Nirvana - The Last UK Show (1992)

Live Nirvana Bootography Rating: A 97%

Live Nirvana Bootography Review:
All of the discs with the '92 Reading performance are incomplete. "The Last UK Show" contains the second FM broadcast with an extra 2 songs, "About A Girl" and "Blew", taken from the TV and first FM broadcasts, respectively. "Tourette's" from this show can be found on the Muddy Banks album.

Reading '92 is arguably the bands best ever performance. The setlist was long, featured rarities (though they don't appear on this disc), is filled with energy, and Kurt even talks to the audience! The band teases the audience and tells them it's their last show. At the start of the show Kurt was rolled onto the stage in a wheelchair wearing a wig and a gown... he feebly stood before the microphone and uttered the first two lines of "The Rose" before collapsing onto the stage. He was obviously mocking the press. For laughs, the band covers Boston's "More Than a Feeling" for a while before kicking into "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

There is also an early version of "All Apologies" which contains alternate lyrics. Kurt tells the crowd that "there have been some pretty extreme things written about us (himself and Courtney)" and that Courtney felt like everyone hated her. He asks the crowd to say "Courtney we love you!" on the count of three... the crowd obliges and is treated to an early "All Apologies". Kurt spices up "Sliver" with some additional screaming in the lyrics. The early version of "Dumb" is just icing on a already magnificent show!

"The Last UK Show" is the preferred disc for this show, but all of the FM broadcast discs are good. "The Complete Reading Festival" is a rough, edited audience recording, thus isn't considered as good as any of the FM broadcast shows.

A complete professional video of the show has surfaced, making all these bootleg CDs virtually obsolete for the average listener. Serious collectors still have an interest in the FM broadcasts, as the sound mix is different to that on the professional video.

The Paradiso tracks, as always, are chopped and edited in between. You can hear Krist singing "Macho Man" during "Love Buzz".