 | Tracklist:
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come As You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On A Plain
12. Something In The Way
12+ Endless, Nameless
| Ranking: #32 for 1991 | |
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On 102 Lists
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1 of 3 thought this review was well written
When the world got tired of the hair metal and MTV had no idea what to play, all of the sudden a Grunge band by the name of Nirvana with a whole new philosophy on how to make in their opinion what was good music. Nirvana exploded with there first single from there second album, Nevermind. The singles title was "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and it told the music industry that songs didn't always have to be about Sex, Money, and Drugs. But they can also be about personal problems, love, and many other things. Since the Metal industry was going absolutely nowhere Nirvana might as well have saved music. Now less songs are about sex, money, and drugs and more head into Nirvana's direction.
But considering my rating why is this considered one of the greatest albums of all time? This album did start a revolution of grunge music and speeded up the process of hair metal dying out, that's one of the reason it is considered a classic album. Another is the simple fact that Kurt Cobain passed away when Nirvana was at there peak of creating hits.
Ok, but that brings up two points, first off this album isn't one of the greatest albums of all-time. A few of the songs are classics: "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "In Bloom", "Come As You Are", and "Lithium", but besides that this album isn't nothing but power chords and mediocre lyrics. So it cannot be considered one of the greatest albums of all time. Second of all, if Kurt Cobain was alive today he would probably be making very bad music. Most people are biased and just looking at the impact of the singles from this album and call Cobain genius, that is pretty much a load of horse crap. If you look at Nirvana, all Cobain really did was write the music and he wasn't even that good at that. And as far as guitar goes he sucked. But the point about Nirvana music is really the only good album they had after this one is there live MTV album which was basically recorded when Kurt ran out of ideas.
The first few songs of this album is pretty good as I pointed out in the earlier paragraphs. But there is such a fall off after those tracks with songs like: " Territorial Pissing's" that are just the opposite of what you need to put out to the public if you want to make the nineteenth greatest album of all time. Kurt voice is at it's best on this album and there are some good guitar parts but overall this album this album is very mediocre.
Putting this album as the nineteenth greatest album of all-time might make this album in my opinion the most overrated album of all time. The band first five or six tracks on here are decent but the rest of the album is throw out the window garbage. The point is that putting this album ahead of "Dark Side Of The Moon" on the greatest albums of all-time list is crap. Pink Floyd's album was a well-produced collection of songs, and Nirvana's album was an album that anyone could make in two days.
In conclusion, this album is a decent album that could be a lot better. If Kurt and crew fed of the momentum of the first few tracks this album could be very good. But the last tracks sound very bad and the lyrical work is very bad. The instruments throughout this album is very so-so and so is Kurt's singing. If you want a good collection of Nirvana songs I would suggest buying the live album but this album really isn't to good.
The Sound: Kurt has a very dreary and deep voice, but what saves him is the rock-out style of Nirvana. They use power-chords and drums and play them as hard as they can to make sure Kurt's voice fits into the instruments. A may sound like a weird combination but most of the time it works out.
The Lyrics: Let's get this out the way: Kurt Cobain is not a better song writer than Bob Dylan. He writes good and catchy choruses and cute little rhymes that fit perfectly into the instrumental work. Really his best work is covering: "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" and the chorus in "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
The Impact: Nirvana will always be known for putting a end to the hair-metal phase that the music industry was going through with there single: "Smells Like Teen Spirit". They will also be one of the most controversial band's of all-time, or have the one of the most controversial lead singers of all-time. But in the end no matter how mediocre there music was Nirvana should get all the praise they can get for basically putting an end to metal and introducing a new kind of music to America and the World.
Pros:
Kurt's voice is perfect on this album
Good first few tracks
Cons:
Bad tracks after the first few tracks
This is not one of the greatest albums of all-time.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 2
Alright review. I really don't like Nirvana.
Digging: Converge - Axe To Fall | | |
Your last name is Chopin? That owns.
| | | Album Rating: 3
yes sir it is.
Digging: Cassino - Kingprince | | | Album Rating: 3
I just figured I had the album for a year and have been wanting to review it ever since, so I figured I finally would review it today.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Chopin pwns my boring last name... Harris 
Anyway, good review. I like this album a lot, got it almost a year ago and recently started getting into it again.
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in utero adds a lot of longevity to this band after you lose interest in nevermind imo, by the way chpin that was a "showstoppin"review!(cringe)
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This album bores me now. On A Plain I still like though. Congrats on the 11th review on this album.
Digging: Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill | | | Album Rating: 3.5
i acutally like the last few tracks
alright reveiw im not gonna pos or neg
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Oh my god, how hard is this review to read. There are words missing and others repeated everywhere. I think your comma key must be broken, because there is a destinct lack of those too.
