Originally, I had intended to review Metallica’s album “And Justice For All” on today’s post, but I have since decided to save that review for another day as part of a special event for next year (Hint Hint!!). With that said, I had to look through my library of music for a new album. I was having a bit of trouble looking for the right album, until I stumbled upon my folder for Nirvana, and within the folder was an album that was practically staring me in the eye. Not wanting to disappoint, I figured that perhaps it was time to review their iconic album Nevermind. Hope you like it!
First formed back in 1987, the band that would be known as Nirvana was composed of 3 core members: singer/guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic (Who was also the co-founder of the band), and drummer Dave Grohl (Who went on to have a successful career after the band parted). The band immediately established themselves with the growing Seattle Grunge scene of the late 80s, and in 1989, released their first album Bleach. Though it did quite well amongst music critics, the album never charted in the U.S. on it’s first release.
Their next album, Nevermind, was released on September 24, 1991. Wanted to make music outside of the confines of the Seattle Grunge scene, Kurt Cobain instead drew influences from bands like the Pixies, along with their use of song volume dynamics.
“Despite low commercial expectations by the band and its record label, Nevermind became a surprise success in late 1991, largely due to the popularity of its first single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jackson's album Dangerous at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also produced three other successful singles: "Come as You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". The Recording Industry Association of America has certified the album Diamond (over 10 million copies shipped), and the album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Nevermind was responsible for bringing alternative rock to a large mainstream audience, and has been ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Time.”***
Songs
Smells Like Teen Spirit: What I am about to say may in fact be the most blasphemous I’ve ever said on this blog, and perhaps ever. A comment so black, so unholy, that even the devil would go “No!”. With that said, here we go.......................I think Smells Like Teen Spirit is overrated.
*Hides behind riot shield. Looks up after 5 minutes.*
Huh, guess that wasn’t as bad as I thought. *Sits back in chair*
It’s not that I think that this song is bad, because it isn’t. The slow & grungy instrumentation, combined with Kurt’s distorted voice & oddball lyrics, creates a weird but interesting song. My problems with the song is twofold: the lyrics are odd, and they don’t feel like effort was put into them. It almost seems like Kurt was have a hallucination, and just wrote down what he was hallucinating about. Secondly, Smells Like Teen Spirit has received too much radio time. Despite being one of 4 single hits off Nevermind, this one has garnered the most attention, leaving the other 3 in the dust & shadows.
In Bloom: A crucial difference between this song and Smells Like Teen Spirit, is that In Bloom has a faster pace to it. The instrumentation is faster, Kurt Cobain’s singer is faster (Not by much), and the pacing in general is just faster. On top of that, this song is considerably less chaotic that the previous tune. In Bloom sits on a considerably more stable foundation than SLTS, and it doesn’t feel like Mr. Cobain is rambling on this time around. A nice song regardless!
Come As You Are: Remember my comment in the first song, saying that Smells Like Teen Spirit is a overrated song? Well, consider Come As You Are to be the exact opposite.
Granted, I’m a little opinionated in this regard, as I consider this song to be the best off of Nevermind. It’s got a great mix of slow & fast instrumentation, it’s grungy but not overpoweringly so, Kurt Cobain’s singing flows along nicely, and is just as stable as the previous song. The main reason why I think Come As Your Are is so underrated is because of radio play. Smells Like Teen Spirit gets tones of air time, as well as In Bloom & Lithium, but Come As You Are doesn’t get quite as much. Sure, you hear it on the radio from time to time, but it doesn’t come on the airwaves enough, making it something of a black sheep among this album’s hit singles. Doesn’t make it bad though!
Breed: Though this song isn’t one of their hit singles, Breed is definitely a tune that I’ve heard on the radio plenty of times, and I can’t blame the radio stations! It’s fast-paced, the instrumentation is intense, and Kurt’s singing has an edge that can cut all four of the elements at once! Though it feels more like punk (That’s just me) than grunge, Breed is more that dingy enough to hang out with the grungy kids.
Lithium: What surprises me is just how laid back Lithium sounds. About 1/4 to ½ of the song has some rather mellow instrumentation & vocal work, while the rest comes back to the typical loudness of previous songs. If I had any problem with Lithium, it would be it’s pacing. The mellow sections going along rather smoothly, and the pace is very steady. When it gets to the faster sections, it feels more random & chaotic. If the song focused more on the mellow sections, and just had one or two faster moments, the combination would be perfect.
