What people search:
 | Title : Nirvana
Author : Nirvana
Release Date : 20021028
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $18.98
Amazon.com Price : $10.50
(45
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE | Editorial Reviews : Essentially a greatest-hits collection with one previously unreleased song, 'You Know You're Right,' and producer Scott Litt's 1994 remix of 'Pennyroyal Tea,' Nirvana the album is nevertheless a welcome addition to the band's canon. Crisp, elegant liner notes by Rolling Stone writer David Fricke put us squarely in Kurt Cobain's mindset as he entered a Seattle studio in January 1994--a full two days later than expected--to record what would be his final session with Nirvana. The resulting 'You Know You're Right' locates Cobain at the apogee of his disenfranchisement with tongue nevertheless planted firmly in cheek. Bawdy, raucous, and venomous, 'You Know You're Right' could have been lifted from Nevermind. A mix of tracks from that album ('Smells Like Teen Spirit,' 'Come as You Are,' 'Lithium,' and 'In Bloom') sits opposite stuff from early EPs and the Bleach disc ('About a Girl,' 'Been a Son,' and 'Sliver'), plus two from the MTV Unplugged sessions and several more from In Utero. Not the Nirvana treasure chest we hoped for, but solid nonetheless.
Buyer Reviews : Hey, kids, check it out! The world's ultimate anti-corporate rock band has a hastily thrown together greatest hits package that you can order via an advertised 800 number just in time for Christmas!
This is a great missed opportunity. While the quality of the material is beyond question, THIS IS A COMPILATION PACKAGE AND MUST BE JUDGED AS SUCH. We're talking about a band that essentially only has two albums anyway (Bleach was crafted to fit into the Sub Pop format, and lacked Dave Grohl, so, yes, two albums).
So what do we have? Essentially the first five songs off Nevermind (minus the incredible 'Breed', and no 'Drain You' or 'Polly'), the slow/less-noisy songs off In Utero (so therefore overlooking material like 'Scentless Apprentice' and 'Radio Friendly Unit Shifter') and a handful of songs from elsewhere (including 'About A Girl' - aka, the pop song on Bleach, 'Been A Son', and 'The Man Who Sold the World', to my taste the least interesting track on Unplugged). The new song, 'You Know You're Right' is good, but it also serves as a reminder of what Nirvana were at heart: A PUNK BAND: loud, noisy, dissonant, raw.
All you really need to know is right there on the album cover - just a plain black background with the Nike swoosh in front - oops, the band logo. Spinal Tap meets Madison Avenue at its blandest. Cobain previously oversaw the bands album covers and they were presented as art projects of vision and insight - I first bought Nevermind simply b/c I thought the album cover was funny, before I was aware of any buzz or promotional push.
If Grohl and Novoselic had had their way, this would have been a package for the FANS: including live material, demos, rarities, non-album tracks, etc. Material like 'School', 'Aneurysm', 'Marigold', and others might have been presented. So what's a newcomer to do? Simply go out and buy Nevermind and In Utero: they're worth it, and they were, after all, conceived of as albums, not just a bunch of songs. After that, Unplugged, and if you're truly curious take the leap to the Japanese import Hormoaning. Then Bleach, muddy banks, etc.
But leave this alone. Thannks, Courtney - once again you've managed to destroy something that could have been great, pure, and wonderful.
(by adam david)
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