Nirvana may have been the biggest thing in the music world in the early '90s, but the trio maintained an uncommon devotion to core fans who knew them when they were still sleeping in a van. Fending off the adoration of punk-rock dabblers in the media and their audience while simultaneously welcoming stalwart underground-music supporters, Kurt Cobain did things on his own terms--until it all came crashing down. A decade after Cobain's 1994 suicide and the band's demise, With the Lights Out remains true to the ethos that defined the band and the alt-rock revolution that rose and fell with them. Eschewing the standard hits-sprinkled-with-rarities mix, this lovingly compiled three-CD...collection is made up almost entirely of previously unreleased selections. The handful of previously heard tracks are obscurities along the lines of the group's cover of "Here She Comes Now," recorded for a 1990 indie-rock tribute to the Velvet Underground. But it's not the B-sides and compilation oddities that define this idiosyncratic set; rather, its spirit is captured in the bedroom demos, radio performances, and sloppy amateur video recordings that catch Cobain and cohorts developing from just another punk- and metal-inspired bunch of grunge rockers pounding away in the bass player's mom's living room into a band that defined an era. The box set spans Nirvana's entire career, from a recording of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" at the band's first show in 1987 to solo acoustic performances from singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain in 1994. The three CDs, arranged largely chronologically contains home and rehearsal demos, including for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (whose lyric "With the lights out" provides the set's title), "Rape Me," "Heart Shaped Box" and a trio penned by legendary bluesman Leadbelly. Heard in the 12 previously unreleased solo acoustic tracks are such gems as "All Apologies," "Lithium" and "Sliver." Six previously unreleased radio performances range from "Anorexorcist" in 1987 to "Dumb" in 1991 (two years before it was on 1993's In Utero). Along with the remaining debuts are a handful of earlier issued, though rare, b-sides and demos as well as the original Butch Vig mix of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." .

Disc1:
01. Heartbreaker (1987)
02. Anorexorcist (1987)
03. White Lace and Strange (1987)
04. Help Me, I’m Hungry (1987)
05. Mrs. Butterworth (1988)
06. If You Must (1988)
07. Pen Cap Chew (1988)
08. Downer (1988)
09. Floyd The Barber (1988)
10. Raunchola (1988)
11. Beans (undated)
12. Don’t Want It All (undated)
13. Clean Up Before She Comes (undated)
14. Polly (solo - 1988)
15. About A Girl (1988)
16. Blandest (1988)
17. Dive (1988)
18. They Hung Him On A Cross(Leadbelly cover - 1989)
19. Grey Goose (Leadbelly cover - 1989)
20. Ain’t It A Shame (Leadbelly cover - 1989)
21. Token Eastern Song (1989)
22. Even In His Youth (1989)
23. Polly (1989)

Disc2:
01. Opinion (1990)
02. Lithium (1990)
03. Been A Son (1990)
04. Sliver (1990)
05. Where Did You Sleep Last Night (1989)
06. Pay To Play (1989)
07. Here She Comes Now (1990)
08. Drain You (1990)
09. Aneurysm (1990)
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit (demo - 1991)
11. Breed (1991)
12. Verse Chorus Verse (1991)
13. Old Age (1991)
14. Endless, Nameless (1991)
15. Dumb (1991)
16. D-7 (Wipers cover - 1990)
17. Oh, The Guilt (1992)
18. Curmudgeon (1992)
19. Return of the Rat (Wipers cover - 1992)
20. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Butch Vig Mix - 1991)

Disc3:
01. Rape Me (solo acoustic - 1992)
02. Rape Me (electric - 1992)
03. Scentless Apprentice (1992)
04. Heart Shaped Box (1993)
05. I Hate Myself and Want to Die (1993)
06. Milk It (1993)
07. Moist Vagina (1993)
08. Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip (1993)
09. The Other Improv (1993)
10. Serve The Servants (1993)
11. Very Ape (1993)
12. Pennyroyal Tea (1993)
13. Marigold (1993)
14. Sappy (1993)
15. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For a Sunbeam (1994)
16. Do Re Mi (1994)
17. You Know You’re Right (1994)
18. All Apologies (undated)

Music
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DVD:
01. Love Buzz (house party - 1988)
02. Scoff (house party - 1988)
03. About A Girl (house party - 1988)
04. Big Long Now (house party - 1988)
05. Immigrant Song (house party - 1988)
06. Spank Thru (house party - 1988)
07. Hairspray Queen (house party - 1988)
08. School (house party - 1988)
09. Mr. Moustache (house party - 1988)
10. Big Cheese (1989)
11. In Bloom (1989)
12. Sappy (1990)
13. School (1990)
14. Love Buzz (1990)
15. Pennyroyal Tea (1991)
16. Smells like Teen Spirit (1991)
17. Territorial Pissings (1991)
18. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam (1991)
19. Talk To Me (1992)
20. Seasons In The Sun (1993)

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