Live At Reading - Nirvana
Live At Reading Image
Metascore
93 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 63 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: The entire performance by Nirvana at 1992's Reading Festival is released both as a CD and DVD.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. All Music Guide
    100
    Hints of this could be heard on the live comp From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, but this is a complete document of Nirvana in full flight and one of the greatest live rock & roll albums ever.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    Live at Reading presents the band at its post-Nevermind peak. Watching Kurt Cobain radiate so much life is bound to trigger some tears.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    70
    So it’s good, but given the large amount of quality Nirvana concert stuff out there, does Live At Reading really have much by way of USP? Probably, yeah, if only because it's the band's sole full electric gig commercially available.
  4. Uncut
    60
    This is a fierce live performance by a band who didn’t always manage to hold things together onstage. It catches Nirvana at maximum intensity, aware of, but not disabled by, the contradictions that tormented Cobain and would eventually tear him asunder.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. LukeG.
    10
    Amazing, that's all I can say.
  2. FrankieB.
    10
    Whenever something gets critical acclaim on this site im a little bit skeptical, but i have to say that metacritics rating is completely on the money. Nirvana in my opinion is the second best alternative rock band of the 90's (Helmet i consider the best overall 90's alt rock band, my criteria putting value on how much music they influenced, the bias of how well they speak to me as an individual, and the inevitable bias of "how popular they were". I understand Nirvana sold over ten times as much as Helmet but for some reason to me Helmet has a little more power). The ENERGY of this disc is FUCKIN AMAZING. Prior to hearing Live At Reading, it was AWHILE before i felt genuinely invigorated by a rock album. I was actually feeling depressed about the music industry in general until i heard this cd. When i heard the frenetic energy of this music, and Kurt Kobain's agonized, quirky delivery, I felt as rebellious and pissed off as i did when i was 15, and i mean that as the highest praise i can think of. I also recognize "School" as one of the most cathartic rock anthems ever made. All the material covered on this, which is mostly from Bleach and Nevermind and a handful of tracks from In Utero, are performed at the pinnacle of cathartic intensity.… Expand
  3. JoseC.
    10
    A Perfect Capturing of a Moment in Time in which Nirvana Captivated the World with their music, and we Forever knew no peer to Cobain.
  4. PaulS.
    7
    I don't understand music critics. Why does nearly every single music album have a near perfect score? Nirvana isn't THAT good. Sure, it's an OK, but no where near the score it was given.… Expand

See all 16 User Reviews

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