Nirvana - Hollywood Rock Festival 1993 (2016)

DYNAMIC FM RECORDING FROM RIO 1993 Organised and sponsored by the Souza Cruz tobacco company - owners of the Hollywood cigarette brand - the Hollywood Rock festival ran initially as a one off event in 1975, and then seven times more between 1988 and 1996 at multiple venues simultaneously around Brazil. Hollywood Rock welcomed a wide variety of big names across the years, including the likes of Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Whitney Houston and Page & Plant. However, the fifth edition in 1993 would be considered by many to be the best. Taking place while the world was firmly in the grip of the grunge movement, headliners included Alice In Chains and L7 alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Simply Red, although it would be the legendary Nirvana that produced the most memorable and controversial performance. By 1993, Nirvana were enjoying completely unprecedented levels on success. Their major label debut, Nevermind, had sold 400,000 copies in its first three months and lead single Smells Like Teen Spirit had propelled the band into the MTV mainstream, resulting in the album displacing even Michael Jackson to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts in January 1992. The album would eventually sell more than 30 million copies worldwide, earning them two MTV Music Video Awards for Best Alternative Video and Best New Artist. Exhausted by touring and marred by band infighting over royalties, Nirvana failed to produce the late 1992 follow up their label DGC hoped for, resulting in the release of compilation album Incesticide in December that year; the album would be certified Gold in February 1993, despite little to no promotion. The recording featured here captures the entirety of Nirvana s set as part of the Hollywood Rock festival in Rio de Janeiro on 27th January. Although having caused a considerable ruckus at their previous São Paulo show - in which a highly intoxicated Kurt Cobain s performance severely failed to live up to fans expectations - their form had recovered exponentially by the time of their next gig. Featuring mainly cuts from their first two albums, the set boasts a raw energy that could barely be equalled anywhere then or since. Sadly, future legendary Hollywood Rock performances were not to be, and when the Senate of Brazil passed a bill in 1996 banning tobacco and alcohol companies from sponsoring such events, the festival was cancelled for good.