Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana
by Michael Azerrad

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Book Reviews of Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana

Book Review: The first and most entertaining biography of Nirvana
Summary: 5 Stars

Unlike most of the books or reviews on Nirvana, this one doesn't have the foreboding sense of Kurt's death hanging it's weight all over the pages. That's because it was written before his death, with the exception of the final chapter. Inside are interviews with all the bandmembers, including Kurt himself.

The number one thing I like about this book, is that it starts off from when Kurt was just a young boy. It shows how he was influenced and pushed into the lifestyle responsible for him becoming a reluctant rock star. You see how Kurt struggled with school, with work, with family life. And you see how Krist eventually became friends with Kurt, and interestingly how they didn't start a band right away.

With Nirvana's early incarnations you see how Kurt struggled with incompetent drummers, and the difficulty of becoming an original band in podunk town. Through this book you see how Nirvana was born, rather crudely, but excitingly. I still remember Nirvana's first show on Halloween where they played a small house party. The whole band was in the kitchen with the party-goers in the living room cowering from their crazy antics.

As the book progresses it maintains the pace at which Nirvana blew up in our faces. Bleach became a cult hit and then with Nevermind, the band was launched a little to fast for their liking. All the stories in the book are vivid, full of character, and life. For the duration of the book you feel close to Kurt and the band, unfortunately at the end you know that you really didn't know them at all, especially Kurt. As he one way or another, he found a shotgun blast to the roof of his mouth at the height of his popularity. Where did Kurt go wrong? Is it in this book? Maybe... you just can't be too sure, as Kurt is a master of contradictions.

Summary of Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana

Best of all, because this book was written before Cobain's death, it is not tinged with the "isn't this tragic" attitude that permeates many books about Nirvana and Cobain. Instead, the book is vibrant with the energy, excitement, and passion that swept local musicians the day "Nevermind" was released, local audiences in the months after, the U.S, and--lest we forget--the world, during Nirvana's more-than-15-minutes of fame.

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