Details emerge on Nirvana’s 20th anniversary reissue of Nevermind (updated)

Philip Cosores·July 27, 2011

When we heard that Nirvana’s seminal 1991 album, Nevermind, was getting the 20th anniversary reissue treatment, we knew something special was on the horizon, as “rarities, B-sides, and unreleased recordings” were promised. Now, we have some more details that clue us in to how special the September 27th offering from Universal really is.

Broken up into two separate releases, fans will have a choice between the two-disc Deluxe Edition and the expansive “Super Deluxe Edition,” both of which offer never before released material. The Super Deluxe Edition more than lives up to its name, with (and let me just pull this straight from the source) “not only the original remastered album and accompanying studio and live B-sides, but the first full official release of the pre-Nevermind demos recorded at producer Butch Vig’s Smart Studios, as well as boombox recordings of subsequent rehearsals through which the listener can actually experience “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “On A Plain” and others take shape before his or her very ears. The Super Deluxe also offers an altogether new perspective on the finished Nevermind album exclusive to this format in the form of the Devonshire Mixes: the album as produced and mixed by Vig as opposed to the commercially released final version produced by Vig and mixed by Andy Wallace. Rounding out the Super Deluxe are a pair of previously unreleased BBC recordings and the aforementioned 1991 Paramount show available for the first time and exclusive to this format on CD and DVD (which also features all four music videos from Nevermind), as well as a stunning 90-page bound book full of rarely and never before seen photos, documents and various other visual artifacts of the Nevermind era. The Super Deluxe audio will also be available for digital download.” Holy shit, right?

As for the regular deluxe edition, expect “the remastered album and B-sides, the Smart Studio sessions, boombox rehearsals and BBC sessions, a 4-LP 180-gram heavyweight vinyl edition featuring the same 40 tracks as the Deluxe Edition, a remastered CD of the original album, and digital versions of the standard and deluxe editions. The Paramount concert, transferred from 16mm film and multi-track audio, is the only known Nirvana concert shot to film and will be available in a 1080p high definition picture and uncompressed 5.1 surround sound and stereo in stand-alone Blu-ray, along with DVD and digital long form video formats.”

Again, this will all be available on September 27th. We can’t wait.

UPDATE: The tracklist has been revealed as well as a picture of the set. Check them out below.

CD1:

Original album:

01 Smells Like Teen Spirit
02 In Bloom
03 Come as You Are
04 Breed
05 Lithium
06 Polly
07 Territorial Pissings
08 Drain You
09 Lounge Act
10 Stay Away
11 On a Plain
12 Something in the Way

B-Sides:

13 Even in His Youth
14 Aneurysm
15 Curmudgeon
16 D-7 (live at the BBC)
17 Been a Son (live)
18 School (live)
19 Drain You (live)
20 Sliver (live)
21 Polly (live)

CD2:

Smart Studios sessions:

01 In Bloom
02 Immodium (Breed)
03 Lithium
04 Polly
05 Pay to Play
06 Here She Comes Now
07 Dive
08 Sappy

The Boombox Rehearsals:

09 Smells Like Teen Spirit
10 Verse Chorus Verse
11 Territorial Pissings
12 Lounge Act
13 Come as You Are
14 Old Age
15 Something in the Way
16 On a Plain

BBC Sessions:

17 Drain You
18 Something in the Way

CD3:

The Devonshire Mixes:

01 Smells Like Teen Spirit
02 In Bloom
03 Come as You Are
04 Breed
05 Lithium
06 Territorial Pissings
07 Drain You
08 Lounge Act
09 Stay Away
10 On a Plain
11 Something in the Way

CD4:

Live at the Paramount Theatre:

01 Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam
02 Aneurysm
03 Drain You
04 School
05 Floyd the Barber
06 Smells Like Teen Spirit
07 About a Girl
08 Polly
09 Breed
10 Sliver
11 Love Buzz
12 Lithium
13 Been a Son
14 Negative Creep
15 On a Plain
16 Blew
17 Rape Me
18 Territorial Pissings
19 Endless, Nameless