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Nevermind is the second studio album from the American grunge band, Nirvana. It was released in September 1991.
Overview
Nevermind catapulted Nirvana from relative obscurity to the heights of commercial and critical success virtually overnight. It radically altered the musical landscape, shifting the focus away from the hair metal of the 1980s, and giving rise to the Seattle, Washington-based grunge movement which dominated the first few years of the 1990s. In the wake of its success, other Seattle bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains would go on to have hit albums as well, and other alternative rock artists were suddenly being played on the radio and courted by record labels.
Nevermind was produced by Butch Vig and mixed by Andy Wallace, who crafted the band's distorted guitars, pounding drums, rumbling bass and cathartic vocals into an album which appealed to a wide audience, and set the standard for rock music throughout the 1990s. Singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain would later express dissatisfaction with the album's "slick", radio-friendly production, but also admitted in Michael Azerrad's 1993 Nirvana biography, Come as You Are, that listening to the album sometimes moved him to tears.
Nevermind reached #1 on Billboard Music Chart's Top 200 albums and the Heatseekers chart. It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
Nevermind was listed #17 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, despite only getting three stars out of five when this magazine reviewed it originally in 1991.
Nevermind was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA on November 27, 1991.
Singles
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released as Nevermind's first single in September 1991. The single features "Drain You," "Even in His Youth" and "Aneurysm" as b-sides. The song, and its accompanying music video depicting a high school pep rally gone awry, played a significant role in the album's surprising success.
The second single was for "Come as You Are," and features "Endless, Nameless" and live versions of "Drain You" and "School" as b-sides. It was released in March 1992. The third single was for "Lithium," and was released in July 1992. It features a live version of "Been a Son," as well as "Curmudgeon" and "D-7," as b-sides. Nevermind's fourth and final single was for "In Bloom," released in November 1992 and featuring live versions of "Sliver" and "Polly" as b-sides.
Album cover
The now-legendary Nevermind 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 drummer Dave Grohl. The fishhook and bill were also Cobain's idea, and were superimposed later. The infant is then-three-month-old Spencer Elden.
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, accusing anyone who was offended of being a "closet pedophile". The alternate cover image is featured in Come as You Are.
Trivia
- 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 semi-improvised "noise" song was recorded after a particularly stressful take of "Lithium". The song was omitted from the album's first CD pressing due to a technical error. For unknown reasons, the song was removed from American pressings of the disc in 1994 (year of Cobain's death), and all subsequent American 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 two were released on Nirvana's 2004 box set With the Lights Out. A fourth song, "Song in D", may also have been attempted. However, there is a possibility that "Song in D" was simply an early version of "All Apologies", which was released on In Utero two years later.
- Dave Grohl is the only member of Nirvana who likes Nevermind better than In Utero (the follow up to Nevermind).
Pressings
In 1996, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released Nevermind on vinyl as part of their "ANADISQ 200" series, and as a 24-carat gold CD. These pressings included "Endless, Nameless."
Track listing
- "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain/Grohl/Novoselic) – 5:02
- "In Bloom" (Cobain) – 4:15
- "Come as You Are" (Cobain) – 3:39
- "Breed" (Cobain) – 3:04
- "Lithium" (Cobain) – 4:17
- "Polly" (Cobain) – 2:56
- "Territorial Pissings" (Cobain) – 2:23
- "Drain You" (Cobain) – 3:44
- "Lounge Act" (Cobain) – 2:37
- "Stay Away" (Cobain) – 3:33
- "On a Plain" (Cobain) – 3:17
- "Something in the Way" (Cobain) – 3:51
- "Endless, Nameless" is a hidden track on some copies of the record. This brings the length of Track 12 to 20:35.
