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Never Judge a CD By Its Cover; Things Aren't That Black And White Mar 21, 2010
Raw and confrontational and with a more aggressive edge than they would ever display musically again, "Bleach" was Nirvana's hungriest CD, and in my opinion, their finest. Kurt Cobain exposes the tedium and conformity of small-town life ("Swap Meet") the rigidity of the traditional masculine roles it demands ("Mr. Moustache"), demanding,one-sided relationships ("About a Girl"), Seattle's ultra-competitive, judgmental, unforgiving alternative-rock scene ("School"), significantly troubling mindsets and behavior triggered by drug abuse ("Negative Creep"), unresolved issues with autocratic authority figures ("Big Cheese") among other topics with pithy, observational lyrics, all the more refreshing because his concern was more for artistic integrity than shifting units ("Nevermind) or lamenting the compromises success later forced him to make ("In Utero"), lending them an unforced sense of honesty and authority that sounded hungry and alive. Cobain spits and sneers the vocals on a number of these tracks, and his razor-throated howl on "Negative Creep", "Floyd the Barber" serves that material especially well.
And the guitar sound is much heavier than "Nevermind"s (which was located directly in the middle ranges), more resonant than "In Utero's" (which was recorded with the intention of being abrasive, in order to re-establish street cred that only Cobain was convinced that Nirvana had lost). You can also hear the influence The Melvins had on Cobain's development as a guitarist and composer on "Sifting" and "Paper Cuts" with their deliberate pace and molassive sound.
This is what real woodshedding sounds like, and that's what got recorded on this release, the originial genius of Nirvana's sound. Though probably not for everybody, it's a crucial CD, and well worth ordering.
 Bleached Grunge Feb 20, 2010
Similar to Soundgarden's start, Bleach was a humble beginning for a band that was destined for greatness. And although Soundgarden came to be one of grunge's best, Nirvana became grunge's best. You can't deny that Nirvana did great things, but that was in 1991, which was two whole years after their humble beginning. So I'm going to do this in two ways: I'm going to bring forth the pros and cons.
So here are the pros: aside from Soundgarden's Ultramega OK album, Bleach is the best document of grunge's early days. Bleach is a combo of heavy and sludgy guitars and pounding drums merged together with punk speed and flavor with a healthful dose of punkish humor (see "Floyd the Barber" for this one) and some of these tracks become instant classics. Good examples of this are the tracks "Blew", "Negative Creep", and "Mr. Moustache". "Love Buzz" hooks you in with that alluring opening riff, and "About a Girl" is a precursor to the band's legendary Nevermind album. The lyrics are random, but most include the trademark angst of grunge.
Now the cons: this album is NOT a lost classic. A good portion of fans that came to be from Nevermind may be scared away from the album just like Soundgarden (more specifically Superunknown) fans might be cautious about Ultramega OK. As it is with almost every debut album of many great bands, the album is the result of a band that has not found their sound yet. Most of the tracks from a quick glance may sound like the same sludgy songs (with the exception of "Love Buzz") unless you take a closer look. But I will say that it is not the band's fault. The impact of Nevermind might have arrived two years earlier had Cobain not ignored his pop-writing tendencies due to the grunge scene and pressure from Sub Pop to keep it grunge. I'd say that it was a good idea that Nirvana cut free of Sub Pop, went for a major label, and embraced The Beatles-induced pop-influence.
So what's the verdict? If you're a hardcore Nirvana fan, or if you're looking for a good document on the rise of grunge, Bleach is a good choice. I can't say much else.
 Bleach buyers, make sure all the songs are on your album! Jan 12, 2010
Nirvana is my all-time favorite band, and a great great album Bleach is. I bought this album on CD in 1993 when I was 13, and still play it to this day via CD or as MP3. I ordered Bleach on vinyl through here the second I saw it available. UNFORTUNATELY, the copy I received does NOT include Big Cheese or Downer, thus, it's last song is Sifting. So for those of you who will be ordering this album in vinyl off Amazon in the future, make sure the seller has copies that include the complete track listing.
My favorite nirvana cd! Dec 27, 2009
Awesome and edgy. I love this cd. The songs are exciting and mood altering. A great release after a long day!
Easily the best Nirvana Nov 13, 2009
All of Nirvana's album were good, but this one is their best I think, back after I bought 'Nevermind' back when it came out, I went backwards, and bought 'Bleach', and I ended up liking it even more than Nevermind, Nevermind is not bad by no means, but this album is so underrated.
I mean songs like 'Blew' 'Floyd The Barber' 'Negative Creep' 'Paper Cuts', and even the ballad 'About a Girl', this is quite a different Nirvana than on albums to follow, alot heavier, and more raw, for some reason it gets often overlooked because of the success of Nevermind, but real fans of this band should not ignore this release, you may find it to be your favorite by them, I did.
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