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Re-released in 2009 to mark 20 anniversary of Nirvana's debut album, Sub Pop re-issue the Platinum Certified Bleach. Originally recorded over three sessions with producer Jack Endino at Seattle's Reciprocal Studios in December 1988 and January 1989, Bleach was released in June of '89 and remains unequivocally/unsurprisingly Sub Pop's very favorite Nirvana full-length. The album initially sold 40,000 copies, but was brought into the international spotlight following the release and worldwide success of their 1991 sopre effort, Nevermind. Subsequently Bleach went on to sell 1.7 million copies in the US alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This 20th Anniversary Edition was re-mastered from the original tapes at Sterling Sound in a session overseen by producer Jack Endino. This standard SPCD34 Bleach comes in digipack whilst also being available on zeitgeist defining format du jour CASSETTE SPCS34 and of course SP34. There's also the deluxe edition containing a 48 page booklet and an unreleased live of a complete February 9th, 1990 show at the Pine Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon BBC Review ---------- Recorded for a smidgen over $600, some Nirvana die-hards argue that Bleach is Nirvana’s finest work. Such connoisseur’s say that while Nevermind is revered as the soundtrack for ‘Generation X’, its reluctant spokesman, Kurt Cobain, shows his true colours in Bleach – before the unwanted fame that ultimately cost his life took a hold. Sopre release, Nevermind, gripped the music world and thrust Cobain into the celebrity role he seemed to detest, but it also triggered interest in Bleach and uncovered the gems that had been hidden, with original sales of just 6,000 copies. Subsequent Nirvana albums had a lyrical complexity to them, matching the personal struggles that Cobain went through whilst writing them. Bleach differs since its quality lies in the simplicity of the songs that deliver the crux of the album – the boredom of growing up as a confused teenager in a y part of conservative America. Kicking off with the dirty sound of “Blew” and “Floyd The Barber” – a couple of furious, dark and muddy openers – the albums’ stand-out track follows. “All About A Girl” is a ballad that should be used as a template by today’s Emo tyros, with Cobain’s superb throaty vocal over a much poppier sound than much of what we are normally used to from Nirvana. “School” is the classic example of the minimalist grunge, with just four lines hidden under a filthy base and the album reaches a thrilling crescendo with the angry duo of “Big Cheese” and “Downer”. But it is what’s missing that makes Bleach important – Chad Channing’s hit-and-miss drumming before Dave Grohl took over the sticks and the frankly awful rushed production job that leaves the album full of feedback and distortion. Combined, these two factors are what make Bleach special, adding a chaotic and grimy feel that Nirvana, as the darlings of the Seattle grunge scene, stood for. --Anthony Leaver Find more music at the BBC ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/syn//albumreviews/-/music/ ) This link will take you off in a new window