With The Lights Out
by Nirvana
  • Record Label: Geffen
  • Release Date: Nov 23, 2004
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 87 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 87
  3. Negative: 12 out of 87

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  1. BillS
    Aug 4, 2005
    1
    So tired of Cobain being classed as a musical genius. Quite a joke considering he knew 3 chords and couldn't hold a vocal note. As far as I'm concerned a Nirvana box set encapsules the historical demise of rock music through the 90's!
  2. StevenT
    Nov 26, 2004
    3
    Nirvana is one of the most overhyped and overrated bands of all time. This extensive collection of castoffs is only for the devoted. Babes In Toyland did it a lot better.
  3. davidmac
    Dec 10, 2004
    0
    nirvana r crap and couldnt make any good material so why buy an overated peice of junk that this crap band made
  4. FredR
    Nov 3, 2005
    0
    I just bought Sliver, The Best Of The Box, and I cannot wait for the reviews to write my opinion, I have to vent! If what I bought is the best of this box-set then I sincerely feel bad for anyone who spent actual money on this drivel. I'm a huge Nirvana fan and I do not buy boxed sets by anyone because I've had bad luck with them, they never seem to get it right. But Sliver I just bought Sliver, The Best Of The Box, and I cannot wait for the reviews to write my opinion, I have to vent! If what I bought is the best of this box-set then I sincerely feel bad for anyone who spent actual money on this drivel. I'm a huge Nirvana fan and I do not buy boxed sets by anyone because I've had bad luck with them, they never seem to get it right. But Sliver should have a warning sticker on it, something that says, basically, THIS CD DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY MUSIC THAT WAS MEANT TO BE RELEASED COMMERCIALLY. I mean, seriously, I want my money back, and not because I need it, because I feel ripped off. If Francis Bean really needs money for college I guess it ok to rip off Nirvana fans, but c'mon, this is a disgrace to even the memory of a man who suffered tremendously for his art and expression. Thank GOD the expression "turning over in his grave" is just that, an expression. I think Kurdt would be pissed. Maybe he's somewhere (I don't believe that mystical magical malarky, but just humor me here) better... and glad he's dead. This is... ARGH... DON'T BUY IT... I'll send you mine.… Expand
  5. FollowTheNoise
    Dec 27, 2008
    2
    Check this out: There's a sort of useless book that comes along with this box set. ON THE BOOK COVER you will find a bunch of "headlines" or what seems like headlines from Nirvana in newspapers. But if you look closely, there's THREE OF THEM printed upside down. The smallest one reads: "Smells like a way to make a fast buck off Nirvana fans" One reads:"Nirvana's newest Check this out: There's a sort of useless book that comes along with this box set. ON THE BOOK COVER you will find a bunch of "headlines" or what seems like headlines from Nirvana in newspapers. But if you look closely, there's THREE OF THEM printed upside down. The smallest one reads: "Smells like a way to make a fast buck off Nirvana fans" One reads:"Nirvana's newest stuff is old, dull stuff" And Another one reads:"Smells like mean spirit". If you keep looking, there`s one in spanish which translates to "the truth behind the house of the name nirvana" which could mean anything, but why would this be a flattering headline? Or a major one that would be key to their story. It's all a very strange insult. Or a warning that we're getting ripped off big time. Or might even be art designers trying to sneak one past Geffen. To sum up the songs that are worth listening to in this... I think its something like perhaps 15 in 40. Good material...good b-sides ...good covers. But the remaining about 35...total useless. Some old recordings were interesting if you wanted to hear how his Aunt's 2 track recorded sounded. And get this. about 3 different mixes of rape me. The exact Smells Like Teen Spirit off Nevermind. The exact In Bloom off Nevermind. Come on! That's another insult here. Finally the DVD. Um....There's what...Half an hour of stuff on there? Interesting stuff, but you have to really try if you want to put this little in there. The menus are looping videos that look cool and would have been better off in a chapter of their own. The menu music is more interesting than most of the songs in the whole box set. I WANTED TO HEAR THESE SONGS NOT A BUNCH OF CRAP I ALREADY HEARD BEFORE. Final summation. I don't get it. Why am I the only one on the internet so far to have found all these problems with it??? Or am I the only one provoked by it all? I don't care how much I paid for the shit. Even if it was 20$ I'd still be here complaining about the lack of respect these people have for Kurt Cobain/Nirvana's artistic expressions. Like some said, the packaging was a clue. If it's supper clean and glossy like a Seether album...it's not Nirvana.… Expand
  6. Samuel
    Aug 28, 2008
    0
    This box set is complete trash. I have Nirvana several bootlegs that are better than the garbage on With the Lights Out. In this box set, there are also pressing errors that weren't even on the material in trading circles. For example, on "Opinion" there are some clicking noises that weren't on the original bootleg. Aside from that song, I'm certain that 90% of the rest of This box set is complete trash. I have Nirvana several bootlegs that are better than the garbage on With the Lights Out. In this box set, there are also pressing errors that weren't even on the material in trading circles. For example, on "Opinion" there are some clicking noises that weren't on the original bootleg. Aside from that song, I'm certain that 90% of the rest of the songs were culled from the Outcesticide bootleg series. Do not buy this box set. You'd be paying top-dollar for a bootleg. My advice: Just download "If You Must", "Blandest", and "Ain't it a Shame" for free online. Those are the only interesting songs on the box set (notice how I didn't call them "good").… Expand
  7. tobyr
    Dec 10, 2004
    0
    crap
  8. ihatextintapig
    Aug 27, 2021
    0
    Estos trozos de mierda merecen ser cancelados por promover la pedofilia en unos de sus álbumes musicales(Nevermind) y sus abortos están sobrevalorados no merecen las buenas criticas que tienen.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed Album of 2004
46
#46 Most Shared Album of 2004

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Austin Chronicle
    89
    For the fan-atic, WTLO's scrapbooklike discography unveils both a gold mine of (still) unreleased material and the Seattle trio's penchant for dashing off B-sides, tributes, and noise at the smash of a guitar.
    Read full review
  2. Dot Music
    90
    It’s the way “With The Lights Out” fleshes out the plot that makes it so compelling.
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  3. Stylus Magazine
    60
    There isn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind that this collection plays it way too safe to satisfy the über-devoted.
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