This section shows actual NIRVANA songs that have been covered and then purposefully or not, mislabelled.
This section was rewritten after the release of the 'With the Lights Out' boxed set because some fakes came close to sounding like demo recordings from it. All entries have been listened to again and rewritten accordingly, bearing this in mind. New headers have been added to all entries to help provide more information on each fake. The 'Quality of Recording', 'Resemblance to NIRVANA' and 'Resemblance to Kurt' headers are scored with the following scale: Very poor, Poor, Medium, Good, Excellent. The final header at on each entry is
the 'LN Verdict', is scored as: 'Unproven fake', for fakes that have not been claimed by the faker; 'Proven fake',
for fakes claimed by fakers; and 'Definite fake', for recordings that are really obviously fakes, even if they haven't
been claimed.
Please feel free read the FAQ first before
reading this guide, and if anyone has more information on any of these entries than what is already here, please
feel free to send an email.
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.28
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Live Nirvana Forum
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as June 2005
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: A collection of instrumental snippets of unknown origin, combined with an actual NIRVANA recording. Songs featured: - Return Of The Rat, Nobody Knows I'm New Wave and Talk To Me. This recording can only be properly analysed if and when the full-length versions surface. However, it is possible to find reasons why this track may well fake, just from the circulating clip. Some parts of this recording have different guitar tones to the actual NIRVANA clip; the drums do sound artificial, as if a drum machine was used; and there are no vocals present.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 00.43, 00.50, 00.46, 01.14, 00.31 & 01.14
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Live Nirvana Forum
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: 30 September 2005
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: PoorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Medium
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Although two recordings appear to be original compositions, the others are covers of NIRVANA/NIRVANA related songs. It is know this demo is a fake, as the hoxer Jeremy Stingre owned up to the recordings.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.19
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: A guitar-only instrumental track. The attached description was "Ultra rare Aero Zeppelin practice". Frank Morris, the original author of the section, was not exaggerating when he exclaimed, "The guitar playing is absolutely awful. Whoever was playing on this ... not only cannot play Aero Zeppelin, but they obviously have some serious issues with their guitar playing as well". Given the unbelievably poor musicianship it is very difficult to believe this was Cobain. The lack of vocals is also a common trademark of a fake item: because Cobain's voice was so distinctive fraudsters shy away from including vocals if they want to create a really good fake. But given that very few genuine NIRVANA instrumentals have surfaced, in addition to the truly awful guitar playing, this makes it highly unlikely that this is item is real.
LN VERDICT: Definite fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 00.55
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 176KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 28 July 2003
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: This very short wav appears to be someones demo cover of the NIRVANA song, although it's clear it's not NIRVANA or Kurt.
LN VERDICT: Definite fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 00.28
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: Began circulating heavily in autumn 1999
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: PoorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: According to information provided by people that have been responsible for circulating this track it was supposedly recorded by Cobain in late 1986. It has been said that this was recorded in 1994 as part of his final demos before Kurt's death. There is a real version of this song that surfaced several years previous to this fake clip. Owing to this Frank Morris dealt with this fake very swiftly indeed: firstly the chords are different to the real version (ie. the fraudster got it wrong). Secondly the timing is very off. Thirdly, and finally, Cobain's playing style was also very different to that exhibited in this clip.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 05.25
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: 1997/1998
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Very Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Very Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: It is obvious from first listen that this recording is not NIRVANA. This can be proven as it is known the band 'Eurkranium' recorded it.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 03.24
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: eDonkey
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as April 2006
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: ExcellentRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Good
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: This recording appears to be a very good NIRVANA cover. The vocals do sound very similar to Kurt - something most fakes never manage to pull off. Drain you has been recorded by NIRVANA the following times:-
This track however is not from any of those recordings. It could be an outtake from the nevermind sessions as it is known that Drain You was recorded a number of times. Sadly, no information exists as yet to approve or disapprove this theory. The file name doesn't help passing off this recording as NIRVANA, because the song Drain you was written roughly 5.5 years after the Fecal Matter demos.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 00.55
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 8 January 2003
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Medium
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: One main attribute stands out on this recording - the drum machine. Something that NIRVANA were not known to have used. As well as the drum machine, the non-Kurt vocals do certainly prove it that this is a fake.
