvana's career on one CD and their ''MTV Unplugged'' performance on the other, and was due for release on November 1 that year. In the United Kingdom, ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' reported in October, 1994, that ''Verse Chorus Verse'' would be released two weeks before Nirvana's first home video, ''
Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! ''Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!'' is a live video by the American rock band Nirvana, directed by Kevin Kerslake, and released on November 15, 1994 on VHS and laserdisc. It was re-released on DVD on November 7, 2006. Background Conceived by ...
'', which was released there on November 14, 1994, and that the two releases would be promoted together. However, Nirvana bassist
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
and drummer
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
found assembling the material so soon after Cobain's death emotionally overwhelming. '' Cashbox'' magazine announced that the album was being compiled in the September 3, 1994 issue, and then announced in the following issue dated September 10, 1994 that the plan had changed and that only the ''MTV Unplugged'' performance would be released. Jim Merlis, head of Geffen, said the releases were planned due to high demand for new Nirvana recordings and the fact that the band's "Unplugged" set was already being widely bootlegged. Although DGC had given the impression that the work on the live part had not progressed very far, and was why it was cancelled early on, Merlis, in a 1997 article for '' Goldmine'', insisted that it was all complete bar mixing: “It was a whole cohesive album. And it’s different from the one that came out later Wishkah''.html" ;"title="From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah">Wishkah''">From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah">Wishkah'' They went back and started at square one with this n 1996because they gained a little perspective on it.” There was also a television advertisement made for the album. A CD-Maxi single was planned, with concept artwork being shared by the art director, Robert Fisher, on Instagram in July, 2023. The CD-Maxi single would've included five songs: "About A Girl" (from ''Unplugged''), "About A Girl" (Oct. 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle), "Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam" (Oct. 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle), "Pennyroyal Tea" (February 18, 1994 - Summon, Grenoble, France), and "On a Plain" (January 07, 1994 - Seattle Centre Arena, Seattle, WA). All songs would've been remixed from the original recordings by Scott Litt.https://www.instagram.com/p/CvC4ryQLugd/?img_index=1


Track listing


Disc 1


Disc 2: "''

MTV Unplugged in New York ''MTV Unplugged in New York'' is a live album by American Rock music, rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on November 1, 1994, by DGC Records. It features an acoustic performance recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York City on Novembe ...
''"

Track listing and times taken from advanced cassette. Recorded at
Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...
in New York City on November 18, 1993.


Personnel

Disc 1: Nirvana *
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
 –
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
*
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
 – bass *
Chad Channing Chad Channing (born January 31, 1967) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer of the grunge band Nirvana from 1988 until 1990, during which time they recorded and released their debut album ''Bleach''; he also appears on "Polly ...
 -
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
on "Sappy (Verse Chorus Verse)", "Spank Thru", and "Dive". *
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
 –
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
on all tracks, except tracks 6,8, and track 12. Additional musicians *
Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guitar ...
 – rhythm guitar on "Serve The Servants", "Heart-Shaped Box", "School" and "Scentless Apprentice". *
Lori Goldston Lori Goldston is an American cellist and composer. Accomplished in a wide variety of styles, including classical, world music, rock and free improvisation, she came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana from 1993–1994 and appears on ...
  – cello on "Blew". Disc 2: Nirvana *
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
– lead vocals, acoustic guitar, except on tracks 10, 11, and 12. *
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar a ...
, accordion on track 3, acoustic
rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
on tracks 10, 11, and 12. *
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
– drums, backing vocals, acoustic bass on track 3. *
Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guitar ...
– acoustic guitar, except on tracks 5, 10, 11, and 12. Additional musicians *
Lori Goldston Lori Goldston is an American cellist and composer. Accomplished in a wide variety of styles, including classical, world music, rock and free improvisation, she came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana from 1993–1994 and appears on ...
– cello, except on tracks 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, and 12.
Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothers ...
*
Cris Kirkwood Christopher "Cris" Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is an American musician who is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative punk rock band. Biography Raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Cris took up the banjo after ...
– acoustic bass and backing vocals on tracks 10, 11, and 12. *
Curt Kirkwood Curtis Matthew "Curt" Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and primary songwriter for alternative rock group Meat Puppets. Biography Curt Kirkwood formed the Meat Puppets along with hi ...
– acoustic lead guitar on tracks 10, 11, and 12.


Gallery

Verse Chorus Verse Tape - Side 1.jpg, ''Verse Chorus Verse'' promo tape - Side 1 Verse Chorus Verse Tape - Side 2.jpg, ''Verse Chorus Verse'' promo tape - Side 2


References

{{Nirvana Verse Chorus Verse Verse Chorus Verse Unreleased albums