This is a place for everyone to post a review of a CD they just bought. It doesn't have to be new, just what you think of what you bought.

Here are the guidelines:

If the band you are reviewing is your favorite band, state it. Let us know if you have a bias.

Use a 5 star rating system. It's all that's necessary. *=poor **=ok, ***=good ****=great *****=incredible.

Review Albums ONLY, not singles, not "Best Of" compilations, not mix tapes. Just complete albums.

Don't just say "this song is good," say why. A little detail helps. There's nothing worse than reading a review of an album that doesn't say what makes the reviewer like or dislike the album

I'll try reviewing an album in the next few days.

This is a good idea for a thread, I think, so I might as well contribute, seeing as no one else has...

Nirvana: Unplugged in New York

Nirvana is probably my third favorite band, behind Tool and Metallica, just to get that bias out of the way.

I bought this CD in 1998 after I had owned Nevermind for about a year and was really enjoying it. My cousin recommended that I pick this up, and it ended up being one of my favorite albums ever.

The band is playing an acoustic show for MTV's Unplugged. For the record, I have never seen this performance, I've just listened to it here.

The CD starts out with "About a Girl" which is an earlier Nirvana song from their Bleach album. I was never really that big on the song, but the live version here sounds a lot better than the album version I think. This whole set features Kurt with a lot more compassion than he shows on any songs on any of their other albums, and it shows in almost every song. A decent opener, although nothing special compared to what they would play later on. (**)

Next up is "Come as You Are" which was a very popular song at the time, judging by the audience's reaction. Personally I prefer the album version to this, but this was still a pretty good rendition. The crowd certainly seemed to enjoy it, as it got one of the biggest reactions of the night. Pretty good. (**1/2)

Now comes a cover of Vaseline's "Jesus Don't Want Me for a Sunbeam". It was kind of weird hearing this from Kurt at first, but after a few more listens, it grew on me, and I've come to prefer this version over Vaseline's. The accordion on this song really adds to the mood it brings. (***)

Next up is one of the true gems on this album. It's a cover of David Bowie's "Man Who Sold the World", and Nirvana plays it to perfection. Easily my favorite song on the album, Kurt's voice is so moody and sad on this song, it can make you depressed if your not in the right frame of mind. Probably the best cover song Nirvana ever did, just amazing vocals and guitar work on this. (****1/2)

Now back to Nirvana's own songs, as "Pennyroyal Tea" is next. I liked the album version of this a lot, and I think I like this even better. The tuning is a little different, and I think that's what makes this more enjoyable than the original. A great song, and an even better version of it here. (***3/4)

"Dumb" comes next. It's an alright version, although the album version is better than the live one I think. Still, nice vocals here from Cobain, as he hits all the notes fine. Don't really know how you can top the studio version live, as the studio version is about as good as it gets when it comes to this song. Still very good. (***)

Next is my favorite song on the album that was actually written by Nirvana, in "Polly". This is the best version of this song available, as it sounds a lot better as a slower song and acousticly than it does with electric guitar. They nailed this one right on, as it's a perfect live version of the song. Amazing. (****)

"On a Plain" is next, and I was never a really big fan of this song in the first place, to tell you the truth. The version here is alright, but it's still not a very good song in my opinion. (*1/2)

"Something in the Way" comes next, and it's a very good version of the song, complete with a violen being played in the background to add to the aura of the song. A pretty sad song when you sit and think about it. (***)

Next, Nirvana covers three Meat Puppet songs. Kris and Kurt Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets actually play along with Nirvana for these three songs, which makes them all the better.

They do "Plateau" first, which is a fun song, although I don't really get the meaning behind it. I like the beat of the song though, as well as Kurt's soft verses and louder choruses. Kurt kind of struggles on the chorus of the song, but it's fine. I'm a big fan of the original, and this one is pretty good too. (***1/2)

The next Meat Puppet's cover is "Oh, Me". The melody here is really great, and adds to the depressing nature of this song. The Meat Puppet's version is better, but again, this was alright. (***)

The third and last Meat Puppet's cover is "Lake of Fire", which is my personal favorite of the Meat Puppet's songs, and Nirvana actually out-does the Puppet's on this one. Amazing effort here, as this song sounds simply amazing. Kudos to the Puppets for writing such great lyrics, and also to Cobain for this version of the song. (****)

Probably the saddest and most depressing song comes next, with the infamous performance of "All Apologies". This performance was on the Nirvana Greatest Hits CD that came out awhile ago, and it's one of the more memorable performances from this set. Cobain sings with such passion in this song, you almost feel like you're there. Even better than the studio version. (***3/4)

To close it out, they do one last cover song, this time with Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?". Before the song, Kurt talks about how he was offered Leadbelly's guitar for $500,000, but (David) Geffen wouldn't buy it for him... A great cover here to close out an amazing album. Kurt changes from soft to loud a lot in this song, and it comes off really well. (***1/2)

If you are a fan of Nirvana, and you've never bought this CD, you need it. Even if you're not that big of a fan, this is a worthy listen, and you definately won't be asking for your time back after giving it a listen.

good job. The show is one of my absolute favorite musical performances, and Unplugged was one of my favorite shows before they ruined it.

EDIT: I've read that Kurt kept the songs in the original key in spite of the fact that they were out of his range. That's part of the reason he "screams" during "Where did you sleep last night?"

I'm trying to review a CD or two, but building a website does take some time.

Hmm, this kinda bombed. So I'll unpin it. But I'm not gonna lock it or anything. I may even post one here. Whatever. I'm just toying with my mod powers. Getting the feel for them again, if you will.