Grammar aside, I think your review was flawed in other ways. Kurt Cobain did not set out to be the rock god he has become. This is the most popular theory behind his suicide (other than Courtney knocking him off...), that he struggled to handle the success. He did not sit down and try to write the greatest album the world has ever seen, and got really dissapointed when it only came in 19th (if he were still alive that is). I think he tried to write songs he liked, which were about how he felt, put them out to the world, and found a hatful of people who identified with his music.
He may not have been the most talented guitarist but it did the job, especially on some songs on this album and many on the next. If you look at their three main studio records you can see progression and maturity from Bleach, to this, and on to In Utero. I think if he were alive Nirvana's music would have gotten better and better.
This album is a monolith from the 90's. You say one of the factors to this album is success is Kurt's death. I won't argue that dying is financially benificial (eg. Elvis) but this album was the biggest thing since *enter sliced bread, the wheel, fire* at the time. It influenced so many other people musically with ripoffs springing up all over the world, and its effect still being heard now 15 years on (oh my god, has it been that long?!?) with bands like Nickelback (slow verse, heavy chorus combo).This Message Edited On 07.30.06
Digging: Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along The Highway
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Chopin. A cool name it is.
No one ripped Nirvana off. Most bands have vastly more talent, so I doubt it.
Now, I'm not going to be like Metallica haters and bash this album without giving it its credit. It did inspire many people and bands, the band was huge and is still just as popular, and they left an imprint on rock music. But when someone preaches that stuff constantly about Nirvana, their music dismisses all of that for me. The music is bad IMO. Dave is the only guy I like from Nirvana, and he shouldn't even drum. His role in FF for example is done well. Also, when I see kids that worship him, it's like worshipping a beginner on guitar. I wish people wouldn't put so much into Kurt and just like the music, in which I don't.
Digging: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
| | | Album Rating: 3
I honestly think that I am one of the last people on earth who thinks of this as a genuine masterpiece from one of the most important and greatest bands ever..........
But anyways, I can understand why people who are more into metal hate nirvana. It's not technical music by any means. But I think what Kurt Cobain portrayed in his music is a lesson I will take to my grave, and that is important to me at least. You don't need to have the most technical guitar or the fastest drums, as long as you write great songs. I mean nothing against people who think technicality in music is what makes it great, and I'm a huge fan of Clapton, Zeppelin, Metallica, etc..... I just think that you don't have to be the most talented person at your instrument to write great songs. I mean, look at Yngwie Malmsteen, possibly the most talented guitar play to ever live, but can't write for shit!
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Well, the lack of technicality is what turns me off mainly. After I look past the horrid vocals and lame lyrics, then comes the musicianship. It was like they were trying to do the bare minimum. I'm not specifically comparing them to any metal band I listen to, because then most of the bands I listen to wouldn't seem so good at playing what they play. So I am judging only on what I hear when I listen to Nirvana. And I don't like it.
I agree with the above statement about technicality isn't needed to write a good song, I just think Nirvana lacked in both departments.
| | | Album Rating: 3
And I completely respect your opinion.
Cobains lyrics and voice are definitely an aquired taste.
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It seems so.
It's good to see a fan of Nirvana like Metallica. I haven't met a person like that before. Ever. It's always one or the other.
| | | Album Rating: 5
This reviewer doen't know what he's talking about. The ability to write a great song does not necessitate fancy guitar playing or "intelligent" lyrics about undying love or world politics. Almost all of the greatest songs in history are simple, both lyrically and musically and Kurt Cobain had the passion and ability to apply this model to a hard rock format. If you ask anyone who has started playing guitar in the last ten years what the first song they learnt was, Smells Like Teen Spirit is pretty likely to be top of the list, followed by many of the other songs on this album - including the ones which our reviewer didn't seem to think worthy of mention. There is a good reason for that and it's not just because they are easy to play.This Message Edited On 07.31.06This Message Edited On 07.31.06This Message Edited On 07.31.06
| | | Album Rating: 5
With regard to Kurt Cobain's lyrics, they often represent an attempt to empathise with his own state of mind, i.e. he was writing the songs for himself rather than the listener, thus explaining the potential difficulty of understanding them from our point of view. That and the fact that most of the time he's half singing and half screaming.
This Message Edited On 07.31.06
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There is a good reason for that and it's not just because they are easy to play.
I'm afraid it is.
Digging: Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
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Usually people learn SLTS because of it's simplicity. I have seen people (beginners) that can't play anything at all really, but can play that whole song, "solo" included.
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Aren't there enough reviews for this already? This Message Edited On 07.31.06
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No, the point of the site is to review. There isn't a rule against multiple reviews.
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