Purest Feeling (album)
Purest Feeling is a bootleg of an early live rehearsal session by Nine Inch Nails, prior to Pretty Hate Machine. It was recorded at the Right Track Studio in October 1988 while Trent Reznor was still working as a technician there. It was first released on cassette in 1993 by Dirt Road Tapes, then re-released on CD the following year by Italian label Hawk Records.
These recordings were long believed to be demos that were sent to record labels, but the story has since become clearer and more detailed, due to info from original NIN drummer Ron Musarra.
Musarra shared the following in a YouTube comment:
This is a recording of us live in the studio {Right Track} rehearsing for an upcoming tour, I played drums, you can hear me count us in... Gretsch 14" chrome over wood snare, 20" kik/ Simmons pads triggering an Emax, Paiste cymbals, Sean Beavan in the control room engineering.
The sound of the tracks on this recording represent the state of the songs as they existed in October 1988, and translated to a live performance setting with very little preparation (they only had about four days to rehearse). An 8-track reel to reel recorder provided much of the backing tracks, with Musarra playing most of the drum parts live. Vrenna triggered segue noise and samples, faked some keyboard parts that were tracked, and changed the tapes. Reznor provided vocals and guitar.
The overall feel of the songs at this stage is brighter (and in some cases happier) than that of the final versions on Pretty Hate Machine. The live elements, namely drumming, guitar, and samples, give the songs different characteristics from the corresponding studio demo versions from the same period. "Kinda I Want To" is reminiscent of early house music. "Twist" is an early version of "Ringfinger", featuring different lyrics and less use of sample loops. The entire session has segues leading each track into the next. The songs "Maybe Just Once" and "Purest Feeling" are not found on any Nine Inch Nails release.
These early versions of the tracks also feature the full lyrics cut from the final versions of songs later released on Pretty Hate Machine; Reznor chose to print the full lyrics in the Pretty Hate Machine booklet to retain some of the original meanings of his songs.
Comparing this rehearsal recording to the live performances in October and November 1988 during Nine Inch Nails' first shows opening for Skinny Puppy on the VIVIsectVI Tour show the same running order (with excisions due to time constraints) and song performances. It is unknown if "Purest Feeling" was ever performed live, although it's possible it may have been at the TVT Showcase where "Sex Dwarf" was performed, due to needing to fill out a longer performance slot.
The cover artwork for the 1994 Hawk release is a portion of the fire background from the Broken cover art, with three photos of Reznor performing live at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on July 26, 1991.
Track Listing
- "Slate (Intro)" – 2:21
- "Sanctified" – 5:31
- "Maybe Just Once" – 5:16
- "The Only Time" – 5:12
- "Kinda I Want To" – 4:48
- "That's What I Get" – 4:39
- "Purest Feeling" – 2:57
- "Twist" – 5:48
- "Down In It" – 6:20