Nevermind is the second and breakthough studio album by the American rock band Nirvana. The band's major label debut, it was released on September 24, 1991 on Geffen Records. Nevermind was a surprise success when it was released in the fall of 1991; by January 1992 it had knocked Michael Jackson's album Dangerous out of the top spot on the Billboard charts.

Nevermind not only popularized the Seattle grunge movement, but brought alternative rock as a whole into the mainstream, establishing its commercial and cultural viability.^[1] Nevermind has sold approximately 10 million copies in the United States,^[2] and over 26 million copies worldwide^[3] and is regarded by critics as one of the greatest albums ever released.

Background

Nirvana were a band from Washington, formed by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, that had signed to Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. The group released its debut album Bleach in 1989, with Chad Channing on drums. However, Channing soon left the band and the band was in need of a permanent drummer. After seeing a show by hardcore punk band Scream, Novoselic and Cobain were impressed by the group's drummer, Dave Grohl. Following Scream's unexpected disbanding, Grohl contacted Novoselic, made his way to Seattle, and was soon invited to join the band. Novoselic said in retrospect that when Grohl joined the band, everything "fell into place".^[4]

Meanwhile Cobain was writing a number of new songs. Feeling chaffed by the heavy detuned rock popular in the Seattle grunge scene and which Sub Pop had built its image upon, Cobain at the time was listening to bands like R.E.M., The Smithereens, and the Pixies, and began writing more melodic songs as a result. A key development was the single "Sliver", released on Sub Pop in 1990 (before Grohl joined the band), which Cobain said "was like a statement in a way. I had to write a pop song and release it on a single to prepare people for the next record. I wanted to write more songs like that."^[5] Grohl said that the band at that point often made the analogy of likening their music to children's music, in that the band tried to make them as simple as possible.^[4]

By the start of the 1990s Sub Pop was experiencing financial difficulties. With rumors that Sub Pop would sign up as a subsidiary for a major label, the band decided to "cut out the middleman" and start to look for a major label.^[4] A number of labels were trying to woo the group, but Nirvana ultimately signed with Geffen Records based upon the recommendation of their management, who also managed the band's idols (and recent Geffen signings) Sonic Youth, and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon.^[6]

Recording and production

In the spring of 1990, Nirvana began planning their second album for Sub Pop, tentatively titled Sheep. For the album, Sub Pop head Bruce Pavitt suggested Butch Vig as a potential producer.^[4] Nirvana particularly liked Vig's work with Killdozer and called Vig up to tell him, "We want to sound as heavy as that record."^[7] In April of 1990, the band travelled out to Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin to begin work on the album. Ultimately, seven songs were recorded: "Immodium" (later retitled "Breed"), "Dive" (later released as the b-side to "Sliver"), "In Bloom", "Pay to Play" (eventually renamed "Stay Away" and given a new set of lyrics), "Sappy", "Lithium", "Here She Comes Now" (released on Velvet Underground Tribute Album: Heaven and Hell Volume 1), and "Polly".^[8] The band had planned to record more tracks, but Cobain blew his voice out on "Lithium", forcing them to shut down recording. Vig was told that the band would come back to record more songs but didn't hear anything for a while.^[4] Instead, the band used the sessions as a demo tape to shop for a new label. Within a few months, the tape was circulating amongst major labels, creating a buzz around the group.^[9]

After signing to Geffen a number of producers for the album were suggested, including Scott Litt, David Briggs, and Don Dixon, but Nirvana held out for Vig.^[10] Novoselic noted in 2001 that the band was already nervous about recording on a major label, since the producers suggested wanted percentage points for the album, and they optioned for Vig, whom they felt comfortable collaborating with.^[11] Nirvana was afforded a budget of $65,000 to record the album and recorded the album at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California in May and June of 1991.^[12] Nirvana was originally set to record their album during March and April of 1991, but the date kept getting pushed back in spite of the band's anxiousness to begin the sessions. To pay for gas money to get to Los Angeles, the band played a show where they debuted "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time.^[4] Nirvana had sent Vig some rehearsal tapes prior to the sessions that featured the Smart Sessions songs along with some new ones, notably "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are".^[13]