LN VERDICT: Definite fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): Various
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Prodigy music b/b's
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 15KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: Widely circulated as a bootleg since 1994
DEVICES USED: Fender Stratocaster plugged into an old Sony boombox, then recorded using a cheap one-track recorder, with the internal mic
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Claimed
INFORMATION: An unusual fake in that it's the only one of the reviewed fakes to make
its way onto a commercial bootleg CD (Kurt's Home Guitar Rehearsals). Unfortunately this
gave the fake a wide audience and so it has become one of the worst plagues to the NIRVANA
trading community. Some characteristics of this bootleg CD to help you identify and steer
clear of it:
Name: Kurt's Home Guitar Rehearsals
Label: Hermes, Hermes02
Matrix: V3492 BED001 / A
Tracklisting:
1) Serve The Servants (Size: 450KB)
2) Heart-Shaped Box (Size: 447KB)
3) Rape Me (Size: 445KB)
4) Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle (Size: 451KB)
5) Pennyroyal Tea (Size: 446KB)
6) Blew (Size: 447KB)
7) All Apologies (Size: 451KB)
8) Smells Like Teen Spirit (Size: 448KB)
9) In Bloom (Size: 447KB)
10) Drain You (Mislabelled as 'Radio Friendly Unit Shifter') (Size: 446KB)
11) Come As You Are (Size: 448KB)
12) Lithium (Size: 453KB)
13) Lounge Act (Size: 448KB)
14) Drain You (Size: 449KB)
15) Polly (Size: 451KB)
16) Something In The Way (Size: 445KB)
17) About A Girl (Size: 443KB)
18) I Hate Myself And Want To Die (Size: 446KB)
Besides the more obvious fact it sounds nothing like the way Cobain played guitar, in April 2001 the 'fraudster'
finally decided to own up to their 'crime':
"Yes, this tape is a fake. I should know. I recorded the original back in May, 1994
... [in the] USA". He/she originally titled the tape, "The Cobain Jam Tape" and it was not intended
to be anything more than a joke and they certainly did not envisage it would feature up on
a bootleg CD: "... the original tape was made as a joke, and passed around". However, the tape was quickly seized on by collectors as the genuine article: "It soon started selling on Prodigy.
This was before Prodigy offered the WWW, it was being sold and traded within the old Prodigy music BB's".;
Here's how the recording was made: "It was recorded using a Fender Stratocaster plugged into an old Sony boombox,
then recorded using a cheap one-track recorder, with the internal mic. Around this time, I [had] ... taken up the guitar
again, after not playing for several years. NIRVANA really got me back into music".
The fraudster thought no more of it, until they began to scour the web a few years back: "I searched the web
a couple years back, and found this tape made it to CD, by a Hermes Records. I don't know if that is a full fledged
label, or just a front for the CD ... I was very surprised it made it to CD! That was never the intention. After
sending it to some people on Prodigy, as a joke, claiming it was Cobain, it then started selling. Looking back, I
figure I lost some $$$. These people were selling it and they cut me out ... Well, that was my punishment for faking
it I guess ... It came around to bite me ... I ended buying, a copy no less, of the CD on ebay".
About the actual pressed CD the individual had this to say: "... the sound quality was not that good, as it was
probably recorded off a 3rd generation copy. I still have the original cassette that I recorded. Against the CD
version, the cassette sounds live ... The CD really is poor quality".The perpetrator kindly decided to come
forward after realising that the tape, intended merely as a joke, had caused such controversy. They were, in fact,
surprised that anyone was fooled: "It was funny seeing all these NIRVANA web sites debating whether it was real or
fake, Kurt or an imposter. If you listen, it's easy to tell it's not Kurt. I was not a good guitar player back then.
