Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: i'm a huge nirvana/cobain fan, and i think i've read every book out there writen on them/him. this was one of the most boring and inaccurate ones, by far. it especially paints a dull and wimpy picture of dave grohl who's anything but. it also depicts a false, i.e., flattering, picture of courtney that's quite annoying. i was bored to tears reading this book. it leaves a lot to be desired. although "heavier than heaven" also contains a lot of courtney schmoozing and inaccurate info, it makes a far better and more entertaining read. you're better off getting that instead of this one.

Rating:
Summary: BALANCED OVERVIEW
Review: Good all around intro book about the indie band Nirvana. Taking the book at face value, I believe the author has presented the facts truthfully. The author who also contributes to the Rolling Stone Magazine claims to have followed them on some tours and appears to have been on good terms with the band members. He shows evidence of cross checking stories and sources and notes discrepancies when they appear. I believe its one of the better and fair judgments of this band. Although the band�s career follows the usual, �struggle, hard times, brief honeymoon period, then indulgent self-destructive period", the book portrays the events that were going on in the life of Nirvana�s leader Kurt Cobain. I would say this book's strongest attribute is portraying the personal struggle of Kurt Cobain on a roller coaster ride of fame with Nirvana.
A weak point may be that the songs origins and lyrics are not explained well. It may be because Kurt Cobain many times wrote the lyrics almost impromptu just before a recording session almost at a stream of consciousness rate. Maybe the origin of the songs has no deep meaning or origins. Besides being an interesting story, the other highlights are the bands relationship with corporate bands, boomer music, heavy metal bands, and other Northwest so called �Grunge� bands. I would definably recommend this book as an overview of Nirvana. I know some die-hard fans have blamed Courtney or the corporate record company feverish touring dates for Kurt�s eventual suicide, but as the book amply points out Kurt and the band had some problems all stages of notoriety, and Kurt as the Band's leader was a time bomb waiting to explode. I think the book portrays the best
non judgemental view of Kurt Cobain's life. The particular edition I read include a final chapter added to include some
info on Kurts farewell note and service.