Does Nirvana have a ‘White Album’ that could still be released?

Cross says that he’s heard many of the cassettes, which are currently in an undisclosed location. (AP Photo/File)

When Charles Cross published Heavier Than Heaven in
2001, there was a great Nirvana song that hadn’t yet been
released, “You Know You’re Right.”

After the book came out, the song was let loose on the
masses, and Nirvana fans embraced it. Instead of putting
the catalog of Nirvana’s beloved grunge to rest, for many
fans – it fueled the fire for what else might be out
there.

Cross told 97.3 KIRO FM’s
Ron & Don Show that there are a number of demos and a
number of studio outtakes, but he doesn’t believe there is
another great song that “gels together.”

“There is no ‘White Album’ in the Kurt Cobain archives.”

According to Cross, there are great songs and great
rehearsals, but the great album that many fans dream of
being posthumously released won’t come to fruition. One
day, he says there will likely be an album of unreleased
tracks, but the quality will be different.

“Sometimes it’s just [Cobain] wandering around, it’s not a
fully finished song.” Many of the songs are also not
studio quality – they’re home recordings Cobain made on
cassette tapes.

Cross says that he’s heard many of the cassettes, which
are currently in an undisclosed location.

When it comes to the unreleased albums, there could be
complications because of who-owns-what. According to
Cross, who owns the material depends on whether the
content is strictly Cobain, Nirvana, and who contributed
writing it.