If I made the tape today, with better equipment and more talent, it would sound much better and more authentic.
But my "Cobain Jam Tape" days are done".
These days the maker of the tape is in fact recording their own material and is currently
in the process of making their own demo.
LiveNIRVANA.com thanks this person for coming forward to finally lay this fake to rest.
However, it must be said that this fake is one of worst kind because of the fact it was
released on a commercial bootleg CD. Lots of people unwittingly buy the CD (and are
therefore ripped off) and also because the playing is so bad it reflects rather badly on
Cobain.
UPDATE - These 18 tracks have also been circulated on disc 2 of a bootleg titled 'The Complete Kurt's Home Recording'.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.33
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 32KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as December 2002
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Very poorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: With a track of such poor quality, it is very difficult to analyse it properly to determine its authenticity. However, the vocals do not sound much like Kurt’s, especially the ‘yeah yeah’ part. To prove that this recording is fake either a much better sounding version of this track would be required or some kind of confirmation from the faker.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 00.51
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: A german trader called Lars Zimmer started listing it on his trade site
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 2001
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: As stated at the top of this page, some fakes do come close to sounding like Nirvana demos. This is why this recording (although the guitar playing is nowhere near perfect) cannot be initally assumed a fake. However, the vocals don't match the abilities that Kurt possessed (even on demos), which decides this recording as a fake.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 03.29
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 64KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: GoodRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: A good cover of the NIRVANA song, although the vocals are not very kurt-like.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 02.23, 02.24, 03.45, 02.50, 02.52 & 00.52
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 3rd/4th Qtr 1997
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: ExcellentRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Nirvana covers recorded by William Clarke.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 03.56, 03.19, 04.17 & 03.45
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as Mid/Late 1998/1999
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: ExcellentRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Nirvana covers recorded by William Clarke. Drums by Michelle Clarke
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 04.16 & 00.17
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 2003
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: ExcellentRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Nirvana covers recorded by William Clarke.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 04.51
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Live Nirvana Forum
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: May 2006
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Medium
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: A track posted on the Live Nirvana forum claiming to be a possible NIRVANA recording. The hoxer Andreas Muhe however eventually owned up to this fake.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 02.06
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Circulated through Napster and appeared in an NFC Forum
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: April 2000
DEVICES USED: 8-track
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Excellent
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Although claimed to have been recorded by the bands 'The Disenfranchised' and 'Porcelain God', this cover is by the band 'Slow Driver Down'. The band's frontman Scott Gallagher is currently in the band 'Coriander', which has the widely circulated 'NIRVANA' mislabel available to download off the Coriander website.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.19
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: NFC Forum and NIRVANA bootleg
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: 2006
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: A short clip claiming to be from the Smart sessions from April 1990, starting with an actual NIRVANA recording (Polly). This is followed by a 'still rolling' from what sounds like Butch Vig and an 'ok' from what sounds like Kurt. The clip then contains an instrumental cover of The Vaselines song 'Son of a Gun'. This song was first played live by NIRVANA six months after the Smart sessions so if it is a genuine recording it’s probably not from same era. This theory is strengthened by a comparison of the frequencies between ‘Son of a Gun’ and 'Polly', which suggests that they are from two different recordings. If Son of a Gun is genuine, it is more likely that a faker has created this clip from different recordings and pieced them together. However, as this version of Son of a Gun is an instrumental, and most NIRVANA fakes contain little or no vocals at all, there still is the possibility of it being a fake.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 04.42
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: KaZaA
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as May 2004
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Unknown
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Unknown
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Unknown
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: This is apparently a full studio version of Pen Cap Chew. It is most likely a fake as the only known studio version of this song that NIRVANA recorded ends with a fade out.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 02.01, 01.41, 02.41 & 01.14
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 3rd Qtr 1996
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Recorded by William Clarke. All tracks are instrumental. Drums by Michelle Clarke.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 03.15, 02.20 & 05.09
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 16KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 2nd/3rd Qtr 1997
DEVICES USED: Radio Shack 2 channel (4 track mixer) - only 2 channels used
QUALITY OF RECORDING: PoorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Recorded by William Clarke. Negative Creep and Anorexorcist are the same fakes that were listed seperately listed in this section.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 02.27, 02.08 & 03.24
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 2nd/3rd Qtr 1997
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: PoorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Recorded by William Clarke
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): Various
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: A rehearsal recording of a NIRVANA covers band called 'Lithium'. Featuring William Clarke, Condie, Derrick Christianson and Matt Weir. This has been known to have circulated across a couple of U.S states, although it is unknown if it has made it to the internet - hence why only one clip has been included.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.17 & 01.37
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 15KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: Frank Morris received a copy of two songs from this recording in late 1996, but they do not seem to have circulated widely.
