Journals

The question of how to package Cobain s journals (originally contained in more than 20 notebooks) became as important as whether they should be published. Courtney Love, Cobain s widow, ultimately decided to go with Riverhead, and her choice appears to have been a good one. Reproduced here are actual notebook pages, filled with the musician s drawings, thoughts, desires, moods, lists, and declarations, showcasing his many talents, as much as his penchant for morbidity, in an amalgamation of handwritings. While this collection offers another level of intimacy for fans who have already experienced the musician s life via records, news clippings, album art, and several biographies, no one involved with the project provides any context, and this absence is keenly felt. Notes are scattered and applied to things that are of little interest, while other confusing pieces are left without the slightest comment. Given Love s vigilance in all matters Nirvana and Cobain, it is surprising that she was not more hands-on here. Still, Journals remains a good complement to Charles R. Cross s Heavier Than Heaven, which references the notebooks, and a unique addition to popular music collections.

Rachel Collins, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.