When the band arrived in California they did a few days of pre-production where the band and Vig tightened up some of the song arrangements.^[14] The only recording carried over from the Smart Studios sessions was the song "Polly", which included cymbal crashes performed by Chad Channing. Once recording commenced, the band worked eight to ten hours a day. The band tended to take two or three tries at instrumental takes; if the takes weren't satisfactory at that point, they would move on to something else.^[15] The band had rehearsed the songs so much before recording started that often only a few takes were needed.^[11] Vig would later sequence the tracks by using an Akai sampler.^[16] Novoselic and Grohl finished their bass and drum track in a matter of days, but Cobain had to continue working for longer on guitar overdubs, singing, and particularly lyrics (which sometimes were finished mere minutes before recording).^[17] Cobain's phrasing was so consistent on various takes that Vig would mix the takes together to create overdubs.^[18] Vig often had to trick Cobain, who was averse to performing multiple takes, into recording additional takes for overdubs. In particular, Vig convinced Cobain to double-track his vocals on the song "In Bloom" by telling him "John Lennon did it."^[4] While the sessions went well generally, Vig said Cobain would become moody and difficult at times: "He'd be great for an hour, and then he'd sit in a corner and say nothing for an hour."^[7]

After the recording sessions were completed, Vig and the band set out to mix the album. However, after a few days, both Vig and the band realized that they were unhappy with how the mixes were turning out. As a result, they decided to call in someone else to oversee the mixing, with DGC supplying a list of possible options. The list contained several familiar names, including Scott Litt (known for his work with R.E.M.) and Ed Stasium (known for his work with The Smithereens). However, Cobain feared that bringing in known mixers would result in the album sounding like the work of those bands. He decided to choose the guy at the bottom of the list next to the name 'Slayer': Andy Wallace. (Wallace co-produced Slayer's 1990 album Seasons in the Abyss.)^[19]

Wallace brought to the album a completely different mindset, adding layers of reverb, drum sampling, and other studio trickery to give the album a glossy polish. A few months after the album's release, Cobain complained in the press that Wallace had made Nevermind sound too slick, even though Wallace had been his own choice and the band themselves had been involved in the mixing process.^[20] Cobain explained, "Looking back on the production of Nevermind, I'm embarrassed by it now. It's closer to a Mötley Crüe record than it is a punk rock record."^[21]

Some CD versions of Nevermind feature a hidden track called "Endless, Nameless", which begins at the 13:51 mark on track 12 (about 10 minutes after the end of "Something in the Way"). The improvised noise song was recorded after a particularly stressful take of "Lithium".^[22] The song was not on the album's first CD pressing, as the mastering engineer had thought he had reached the end of the album. For unknown reasons, the song was removed from American pressings of the disc in 1994 (year of Cobain's death), and all subsequent CD pressings have lacked the song.

At least three songs were recorded during the Nevermind sessions which didn't make the album's final cut: "Sappy", "Old Age", and "Verse Chorus Verse". The latter three were released on Nirvana's 2004 box set With the Lights Out. A fourth song, "Song in D", was also attempted, which may have been an early version of "All Apologies", which was released on In Utero two years later. Butch Vig maintains that "Song in D" was another song entirely, which was very reminiscent of R.E.M.^[23]

Release

Nevermind was released on September 24, 1991 with 46,251 copies of the album shipped to American record stores.^[24] The lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had been released on September 10th with the intention of being a base-building cut among alternative rock fans, while the next single "Come As You Are" would be the song that would possibly garner more attention.^[25] The band set out on a short American tour four days before the release date to support the album. Geffen Records hoped that Nevermind would sell around 250,000, which was the same level they had achieved with Sonic Youth's Geffen debut Goo.^[26] The best estimate was that if the band, the management, and the label all worked really hard, the record could possibly be certified gold by September of 1992.^[27]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at position 144, which was high enough for the album to also top the Heatseekers chart.^[28][29] Nevermind was already selling well, but over the next few months the album momentum increased significantly as "Smells Like Teen Spirit" unexpectedly became more and more popular. The song's video had received a world premiere on MTV's late night alternative show 120 Minutes but it soon proved so popular that the channel began playing it during the day.^[30] The record was soon certified gold, but the band was relatively disinterested by the achievement. Novoselic recalled, "Yeah I was happy about it. It was pretty cool. It was kind of neat. But I don't give a shit about some kind of achievement like that. It's cool--I guess."^[31]

As the band set out for their European tour at the start of November 1991, Nevermind entered the Billboard Top 40 for the first time at number 35. By this point "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had become a genuine hit and the album was selling so fast none of Geffen's marketing strategies aimed at different sales levels could be enacted. Geffen president Ed Rosenblatt told the New York Times, "We didn't do anything. It was just one of those 'Get out of the way and duck' records."^[32] Nirvana found as they toured Europe during the end of 1991 that the shows were dangerously oversold, television crews became a constant presence onstage, and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was almost omnipresent on radio and music television.^[33]