Polly: Easily the most basic song on Nevermind, Polly is brilliant in how simplistic it is. Coming in at almost 3 minutes, this song is composed of nothing more that Kurt Cobain singing, and him playing the guitar (There is drum work, but it’s hardly used, so I don’t count it). Polly never raises it’s tone, and opts for a laid back sound & feel. If this song was anymore laid back, it would fall out of the chair.
Territorial Pissings: If Polly was a laid back song, then Territorial Pissings is the exact opposite. A 2 minute & 23 second bombastic display of noise, confusion, and nonsense, this is the weakest song of Nevermind, and I have nothing more to say about it.
Drain You: For starters, the name of this song is something you expect to hear a porn star say during a movie shoot. Secondly, Drain You seems to backtrack back to Lithium in terms of pacing. For the most part, the instrumentation moves by at a fast pace, but this time there’s a sinister vibe to the instruments, almost as if they tap into the dark. The only real “mellow” parts of the song (I’m using the word loosely in this regard) are when Kurt just lowers his voice. He still keeps his singing in key with the instrumentation, but it’s his tone that changes. Not one of my favorites, but nothing bad.
Lounge Act: When I first heard this, I thought that Nirvana had ripped off The Offspring, so I listened to it again. Nope, still think they ripped off The Offspring!
Yeah, as you can kinda tell, this isn’t my favorite song. While I was a fan of The Offspring back in the late 90s & early 2000s, I don’t like them anymore. To this song’s credit, the instrumentation & vocals flow along smoothly, with the volume changing flawlessly. However, I call this song a Offspring rip-off because it sounds too much like that band. The instrumentation has that punk vibe, and Kurt Cobain’s singing, while not completely matching that of vocalist Dexter Holland, occasionally matches up with the tone of the previously mentioned singer. Not my favorite song, but one that’s at least well done.
Stay Away: I was relatively close to calling this song a jumbled mess. The instrumentation seems to go all over the place, and Kurt Cobain’s singing ranges anywhere from loud to mumbling (Not to mention some odd lyrical choices). However, I decided to listen to Stay Away a couple more times, and afterwards, I’ve decided to “reluctantly” not call this song a jumbled mess. The reason I recanted my belief on the song is that the title matches perfectly with the instruments & singing. If you want people to stay away, sometimes to need to look/sound like a mess.
On a Plain: For a song named On a Plain, you’d expect something that sounded somewhat peaceful, and that was something I was thinking when looking at the title. Boy was I proven wrong!
For one thing, this sound never let’s up in volume. Apart from the first few seconds, and a little over the halfway point, On a Plain assaults you with some loud instrumentation. Secondly, Kurt’s singing rarely lets up in terms of noise. He pretty much keeps his voice at the same volume for most of the song, apart from a break or two. Lastly, this song sorta shares the same jumbled vibe that Stay Away has, only this one seems to be more stable & cohesive.
Something in the Way: Nevermind concludes with Something in the Way, one of the slowest songs I’ve ever heard. You get a very apathetic vibe from Something in the Way, as the only instruments you hear include a guitar (Played by Kurt, I think), and some drums played by Dave Grohl. As you listen to this song, you feel as if the band almost didn’t want to perform this piece, as it’s dark energies would have overcome them to the point that they’d never be able to see light again. Yet at the same time it’s that dark aspect that lends to the brilliance of Something in the Way. Not only that, but the way the song feels matches surprisingly well with the title, thus completing a perfect circle of darkness & depression.
Overall Impression & Rating
Nevermind was an album that was a product of it’s time. A dirty little rock that, when polished, became a shiny gold nugget. The album has only gotten better as time passes, and despite the passing of Kurt Cobain & some flaws with certain songs, Nevermind is a intriguing little title that more than deserves it’s place in the pantheon of legendary albums.
Nevermind gets a 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
***
Taken from Nevermind’s Wikipedia Page (Click “***” to read)
*****
Is it just me, or is a naked baby in a swimming pool chasing a dollar bill on a fishing line as an album cover a little creepy?
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