Nirvana - In Utero (20th Anniversary Edition)

"Serve the Servants" opens In Utero with four stick clicks from Dave Grohl, followed by the crash of a wholly unmusical chord before it launches into its verse riff, which implies 7th chords - an extravagance for Nirvana. Then Cobain declares "teenage angst has paid off well/now I'm bored and old". It's a kiss-off to its Nevermind counterpart. Whereas on Nevermind's fourth track he found it unnecessary to breed, by that point on In Utero he's asking to be raped. The next track on Nevermind is named "Lithium" after the mind-dulling chemical; its opposite number on In Utero is about Frances Farmer, who underwent more primitive treatment in a psychiatric hospital. Almost half of In Utero is taken up by noisier, less hook-oriented songs that people hadn't previously associated with Nirvana, but Cobain hadn't forsaken the classicist side of his songwriting by a long shot; "Pennyroyal Tea" and "All Apologies" employ the soft-loud dynamic that worked so well before, and the radically re-imagined versions on Unplugged in New York confirm their conventionally appealing songcraft, as if it wasn't obvious already. The other In Utero track to make that setlist, "Dumb", is in its element there, being acoustic and adorned with cello in the first place. The first single "Heart-Shaped Box" has arguably the catchiest chorus Cobain ever wrote. These opposing elements are a lot to do with why some found In Utero confounding at the time, yet also why history has been so reverent to it.

The immediately apparent news regarding both the remaster of the original album and the "2013 mix" is that, incredibly, far from being heavily compressed monstrocities, both are actually marginally more dynamic than the original master. In Utero was loud for 1993, but quiet for today. I've compared the original album to its remaster, though not exhaustively, and at this point I'd have to say the differences are nominal at best. The point, though, is that this version, which will be definitive version for future generations, fairly and accurately represents the album. The same is anything but true of the 20th Anniversary edition of Nevermind. The 2013 mix isn't just a different EQ job, but actually utilises different takes of some parts (including a vastly inferior solo for "Serve the Servants") as well as pushing some existing parts back and forward in the mix.

The inclusion of some early demos provides some insight into how some of the songs were perceived early on. "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" is somewhat funkier in its original form. "All Apologies", though, is the real treat here. The countryness of the central riff wasn't lost on the band, as it turns out, and this might be the only real glimpse into Cobain's early days leading a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band. I'd love to have a version of it with proper vocals, but they're nothing but barely audible fragments in this recording.

Related:

Nirvana - Nevermind (20th Anniversary Edition)
Nirvana - Radio Friendly Unit Shifter (MTV Live & Loud)
Nirvana - Icon
My 200 Favourite Albums of All Time

Nirvana - Icon

I've left that image its original size so you can see the tracklist and thus the pointlessness of this new Nirvana release. Apparently done raiding the vaults (for now), Geffen has once again turned to re-releasing the Nirvana songs we already know. With 20th the anniversaries of Nevermind and In Utero coming up, it seems likely that Geffen will reissue them and probably remaster them as Sub Pop did with Bleach. That's fine, because it's overt. Nobody will deny that they're going back to the well for a quick buck. Just make the reissues look pretty and maybe throw in a live disc and we'll happily fork out for more heavily compressed copies of albums we already own. In the meantime, why not liberate some bootlegs? Live at Reading is fantastic.

These are all the official studio versions, with the exception of the last two, which are culled from the equally widely available Unplugged in New York album, a trick Geffen already pulled on the self-titled compilation from 2002. These versions are all making at least their third appearance on a Nirvana CD (almost all of them having been released as singles) and at least one officially released alternative version exists of each of them.

The redundancy of Icon is one thing - a compilation by definition isn't going to offer you much that you can't hear anywhere else - but more importantly, it fails to adequately summarise Nirvana's career. The acoustic "About a Girl", as is the case on the live album from which it is taken, is the only track from Bleach included; so much for any young prospective fans hoping to get an idea of Nirvana the indie band that drove from its small logging town to Seattle to record an album for $600. So how about the effect that being blasted into the public consciousness had on the band musically? Unfortunately you only get a glossy cross section of In Utero. They left out "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" because it isn't one; ditto "Milk It" and all the other abrasive songs that hinted at what Nirvana album #4 might have sounded like. For all its faults, Nirvana acknowledged the existence of the 1992 odds 'n' ends collection Incesticide, but the same can't be said for Icon.

Do I think I can do better? Yes I do. My own tracklist follows. Normally I would make it chronological, but I don't think that's necessary for a band with only three studio albums to its name, plus given how overplayed the Nevermind singles are, I found it necessary to separate them in order to make them most effective. This is not a fan's mix, but a genuine attempt at a compilation that provides a cohesive listen while fairly representing the band's catalogue. It should stand alone as an enjoyable listen for anyone who likes it but doesn't wish to pursue the band's music any further, while providing those who do with a good idea of what to expect.

1. Aneurysm (BBC session version)
2. Blew
3. Smells Like Teen Spirit
4. Heart-Shaped Box
5. Negative Creep
6. In Bloom
7. Dumb
8. Dive
9. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
10. Lithium
11. About a Girl
12. Come As You Are
13. You Know You're Right
14. All Apologies

"Aneurysm" archetypal Nirvana and is a b-side on the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single. The version in my tracklist, however, is a 1992 BBC session recording included on Incesticide and is considerably superior. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" arrives early on and the listener has already heard three singles before the halfway mark. "Dumb" showcases a "kindler, gentler" Nirvana. "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" represents the abrasiveness I mentioned earlier and for that reason appears when the listener will have already committed so as not to scare them off. This tracklist provides a balanced selection of tracks(4 songs each from Nevermind and In Utero, 3 from Bleach and 3 non-LP tracks) and can't be said to be a self-indulgent and obscure knee-jerk reaction to Icon - nine of the fourteen tracks have been previously released as the A or B side of a single. For that matter, nine of them appear on Icon in one form or another. It could be leaner, but three more tracks is a small price to pay to get it right.

In conclusion, my proposed compilation rules, while Icon is a piece of shit cash cow that you should physically avoid looking at in music shops. Whether you're a Nirvana-curious pre-teen-to-mid-twenty-something or a Gen X-er who never caught on back in the day and for some reason wants to rectify that now, you're too good for it.

Related:
Nirvana - In Utero (20th Anniversary Edition)
Nirvana - Nevermind (20th Anniversary Edition)