DEVICES USED: Boombox
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Very poorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: n/a
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: These are two boombox recordings, both without vocals. The distributor of the tapes claimed them to be authentic (and unsurfaced) boombox rehearsals. Only two songs are present from this alleged "demo session": In Bloom and Rape Me. As soon as Frank Morris received these tapes he realised they were fakes for several reasons: "The guitar playing is weak and pales in comparison to Kurt's. The drums sound absolutely nothing like Dave's (or any other drummer the band would even consider for that matter). The song structures are off, the solos are wrong, and the type of distortion used on these songs was never used at any point during NIRVANA's all-to-brief career".
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.05
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 112KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early August 2005
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Excellent
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Excellent
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: A very good sounding recording, but with a very distant vocal part in the background. A closer listen to this clip reveals that the vocals are actually Kurt's, but from a known NIRVANA version of Sappy. The vocals seem to have been messed around to fit in with this otherwise instrumental cover of the NIRVANA song.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 01.17 & 03.07
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 1996
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: MediumRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Recorded by William Clarke, these songs were traded on a cassette compilation in the tape era.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 02.50, 03.17 & 02.45
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 1995 - 1996
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: PoorRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: Recorded by William Clarke, these songs were traded on a cassette compilation in the tape era.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 02.01
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Unknown
CIRCULATING QUALITY: Unknown
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as 1995 - 1996
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Very Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Poor
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Very Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Recording unclaimed
INFORMATION: This recording was circulated on the 'Shoot the Shit Vol.3' compilation cassette
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 00.36 & 03.20
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: Live Nirvana Forum
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 112KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: As early as June 2005
DEVICES USED: Unknown
QUALITY OF RECORDING: Excellent
RESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Good
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Good
AUTHENTICITY: Recording claimed
INFORMATION: A very good acoustic cover of the NIRVANA song previously known as 'In His Hands'. This was found to have been recorded by the U.K band 'Fecal Matter', who also recorded the songs 'Make a Batch' and 'I Feel Numb'.
LN VERDICT: Proven fake
TRACK LENGTH(S): 03.34, 03.29, 03.25 & 00.02
ORIGINAL PLACE OF CIRCULATION: KaZaA
CIRCULATING QUALITY: 128KB/sec
DATE OF CIRCULATION: October 2002
DEVICES USED: Various
QUALITY OF RECORDING: ExcellentRESEMBLANCE TO NIRVANA: Medium
RESEMBLANCE TO KURT'S VOICE: Poor
AUTHENTICITY: Unclaimed
INFORMATION: There four known covers of this song that have been circulated as NIRVANA recordings. The information below came attached with the mp3's, the file names of which are stated above.
HOW DO WE KNOW THESE ARE FAKE?: Probably around the same time that the proper NIRVANA studio version of 'You Know You're Right' started circulating over the internet, a couple of members from the NIRVANA Fan Club (NFC) did covers of this song 'for fun'. The inevitable happened: the recordings ended up being circulated on file sharing programs, which resulted in the recordings being mistaken for NIRVANA. The artist of the acoustic version is not known, although it does not appear to have been recorded by any of the same persons as the other three recordings. What is clear is that the vocal does not sound like Kurt Cobain, neither does the guitar playing.
LN VERDICT: Unproven fake