Originally issued in 1996, From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah features 16 live Nirvana songs recorded between 1989 and 1994, from Seattle, WA to Springfield, MA, from London to Amsterdam, in venues ranging from small American clubs to the Reading Festival in England. “It's an aggressive record,” said Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who along with drummer Dave Grohl listened to more than a hundred hours of tapes to select the tracks. “Hopefully people who didn't get to see us live will get a flavor of what the band was all about. Most of the songs we chose were ones we played every night.”
If the previous live Nirvana live album, MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) documented the acoustic side of the band – “Nirvana lite,” as Novoselic puts it – then From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah is “Nirvana raw.” Two tracks on the album pre-date the band's breakthrough album Nevermind as “Polly” and “Breed” were both recorded in London in December 1989. The majority, however, come from the band's world tour in the winter of 1991 including “Drain You,” “Aneurysm,” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Sources for the tracks range from soundboard reference cassettes to 24-track recordings. The album was mixed by Andy Wallace.