Brett Morgen Reveals Tracklist of Cobain’s Home Recordings, Tries To Justify The Release

‘Director defends decision to release Kurt Cobain solo album as he reveals full tracklist’… What’s wrong with this title published by NME? I guess if they have to use ‘defends’, they had a good reason!

Brett Morgen, who shamelessly continues his Cobain milking, has revealed to Rolling Stone the full tracklist for ‘Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings’, the companion to his film about the Nirvana frontman.

‘In many ways, it unfolds like a concept album,’ declares Morgen. ‘It’s a journey, an experience. We made the commitment that this wasn’t just about the musical experience. This was about celebrating all of Kurt’s creative efforts with audio experimentation.’

Except that these recordings were never released by Cobain himself when he was alive, probably for a very good reason, and that’s why releases of posthumous recordings always make me cringe. I don’t trust Morgen for a minute, and one of the reasons is that this guy is very much into self-promotion: ‘I’m a filmmaker. This album was curated by the director. So there is a cinematic quality to it,’ he added,… enough said!

Morgen picked these recordings among 108 cassettes, more than 200 hours of audio he had access to, and knowing his intention – trying to make Kurt as suicidal as possible – I am sure his choices were totally objective, right?

‘There’s nothing on the album that was previously released on any other Nirvana album or, as far as I know, in bootleg form,’ he added, confirming the exclusivity of these recordings. First, it’s false because, according to several comments I have found, this specific version of ‘Sappy’ (posted on the internet yesterday) had already appeared on several bootlegs, when Cobain was still alive… just a little cleaning to sell something exclusive Morgen?

And what does it say about the exclusive material if Kurt Cobain had never released it? That he was not ready to show it to the world may be?

‘I think of this project as a companion to the film in that it tells the story in an aural manner. It was constructed to unfold with a loose narrative, to stand on its own. But if you have seen the film, that experience will deepen your understanding of the Montage of Heck album.

‘And vice versa.’ I see… And when Morgen had finally to justify the release, this is what he says:

‘The morality of putting out unfinished work — I know that is a criticism that will be lobbied against the project. But just like the Bootleg Series furthers your understanding of Bob Dylan’s process, I find that Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings furthers not just our understanding of his process but represents yet another angle, another side of Kurt — an artistic outlet that he was not necessarily able to work with in the context of a three-piece band. It’s not scraps and discarded, insignificant material. It really is furthering our understanding of one of the most significant artists of our time.’

How can he compare this to Dylan’s Bootleg Series? Dylan is still alive, the Bootleg Series were a project he approved, Kurt Cobain had no say in the process.

‘Montage Of Heck: The Home Recordings’ will be released on November 13th as a 31-track deluxe record or as a 13-track standard edition. A 7-inch featuring Cobain covering The Beatles’ ‘And I Love Her’ will also be released on December 4th.

Here is the full tracklist for ‘Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings’:
‘The Yodel Song’
‘Been a Son (Early Demo)’
‘What More Can I Say’
‘1988 Capitol Lake Jam Commercial’
‘The Happy Guitar’
‘Montage of Kurt’
‘Beans’
‘Burn the Rain’
‘Clean Up Before She Comes (Early Demo)’
‘Reverb Experiment’
‘Montage of Kurt II’
‘Rehash’
‘You Can’t Change Me/Burn My Britches/Something in the Way (Early Demo)’
‘Scoff (Early Demo)’
‘Aberdeen’
‘Bright Smile’
‘Underground Celebritism’
‘Retreat’
‘Desire’
‘And I Love Her’
‘Sea Monkeys’
‘Sappy (Early Demo)’
‘Letters to Frances’
‘Scream’
‘Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle (Demo)’
‘Kurt Ambiance’
‘She Only Lies’
‘Kurt Audio Collage’
‘Poison’s Gone’
‘Rhesus Monkey’
‘Do Re Mi (Medley)’