Samples
Accolades
- Ranked #1 in Spin's "90 Greatest Albums of the 90s" (1999)
- Ranked #1 in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Albums of the 90s" (2000)
- Ranked #17 in Colin Larkin's "All-time Top 1000 Albums" (2000)
- Ranked #3 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" (2001)
- Ranked #2 in VH1's Top 100 Albums (2001)
- Album cover ranked #3 in VH1's Greatest Album Covers (2003)
- Ranked #17 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2003)
- Ranked #6 in Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (Redux)" (2004) *
- Ranked #1 in MuchMoreMusic's "40 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years" (2004)
- Ranked #3 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005" (2005)
Personnel
- Kurt Cobain (appears on the credits for the "Monkey Photo" as Kurdt Kobain) - Vocals, Guitar, Photography
- Krist Novoselic - Bass guitar, Vocals
- Dave Grohl - Drums, Vocals
- Nirvana - co-producers, engineers
with
- 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
Charting singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 7 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 5 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 7 |
| 1991 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 7 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 9 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 11 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 28 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | The Billboard Hot 100 | No. 6 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | The Billboard Hot 100 | No. 32 |
| 1992 | Lithium | The Billboard Hot 100 | No. 64 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 7 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 16 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 5 |
| 1991 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 25 |
| 1992 | On a Plain | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 25 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Hot Dance Music/Club Play (US) | No. 14 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (US) | No. 27 |
| 1991 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Sweden Singles Chart | No .3 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Sweden Singles Chart | No .24 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Official Sweden Singles Chart | No. 30 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Switzerland Singles Chart | No. 6 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Switzerland Singles Chart | No. 21 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Austrian Singles Chart | No. 8 |
| 1992 | Come as You are | Official Austrian Singles Chart | No. 28 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Italian singles Chart | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Italian Singles Chart | No. 8 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official Italian Singles Chart | No. 16 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 5 |
| 1992 | Come as you Are | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 25 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 53 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 75 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official German Singles Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official German Singles Chart | No. 22 |
| 1991 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Holland Singles Charts | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Holland Singles Charts | No. 14 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official Holland Singles Charts | No. 16 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Official Holland Singles Charts | No. 87 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Norway Singles Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Belgium Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Belgium Singles Chart | No. 15 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official Belgium Singles Chart | No. 28 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official French Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official French Singles Chart | No. 12 |
| 1991 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official Spanish Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official Spanish Singles Chart | No. 16 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official Spanish Singles Chart | No. 13 |
| 1992 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Come as You Are | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 3 |
| 1992 | Lithium | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 28 |
| 1992 | In Bloom | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 20 |
Album charts
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Nevermind | The Billboard 200 | No. 1 |
| 1991 | Nevermind | Heatseekers | No. 1 |
| 1991 | Nevermind | Official Finland Album Charts | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Portugal Album Charts | No. 1 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Holland Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Australian Albums Charts | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Switzerland Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Austrian Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Norwegian Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official New Zealand Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Spanish Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official German Albums Chart | No. 3 |
| 1991 | Nevermind | Official UK Albums Chart | No. 7 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Hungarian Albums Chart | No. 12 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Sweden Albums Chart | No. 13 |
| 1992 | Nevermind | Official Japanese Albums Chart | No. 24 |
Sales
- American sales: 1995; 10 million units (Diamond)
- UK sales: 600 thousand units (Double Platinum)
- Canadian sales: 1 million units (Diamond)
- French sales: 1997; 1,500,000 (Diamond)
- Japanese sales: 7 November 1991 16 weeks, 120,270
- Switzerland: 1992;Gold ,1992;Platinum.
- New Zealand: 1992; Platinum.
- Spain: 1992; Platinum.
Re-releases
In 1999 the Nevermind album was re-released in a collectors box set with the 1993 album In Utero.
See also
External links
- Nevermind Lyrics - Nirvana
- The Kurt's Equipment FAQ
- Live Nirvana Sessions History - Nevermind
- Nirvana Forums — A popular Nirvana discussion community.
United States National Recording Registry | 1991 albums | Albums with hidden tracks | Nirvana albums | Major label debuts
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"Nevermind"