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 by DGC Records. It features live performances recorded from 1989 to 1994.
Compiled largely by bassist Krist Novoselic, it was released two years after the multi-platinum-selling live album, MTV Unplugged in New York, which was the first Nirvana album to be released after the suicide of the band's songwriter, singer and guitarist, Kurt Cobain, in April 1994. From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah was intended to show the band's heavier side, in contrast to the acoustic MTV Unplugged album, and was originally meant to be packaged alongside the MTV Unplugged set in a double album called Verse Chorus Verse. However, most of what became From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah was eventually recompiled.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling nearly 159,000 copies in its first week of release. It spent 25 weeks on the chart and became the band's sixth platinum album in the US since 1991. The album's first promotional single, for the song "Aneurysm," reached number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 13 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart, while its music video topped the charts on Much Music in Canada. A second promotional single, for the song "Drain You," charted briefly as well.
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah was ranked ninth best album of 1996 in Rolling Stone's 1997 critics' poll.
Background
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah was the second Nirvana album released following the death of vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain in April 1994. It was compiled primarily by bassist Krist Novoselic, who also wrote the album's liner notes. Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl had originally intended to release a live album in 1994 to accompany what became MTV Unplugged in New York in a two-disc set originally titled Verse Chorus Verse. However, Novoselic and Grohl reportedly had a difficult time working on the album so soon after Cobain's death, and the album was compiled, but never mixed. The original track list featured several songs not present on From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah—"Serve the Servants", "Dive", "Rape Me", "Sappy" and "Territorial Pissings"—and different versions of the overlapping songs, other than "Negative Creep" and "Scentless Apprentice".The album's title refers to the Wishkah River in Aberdeen, Washington, where Cobain claimed to have spent nights sleeping under the Young Street Bridge as a teenager. This claim has since been refuted by Novoselic, who said, "He never lived under that bridge. He hung out there, but you couldn't live on those muddy banks, with the tide coming up and down. That was his own revisionism."
Performances used
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah avoids all songs that appear on MTV Unplugged, with the exception of "Polly", using a heavier, electric version of the song from 1989, as it was originally performed live. It also avoids using any versions of songs previously released as B-sides, or on the home video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!, which had been compiled by Cobain, and was released in unfinished form in November 1994.London Astoria
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah uses three tracks from the band's show at the London Astoria on December 3, 1989, including "Intro," which features Cobain screaming at the start of the show over a distorted guitar as a vocal warm-up. It also uses "Polly" and "Breed", the latter of which then featured the working title "Imodium", and a slower tempo than the version of the song which eventually appeared on Nevermind. These songs mark the only appearance of Chad Channing, the band's drummer from 1988 to 1990, on the compilation.The London Astoria show was praised by the British music press at the time, with the NME calling the band "Sub Pop's answer to The Beatles".
Paramount Theatre
Only one song, "Negative Creep," appears from the band's performance at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on October 31, 1991, although the vinyl version features additional stage banter from this show on side four. The Paramount concert was the band's first performance in Seattle since the release of Nevermind the previous month, and has retrospectively been described by English music journalist Everett True as "the end of an era" that showed that "incontrovertibly, Nirvana was now big news"."Negative Creep" became the eighth song from the show to be officially released, after "Drain You," "School" and "Been a Son" appeared as Nevermind B-sides in 1991 and 1992, and "About a Girl," "Breed," "Polly" and ""Endless, Nameless" appeared on Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!. The full show was released on CD and DVD as Live at the Paramount as part of the Nevermind 20th anniversary Super Deluxe box set in 2011, and on vinyl in 2019.
Teatro Castello
The version of "Spank Thru" which appears on the album was taken from the band's show at Teatro Castello in Rome, Italy on November 19, 1991. Although the show was professionally filmed and recorded, "Spank Thru" remains the only song from this concert to be officially released.Paradiso
Nirvana were originally scheduled to play at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on November 24, 1991, but due to the band's increasing popularity, the show was rescheduled to a night later at the larger Paradiso in Amsterdam. The versions of "School," "Lithium," "Been a Son" and "Blew" on the compilation are all taken from this show.As with the Paramount show, several other songs from the Paradiso concert appeared on Live! Tonight!! Sold Out!!. The full show was released in November 2021 on CD and Blu-Ray on the 30th anniversary Super Deluxe version of Nevermind.
Del Mar Fairgrounds
The versions of "Drain You," "Aneurysm" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from the compilation are taken from the band's show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California, on December 28, 1991. The show was part of a four-date Californian mini-tour in late December with American rock bands Red Hot Chili Peppers, who headlined, and Pearl Jam, who were the first openers. Describing the tour in his 1993 Nirvana biography Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, American music journalist Michael Azerrad wrote that "No one was happy about Nirvana playing second fiddle to the Peppers, but they had already committed to it during the chaos of the American tour. At any rate, Nirvana stole the show."The full show was released in November 2021 on the 30th anniversary Super Deluxe version of Nevermind, which featured the complete concert on CD.
Reading Festival
Only one song, "tourette's," appears from the band's headlining set on August 30, 1992 at the annual Reading Festival in Reading, England. The song, which later appeared on In Utero, was introduced by Cobain under its working title of "The Eagle Has Landed.""tourette's" became the second song from the concert to be officially released, following "Lithium" on Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! The full concert was released as Live at Reading on CD and DVD in November 2009.
Springfield Civic Center
"Sliver" is taken from the band's show at the Springfield Civic Center, Springfield on November 10, 1993. The vinyl version of the album also features additional stage banter from this concert, as well as a brief clip of band performing "Dumb" before stopping it after Cobain accidentally repeats the second verse instead of playing the bridge. These represent the earliest appearance, chronologically, of second guitarist Pat Smear on the album. "Milk It" from this show was released on the 30th anniversary Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions of the In Utero album in October 2023."Live and Loud"
"Scentless Apprentice" is taken from the band's "Live and Loud" show, which was filmed by MTV on December 13, 1993 at Pier 48 in Seattle. An abridged version of the show, which included "Scentless Apprentice," was first broadcast by the network on December 31, 1993.The show was set to feature Pearl Jam and Nirvana as co-headliners, but the former band cancelled shortly before the performance, which led to Nirvana playing a longer set. The concert featured American hip-hop act Cypress Hill and American alternative rock band The Breeders as supporting acts. Nirvana's full set was released on CD and DVD as Live and Loud as part of the In Utero 20th anniversary Super Deluxe box set in 2013, and on vinyl in 2019.