This release is definetly the first obvious cash-in for the Nirvana legacy. I can only recomend this for the Nirvana collector who has to have every release because really, this is almost all previously released material. There are 3 "new" tracks here but they only help bolster the opinion that this is a half-assed, cash cow release.



The first unreleased track is the original demo version of Spank Thru that comes from the Fecal Matter tape that Kurt recorded before Nirvana was officially a band. There is a better studio recording of this song floating around, so it is completely baffling why this version was chosen over the professional one. If material from the Fecal Matter demo is to be released, it should be done altogether so that there is flow to it, rather than just cherry-picking songs from it to call previously unreleased on compilations like this



The next unreleased track is a boom box demo version of Come As You Are. The fact that it was recorded live onto a boom box should already tell you that this not good quality and is only in the interest of the avid fan. It's definetly not something that can be enjoyed on a regular basis.



The last track to be featured here is a studio demo of Sappy recorded way back in 1990. This marks the only decent feature on this cd and that's not saying much. The recording is good and the song is obviously a strong song, but the version that appeared on the No Alternative compilation in the mid-nineties is leaps and bounds better than this one. Once again, something only for the collectors.



Overall, this is a shoddy product. If it was supposed to be the "best of the box" as the title suggests, then it should have just been a collection of all the studio recordings that were in the box set. That way, there would have been some kind of a flow to it. Mixing in badly recorded home demos, boom box recordings and raw live songs does not make for "best of the box" status, it just implies that someone needs money and needed to release something quickly and easily. My last major gripe is the title. Nirvana already has a release called Sliver (the single obviously) so why couldn't another name just be given for it. That's just lazy. At least the liner notes and artwork are well done.



It pains me to say this, as I am a huge Nirvana fan, but ignore this release unless you really love the band because it really has nothing that new or special to offer. The lack of any serious flow was the major flaw for With The Lights Out and it obviously was not a flaw that was fixed with this compilation either.