Some Of Nirvana's `Nevermind' Cds Are A Cut Above The Rest

Do you have the mysterious Nirvana cut? On most copies of the runaway best-selling CD "Nevermind" there's an uncredited 13th cut that comes out of nowhere some 14 minutes after the official last track, "Something In the Way," has finished. But the bonus cut is not on the first pressing of the CD, because of a screwup at the mastering lab, according to a representative of the band's label, DGC Records. Thinking the recording was over because of the long silence after "Something. . .," the mastering engineer cut off the last song. The mistake wasn't discovered until the initial pressing of 40,000 copies was completed. That was too many copies to discard, says the representative. And besides, who knew Nirvana was going to be so giant? - that first pressing could have been the only one. The added cut is called "Endless Nameless" and it's a wild instrumental freakout. There's no way to tell from the package what version you're getting. But there are clues on the discs themselves: The first pressing, without the cut, has a light-sensitive black rim around the disc on the label side; the other pressings have two bands on the outer rim of the playing (non-label) side of the disc, visible when you hold it up to the light. And, of course, the later pressings has a longer playing time - 59:23 compared to 42:39 for the first pressing. Those who have the first pressing (and many of them were sold here) don't have the extra cut, but they do have a collector's item that may be valuable some day.

-- Ann Wilson of Heart, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mark Arm of Mudhoney join Alice in Chains on its forthcoming EP called "SAP," due for release in early February. The trio of Northwest stars sing on one track of the five-tune EP (actually four songs and an uncredited "bonus track," a la Nirvana). Recording the EP caps a great year for the band, which was lucky enough to be a part of two of the very few successful tours of 1991 - the "Clash of the Titans" this summer with Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth, and the Van Halen tour, which comes to the Tacoma Dome Jan. 22. During a break in the Van Halen tour, Alice in Chains played KISW's benefit concert last weekend at the Paramount and packed the place. Other good news for the band came at Concrete Marketing's recent annual Forum convention in Los Angeles devoted to metal music. The band's Columbia Records debut album "Facelift" won for best debut album of the year. The Chains gang was also named best new band in Guitar Magazine's annual reader's poll. After completing the Van Halen tour in a couple of months, the band will return to the studio to begin woirk on their next album.

-- Also due soon from Columbia Records is the debut album from the Seattle band War Babies, which will be in stores Jan. 14. The Babies are different from most of the grunge-oriented bands coming out of here. It's a hard rock band with a strong attack and good original material, which has established a strong reputation with its tight, powerful live shows.

-- "9 X 90 II," radio station KNDD "The End" 107.7's second end of the year event, is at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Paramount. Recently added to the long list of Seattle bands set for show is special guest the Ocean Blue, a new group from Pennsylvania on Sire Records with the modern rock hit "Ballerina Out of Control." Also playing the marathon show are Dave Hillis & the Divine Comedy, Love On Ice, Molasses, Sky Cries Mary, Silver Shadow D, Hammerbox, Common Language and Gas Huffer. Tickets, at $10.77, are at Ticketmaster outlets.

-- Duffy Bishop is starting the New Year on a high note. The Seattle singer is in Hong Kong to star in a New Year's Eve concert at the ritzy Grand Hiatt Ballroom. Backed by a 16-piece orchestra, she'll portray legendary singer-dancer Josephine Baker in a production called "A Night at Josephine's," a re-creation of New Year's Eve in a Parisian nightclub in the 1920s. In costumes modeled after those of Baker, Bishop will sing 18 standards, including "Cry Me a River," "Ain't Misbehavin'," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Stormy Weather" and a grand finale of "When You Wish Upon A Star." The powerful singer will be back home for performances with her band Jan. 10 and 11 at the Hollywood Underground. And next year she may re-create her portrayal of Janis Joplin, following the recent U.S. District Court judgment that the play "Janis," which she starred in here this spring and summer, is protected under the First Amendment. Relatives of Joplin brought suit and halted performances of "Janis," claiming ownership of Joplin's image and songs. The suit also claimed the Seattle production jeopardized an upcoming authorized Broadway musical about Joplin.