Back in late 1988 a then relatively obscure band entered Reciprocal Recording in Seattle, Washington and for the far from princely sum of $600 laid down the tracks that would become their debut album. In June of 1989, now over twenty years ago, Sub Pop released those tracks on an album titled Bleach. The band, Nirvana.
Musical Climate of 1989
In 1989 the Billboard Charts were topped with singles by Bobby Brown, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, and Poison and Billboard.com lists the top selling albums of that year as albums by Bobby Brown, New Kids on the Block, and Paula Abdul. Popular rock music consisted of bands such as Bon Jovi, Poison, and Mötley Crüe. In this environment of ‘radio-friendly unit shifters’ Bleach went relatively unnoticed. But the musical force of Nirvana could not be ignored for long.
The thirteen songs that constituted Bleach, twelve originals composed by now iconic frontman Kurt Cobain (credited on Bleach as ‘Kurdt Kobain’) and a cover of a Robby Van Leeuwen song, delivered a sonic blast which was only a precursor to the album that would forever change the face of music in just two short years.
The Bleach Sound
On September 24, 1991 Nevermind was unleashed on the world and by 1992 Nirvana was one of the biggest bands on the planet. They would also be largely responsible for the extermination of many of the current rock giants whose music had seemingly been rendered obsolete overnight. But it was the largely forgotten release of the more humble Bleach that launched Kurt Cobain and Nirvana on their collision course with destiny.
Songs such as ‘Blew’ and ‘Siftings’ displayed Cobain’s minimalist guitar and vocal styles, his trademark distorted guitar riffs mixed with copious amounts of feedback and his oft-imitated crackling howls. ‘About a Girl’ demonstrated the song arrangement and the loud/soft dynamic between the verse and chorus that would be forever associated with Nirvana.
Bleach was an entire album of songs that weren’t pretty or poppy like many of the songs currently getting radio play- and they weren’t complex songs like those of other rock bands then receiving national attention. There were no saccharine melodies and no lengthy, flashy guitar solos. The band captured on the cover of Bleach and featured in the insert to the album were not pretty or eye-catching in appearance. Bleach showcased a band stripped down to the basic nitty-gritty of pure rock and roll.
The Bleach Legacy
It was on the strength of the songs contained on Bleach, as well as their reputation for energetic live performances, that led to Nirvana’s early cult following in the Pacific Northwest. And it was on the back of this album that Nirvana launched their first nationwide US tour and their first European tour in 1989. Bleach also helped garner the attention of major labels, including the David Geffen Company, the label which would eventually sign Nirvana and release Nevermind and In Utero.
Though Bleach never received any of the attention or the acclaim of later Nirvana albums (the unplugged version of ‘About a Girl’ recorded in 1993 being the only song from Bleach to ever get any substantial airplay), Bleach contained the basic blueprint for the later Nirvana albums which would turn the music industry and the sound of rock music on its ear. A gem in its own right, Bleach was the album that signaled greater treasures yet to come.
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