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Where to start with this onslaught of remasters, alternate mixes, b-sides, live recordings, demos and jam sessions is quite a task. There's a feeling that this no-stone-left-unturned release to mark the 20th anniversary of In Utero draws a line in the sand.
No more protracted court cases between Kurt Cobain's former bandmates and widow regarding which lost material will enhance or in fact damage Nirvana's legacy. It's all here.
If you're reading this then you don't need me to retrace the steps of the original Steve Albini-produced 1993 release - Nirvana's grizzlier follow-up to Nevermind has been shaking the foundations of shrine-like teenage bedrooms for long enough to make any retrospective review obsolete. This is a gift for the super-fan who has worn the album out for two decades but still can't kick the habit.
Disc one provides an interesting new insight into the reported tensions between the trio and Steve Albini following In Utero's master. This is the first time the rejected Albini mixes of 'Heart-Shaped Box' and 'All Apologies' and Scott Litt's reworks that made it onto the original album have sat side by side. The result is probably proof the shelved versions did sell Krist Novoselic's bass short in the level stakes.
Disc two presents a new '2013' mix of the record in full with a rawer, rough-around-the-edges quality. The strength of the song-writing on In Utero is such that anyone who suggests these recordings would not have enjoyed the same mainstream success is sorely mistaken. A selection of demos gives fans an intriguing vista of first steps that went into creating one of the greatest rock albums of all time, and also features Dave Grohl's first forage into the role of frontman on 'Marigold'. The disc is capped off with two unheard instrumentals that twist and turn through the kind of distorted garage rock few mainstream acts can harness in today's sanitised musical landscape.
Then disc three flips the feeling of abstract grunge heard on 'Forgotton Tune' and 'Jam' right on its head and showcases another instalment of Nirvana's - sometimes disorientating - affiliation with MTV. Live and Loud: Live at Pier 48 was filmed by the station less than six months before Cobain's death. Although rumours of his heroin addiction spiralling out of control were rife by the December 1993 recording, the band's performance is majestic. One undoubted highlight is a heavier version of the David Bowie cover 'The Man Who Sold the World', which adds a new dimension to the unplugged rendition most are familiar with.
If you love Nirvana, set aside a portion of your day every day for the next few months or so because that is the quota of time this jumbo package will consume from your life. When trying to give this release a score out of ten it's difficult to weigh up whether Cobain would have been horrified to have seen every nook and cranny of his back catalogue scraped together for one last payday, or whether he would have taken satisfaction from more organic mixes finally seeing the light of day. I'm going to err on the side of optimism and accept the latter.
