“Nevermind” was the 1991 release from Nirvana and finds the Washington-based Grunge band coming with what is considered to be a classic record as the late Kurt Cobain leads them and enables them to push Alternative Rock to success like it had never been seen before once they had dropped “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and everything else fell into place afterwards. It was their second of three albums before the death of the lead singer ad guitarist.
1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
This, for me, was the perfect way to get the album underway as you find that they throw down a hardcore jam by coming out with their breakthrough single and letting it hype up the listeners as you here how they create a song that does exactly what you want form them with Kurt Cobain’s raw vocals that are almost impossible to get the lyrics from and from here the rest of them go off in a way that can’t be matched outside a Grunge setting.
***Five Stars**
2. “In Bloom”
They keep it all rolling as they pull out another single here and in this case you fidn that they come out with another tune that has lots of power within it, but in this case it seems to be suppressed somewhat in order to allow the general Classic Rock influence come through as you get a mix of both this, through its pace, and Punk in the way that the song is structured. This one wasn’t quite as
good as the first, but still can’t be considered to be weak.
**Three Stars**
3. “Come As You Are”
This one dropped as the follow-up single to their lead (and the one that started up the album) and I felt that really it wasn’t what was expected of a tune to come off the back of it as really it doesn’t compare to the sort of quality that what seen there. For me it didn’t have enough energy to really connect with it, and I felt that you got quite a bit of repetition coming through with this and what occurred with the opening track.
**Two Stars**
4. “Breed”
They seem to be able to come in much better as the dive into this one and escape the lifeless material in exchange for something that they are much likely to pull in Punk fans more with as they bring out a chaotic display that has them playing in a high tempo with some raging beats and an engaging guitar hook to pull you in as they finally appear to be capable of coming close to matching what came with “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
**Four Stars**
5. “Lithium”
This was a fairly successful single from the band, considering where they had got to prior to this point and it is one that as them coming out with a tune that I felt didn’t really do all that much to really be excited about as they come out with a rather plain one that has them using the repetitive structure of the lower sections with a heavy breakdown coming for the chorus, and I felt that it got tiresome quickly.
**Two Stars**
6. “Polly”
This was an early track from Nirvana as it was a track that was originally devised in 1988 and the stripped-down nature of the music seems to match this, however I felt that by having an acoustic offering such as this one, it seemed to lose all that was going for it as it just doese’t support the general direction of the Grunge movement and I felt that it did more to just be off-putting than anything.
**One Star**
7. “Territorial P**sings”
In this short, sharp recording you find that they are ale to recover things somewhat as they come out with an empowering display that uses all the energy that they had saved up through the last one to come out with a track that takes things to a new place with its powerful rage and a farily well-composed tune that underlies the chaos that you get from Cobain’s vocals and the heavy percussion.
**Four Stars**
8. “Drain You”
This was the B-Side to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and so was relatively well-known at the time and I felt that it was a good choice to do so as it seems to bring together lots of the same sorts of things that that single does with similarities in Cobain’s deliver style and the overall manner in which the song is composed to make for a tune that is bound to appeal to those who enjoyed their breakthrough track.
**Four Stars**
9. “Lounge Act”
This is anther of the fairly short ones from the act and one that you would expect to stand out as a result, however I can’t say that this was really the case at all as they record a tune that doesn’t particularly do a lot and for me, not knowing what Cobain’s saying for this long wasn’t really happening as it became by this point. I felt that it gets better through its duration, but still isn’t as good as some of the others.
**Three Stars**
10. “Stay Away”
They blast through with another high-tempo join here as they lay down a track that comes through in a way like you really wouldn’t expect as they bring in much more with the Metal and Punk seemingly coming together in this one to come out with the desired Grunge tune that suits their mood at the time. I felt that the balance appeared to be perfect for them in finding just what works as they do another rebellious one.
**Four Stars**
11. “On A Plain”
This one didn’t really go anywhere for me and I felt that it just wasn’t able to compete enough with the rest of the album and the sorts of things that were able to capture your attention through the rest of it and o this one can be easily forgotten about as they don’t do much with it. The samey writing style comes through ere and the mid-tempo approach seems to leave it without any real drive.
**Two Stars**
12. “Something In The Way”
The album ends with a track that I really didn’t have any support for at all as they end the thing with a haunting song form them where Cobain sings on a low level to minimal backing and is able to create tension as a result of this and the chilling pace and so it does nothing but seem to get you in the mood for another breakdown (that doesn’t come in the end) I understand for some can get something from it, but it wasn’t for me.
**One Star**
I can’t say that I expected to get much from this one as I knew from the get-go that the offering that is “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is just a perfectly-constructed track and nothing can really get ay better than it, so I knew that I’d only enjoy a few others form the album and thins is the case here. It wasn’t really for me, but I can see where the appeal is (although the massive changes in direction did how me quite a bit).
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One of the defining moments of the 1990s, despite happening at the start of the decade. ... more
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Advantages: Powerful music only matched after its release, but a depth unrivalled to this day Disadvantages: An ironic depth to the album, which many won't or simply can't understand
Charles_Strickland 02.10.2006 (02.10.2006)
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Review of Nevermind - Nirvana (US)
Oct 7th, 2009
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