Nevermind became Nirvana's first #1 album on January 11, 1992, replacing Michael Jackson at the top of the Billboard charts.^[34] By this time Nevermind was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week.^[35] "Come As You Are" was finally released as the second single in March of 1992; it peaked at number 32 on the Billboard charts. Two more singles, "Lithium" and "In Bloom," were released from the album. Nevermind eventually spent two hundred and fifty-two weeks on the Billboard 200.^[36]

Nevermind was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA on November 27, 1991, and was certified Diamond on March 24, 1999.^[37] It was also certified Diamond in Canada (1,000,000 units) by the CRIA on March 19, 2001. [1]

Pressings and re-releases

In 1996, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released Nevermind on vinyl as part of their "ANADISQ 200" series, and as a 24-carat gold CD. The CD pressings included "Endless, Nameless." In 1999 the Nevermind album was re-released in a collectors box set with the 1993 album In Utero.

Music

Template:Sample box start Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end Nevermind is a two-faced album; on the one hand, the thick and aggressive nature of the arrangements were popular amongst many indie bands at the time, particularly with Mudhoney and other Sub Pop artists. On the other, the songs are exceptionally melodic, taking cues from the Pixies for their distinct vocal melodies and an instrumental interplay that emphasizes the melodies in all the instruments.^[38]

Imagery

Album cover

The Nevermind album cover shows a baby swimming toward a bill on a fishhook. According to Cobain, he conceived the idea while watching a television program on water births with Grohl. Cobain mentioned it to Geffen's art director Robert Fisher. The fishhook and dollar bill were also Cobain's idea, albeit initially suggested as a joke. Fisher found some stock footage of underwater births but they were too graphic, and the stock house that controlled the photo of a swimming baby they had settled on instead wanted $7,500 a year for its use. Instead, Fisher sent a photographer to a pool for babies to take pictures. Five shots were yielded and the band settled on the image of a three-month-old infant named Spencer Elden. However, there was some concern because Elden's penis was visible in the image. Geffen prepared an alternate cover without the penis, as they were afraid that it would offend people, but relented when Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis that would say "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile."^[39] The alternate cover image is featured in Michael Azerrad's Nirvana biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana.

The band shot some promotional images to accompany the album playing upon the cover's theme, featuring them swimming underwater. The imagery was revisited in the video for "Come as You Are."

In 1992, Weird Al Yankovic mimicked the cover for his album Off the Deep End. That version features Yankovic swimming toward a donut instead of a dollar.

Critical recognition

Nevermind was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.

Nevermind was listed #17 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, despite only getting three stars out of five when the magazine reviewed it originally in 1991. In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, and is also the newest album in the registry.

Track listing

1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain, Grohl, Novoselic) – 5:01
2. "In Bloom" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 4:14
3. "Come as You Are" (Cobain) – 3:39
4. "Breed" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:03
5. "Lithium" (Cobain) – 4:17
6. "Polly" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 2:57
7. "Territorial Pissings" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 2:22
8. "Drain You" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:43
9. "Lounge Act" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 2:36
10. "Stay Away" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:32
11. "On a Plain" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:16
12. "Something in the Way" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:55
    • "Endless, Nameless" (6:44) is a hidden track on some copies of the record. This brings the length of track 12 to 20:35, with the hidden track starting at 13:51

Charts

Album

Personnel

• Kurt Cobain (appears on the credits for the "Monkey Photo" as Kurdt Kobain) – vocals, guitar, photography
• Krist Novoselic (credited as "Chris" Novoselic) – bass guitar, vocals
• Dave Grohl – drums, vocals
• Nirvana – co-producers, engineers:
• Butch Vig – co-producer, engineer
• Kirk Canning – cello on "Something in the Way"
• Chad Channing – cymbals on "Polly" (uncredited; song recorded when he was still in the band)
• Jeff Sheehan – assistant engineer
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• Howie Weinberg – mastering
• Michael Lavine – photography
• Robert Fisher – artwork, art direction, design, cover design
• Craig Doubet – assistant engineer, mixing
• Kirk Weddle – cover photo
• Spencer Elden – baby on cover

Accolades

See also

• Nevermind Its an Interview
• Classic Albums - Nirvana - Nevermind

Notes

References

• Classic Albums--Nirvana: Nevermind [DVD]. Isis Productions, 2004.
• Azerrad, Michael. Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday, 1993. ISBN 0-385-47199-8
• Sandford, Christopher. Kurt Cobain. Carroll & Graff, 1995. ISBN 0-7867-1369-0

External links

• Nevermind at Last.fm
• Nevermind at Google Music