5 Rare Nirvana Releases
From the band’s very first record to a rare cassette promo, these are some of the most collectible Nirvana releases of all time.
By Davey Ferchow
Beyond Nirvana’s three highly influential studio albums, beloved rarities compilations, and legendary live recordings, there are some lesser-known vinyl, CD, and cassette releases that serious collectors are always eager to track down.
Below, you’ll find a list of rare singles, EPs, and promos that are among the most collectible Nirvana releases of all time.
Love Buzz b/w Big Cheese (1988)
The Love Buzz single is Nirvana’s debut release and the first record offered to subscribers of the Sub Pop Singles Club. According to the database, only 1,200 copies were pressed. 1,000 copies were hand-numbered with red pen, and the other 200 copies were left unnumbered with a red stripe or no markings at all. Although “Love Buzz” and the B-side “Big Cheese” would both appear on Nirvana’s first full-length Bleach, the different mix used for “Love Buzz” and its inclusion of sound collages that never made it to the album make this 7-inch a must-have for serious collectors.
Blew (1989)
This 12-inch EP features the aforementioned “Love Buzz,” “Stain,” and the title track “Blew,” but it’s the original version of “Been A Son” that makes this limited-edition record highly desirable. The version of “Been A Son” that most people are familiar with was included on the compilation Incesticide, which features a recording from a BBC Radio 1 live studio session. This version was used because the band thought the original take was too slow and bassist Krist Novoselic was disappointed in the sound of his bass solo. The band changed it to a guitar solo for the BBC recording, so if fans want to hear the bass solo in all its distorted glory, they’ll need to invest in a copy of the Blew EP or pick up the more modestly priced self-titled compilation from 2002.
Hormoaning (Exclusive Australian ’92 Tour EP) (1992)
Like the full title suggests, this exclusive EP was sold on Nirvana’s Australian tour in 1992. Limited to 4,000 copies, the “red-blue swirled” vinyl pressing features the band’s tour dates on the back of the jacket and cover versions of songs by the Wipers, Devo, and The Vaselines. The EP also features a recording of “Aneurysm” that differs from the version on Incesticide and the rarity “Even In His Youth.” Although both songs first appeared on the B-side of the Smells Like Teen Spirit single, the fact that this limited-edition record was exclusive to the Australian ‘92 tour makes it a sought-after collector’s item. In 2011, a vinyl reissue was released for Record Store Day, but even that version is starting to sell for large sums.
Penny Royal Tea (Scott Litt Mix) (1994)
The Penny Royal Tea (Scott Litt Mix) maxi-single is extremely rare, but the promo CD is even more elusive. When the promo CDs arrived at Geffen Records, the label discovered two printing errors in the music publishers’ names. The majority of the pressing was sent back to the pressing plant and destroyed. According to the Discogs database, less than 100 copies survived and made it out into the world. Even though the promo CD only contains the Scott Litt mix of “Penny Royal Tea,” the sheer scarcity of the release makes it a holy grail for Nirvana superfans. The Scott Litt remix and maxi-single B-side “I Hate Myself And Want To Die” were later released as a limited-edition RSD 7-inch in 2014.
Nirvana (1994)
In 1994, this self-titled promo cassette and an MTV Unplugged In New York promo cassette were given to DGC staff so the employees could get a rough idea of what the forthcoming Verse Chorus Verse double live album would sound like. The original plan was to include the entire MTV Unplugged In New York set and a bonus disc of unreleased live performances, but the band decided that a double album was too ambitious so soon after Kurt Cobain’s tragic death. They moved ahead with MTV Unplugged In New York, but the Verse Chorus Verse double album and the collection of live tracks found on this promo were abandoned. Nirvana would go on to release the live album From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah in 1996, but only a few performances from the self-titled promo ended up on the record.
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Hormoaning (Exclusive Australian ’92 Tour EP)Nirvana2011Rock, Alternative Rock, GrungeVinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, EP, Record Store Day, Limited Edition, Reissue
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