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From the Vault...
09/29/2002
#805 |
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info
Nirvana
"Nevermind"
© DGC Records
Year of Release: 1991
Rating:
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track listing
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Smells Like Teen Spirit
In Bloom
Come As You Are
Breed
Lithium
Polly
Territorial Pissings
Drain You
Lounge Act
Stay Away
On A Plain
Something In The Way
13:41 (Untitled)
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Nirvana
"Nevermind"
With
last week's review of Stone Temple Pilots, we spend another week in the
category of Grunge music, which became the "fresh air" for music in the early
1990s. Like Elvis Presley in the 1950s, he would spark what would become a
lifetime trend, Rock N Roll Music. Seattle's Nirvana ignited another spark for
what would become Grunge Music, a popular source of music born in the early
Nineties, and continuing today.
Nirvana had one album, an EP, and personnel changes before their landmark
album Nevermind was released in 1991. Nevermind featured so
many great tunes, where they received heavy airplay on Alternative Rock stations,
and would also become one of the best albums ever recorded of all time.
The two songs that stand out the most, were Smells Like Teen Spirit
and Come As Your Are. Both of these songs received the parody treatment,
where Weird Al Yankovic's album Off The Deep End would feature its album
cover similar to Nevermind, and his parody song, "Smells Like
Nirvana." Yankovic received permission from Nirvana to use this song.
For Yankovic's video, he incorporated all of the people who particpated
in the original Nirvana video, less the Nirvana members. "Come As You Are"
would later be featured on an Elvis Presley imitator CD, by a 31-year-old Belfast
postman by the name of James Brown, who credited his name as The King. His
album Gravelands would consist of songs by well-known artists who had
passed on, in the style of Elvis, and Brown's vocal abilities are quite accurate;
you could actually imagine that it is the real Elvis singing, if you just let your
imagination travel in that direction.
Other radio airplay favorites include "In Bloom," "Breed," and
"Lithium." "In Bloom" and "Breed" have the great
hard-rocking Grunge sound, where "Lithium" has a more accoustic soft
sound, which increases to its way into the hard-rock Alternative Grunge style.
We can also say the same for "Polly," having an accoustic sound, yet
its Unplugged sound continues throughout the entire length of the song.
"Territorial Pissings" and "Drain You" have the Alternative
meets Punk, giving Punk music an updated sound. "Lounge Act" continues
the Alternative Grunge sound, likewise "Stay Away" returns to the updated
Punk style. We can see the influence of the Sex Pistols in these songs, having
angry-man sounding vocals, hard-driving guitars and constant drumming.
"On A Plain" would define the sound of Alternative/Grunge bands that
would follow Nirvana. Having a more Rock and Grunge sound than the updated
merge with Punk, it would shape the foundations for future bands to
come in the style of Alternative/Grunge Rock. The album's closing tune is a
clocked as 20 minutes -- yet "Something In The Way" is actuall close to
a 4-minute song. There is dead silence until the 13:41 mark, where we hear
some "unusual" music, with primal screams, loud music, and a guitar riff having
a sound that could easily relate to a James Bond movie. This overall sound
would later be heard in future bands, such as Nine Inch Nails and Korn.
We'll call this track "13:41" where the music starts, and having no
actual title on the CD's liner notes, it's "Untitled" as well.
Nirvana wanted to display their interest in Punk music to a wider audience.
With Nevermind, not only would it relate to Punk, but it would create
a whole new sound, called Grunge, and become part of the Alternative Rock
environment. Nirvana would become an influence to many who would come after
them. Fans of Nirvana were looking to the future, until April 5, 1994, when
lead singer Kurt Cobain had taken his life, by shooting himself. We can only
imagine what Cobain and Nirvana's music would later become. Yet his music is
still influenced by many, Cobain left behind a trend that would become part
of the ever-changing world of popular music, and become an artist who would
spark that next chapter -- Alternative/Grunge Rock music, just like Elvis did
in the 1950s, and the Beatles in the Sixties.
Nevermind is truly considered one of the best albums ever made.
Ranked in the Top 10 on VH-1's Best Albums, many fans and critics can easily
agree that this album is a classic, and will influence far many more in years
to come.
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Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
DGC Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
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