Nirvana: Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar); Jason Everman (guitar); Chris Novoselic (bass); Chad Channing (drums).

Additional personnel: Dale Crover (drums).

Recorded at Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, Washington.

Personnel: Dale Crover, Chad Channing, Chad Channing (drums).

Audio Mixer: Jack Endino.

Recording information: Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR (02/09/1990); Reciprocal, Seattle, WA (02/09/1990).

Photographers: Tracy Marander; Charles Peterson .

With a sludgy, chainsaw guitar sound that owes as much to early Black Sabbath as to Kurt Cobain's heroes The Melvins, whose drummer puts in an appearance here, Nirvana emerges from Seattle's underground scene as standard-bearers of a style that embraces the anger and energy of punk alongside the thick, muddy sonic attack favored by early '70s proto-metal bands. Cobain's lyrics are fueled by outrage and self-loathing, combining literary flair with a direct, visceral quality that makes him a viable candidate for the John-Lennon-of-Gen X award.

Nirvana's debut album showcases what sounds more like a force of nature than a rock band. The unrelenting fervor with which the group delivers these 13 tunes is almost frightening. There is also a strong melodic flair that leavens the ferocity occasionally, hinting at the scope of Cobain's compositional talents. "Love Buzz" and "About A Girl" show off enough pop smarts to make it clear that as strong as BLEACH is, Cobain's hiding even more tricks up his sleeve.

This is one case where the legend really precedes the record itself. Cut for about 600 dollars in Jack Endino's studio over just a matter of days, this captures Nirvana at a formative stage, still indebted to the murk that became known as grunge, yet not quite finding their voice as songwriters. Which isn't to say that they were devoid of original material, since even at this stage Kurt Cobain illustrated signs of his considerable songcraft, particularly on the minor-key ballad "About a Girl" and the dense churn of "Blew." A few songs come close to that level, but that's more a triumph of sound than structure, as "Negative Creep" and "School" get by on attitude and churn, while the cover of "Love Buzz" winds up being one of the highlights because this gives a true menace to their sound, thanks to its menacing melody. The rest of it sinks into the sludge, as the group itself winds up succumbing to grinding sub-metallic riffing that has little power, due to lack of riffs and lack of a good drummer. Bleach is more than a historical curiosity since it does have its share of great songs, but it isn't a lost classic -- it's a debut from a band that shows potential but haven't yet achieved it. [Sub Pop's 20th anniversary edition of Bleach offers a remastered version of the proper album -- good, but there's only so much sonic improvement that can be done for an album that was recorded for a few hundred dollars. The real news here is the addition of a complete Portland, OR, concert from February 9, 1990, an 11-song set that runs through the highlights of Bleach and adds "Dive" and "Been a Son," the Vaselines cover "Molly's Lips," and an early stab at "Sappy." That Nirvana sound forceful isn't a surprise, but they also sound surprisingly tight -- a little bit looser than they would sound within a year, but they're clearly marshaling their forces, gaining strength and skill. This concert may not be as epochal as the group's 1992 headlining appearance at Reading -- a CD/DVD set of which was released the same day as the Bleach anniversary edition -- but this is a terrific document of Nirvana's early days, proving they were a tremendous band before Dave Grohl came aboard.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Spin (p.82) - "BLEACH is truer to 'grunge' than what followed, with bratty nihilism and sludgy dynamics dominating."