Only a band like Nirvana could have made a B-sides and rarities album into an essential buy. Usually one of the most thoroughly useless devices of the music industry, the «scrap» album is widely regarded as a «diehard-fans only» addition to a group’s collection. Everyone who is either curious or just a casual fan will find little to no interest in such a release.
Now enter
Incesticide. An album where some of the songs are actually better (or at least as good as) some of the songs on Nirvana’s other releases. Where does it fit into the logic? Answer: as often happens with Kurt and Co, it doesn’t. The best way to consider
Incesticide is as the never-released fourth Nirvana full-length album. Or rather, their third, since this album fills the gap between
Nevermind and
In Utero. What it consists of is basically a series of outtakes, covers and discarded songs from the recording sessions of both
Bleach and
Nevermind, in a total of 15 songs. Of course, when you have this many songs in an album, it’s hard to keep the quality standards, but Nirvana almost pull it off. Almost.
The album kicks off with
Dive. Introduced by a catchy Krist Novoselic bassline, this song would have fitted right in
Nevermind, although its somewhat raspy guitar sound is trademark
Bleach. It’s a really fun song, with great drumming and an excellent chorus:
Dive, dive, dive, drowning me . All in all, a very good song and an excellent way to start off the album. (4,5/5)
Up next is perhaps the greatest bassline in Nirvana history, and one of my personal favourites to play. It creates the basic melody for
Sliver, in my opinion the second best Nirvana song, after maybe
Teen Spirit. But let me tell you, it gives the mega-hit a serious run for its money. Everything, from the genius naïve lyrics to Kurt singing in a childish voice to match them, to the so-simple-yet-so-brilliant drum break on the chorus, is utterly perfect. I admit I’m totally biased towards this song, I just think it’s so perfect, but believe me: it’s worth hearing. Absolutely the high point of this album.
Grandma take me home/Wanna be alone. (5/5)
The run of good songs continues with
Stain. This features another great, catchy riff and an equally good chorus. Once again, it’s a simple but very fun song. The lyrics are excellent, dumb but very funny:
Quote:
Well he never bleeds and he never ***s
And he never leaves 'cause he's got bad luck.
Well he never reads and he never draws.
And he never sleeps 'cause he's got bad luck, yeah
I’m a Stain…
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A Nobel prize it may not be, but it sure is funny. All this is topped by an excellent, typically Cobainesque guitar solo. Worth a listen. (4,5/5)
Been a Son is another moment of sheer genius. The riffs are once again mind-numbingly simple, but really catchy, and the lyrics are as interesting as always:
Quote:
She should have stayed away from friends
She should have had more time to spend
She should have died when she was born
She should have worn the crown of thorns
She should have-been a son
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In other words, it’s about a mother who wishes her only daughter was a son. The solo is also excellent, very minimal but haplessly interesting. All in all, this is another song worthy of a (5/5)
Turnaround begins a series of three songs the kind that Nirvana does best: obscure covers, «Nirvanized» and brought to a wider audience. These songs are so obscure that sometimes they get referred to as Nirvana songs, because most people know the Nirvana version rather than the original one. Of the three included on this album, this is the least interesting. It’s a Devo cover, driven by a quite interesting bassline, and it sports a catchy chorus, but…there’s something missing. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but the fact is that, of the first eight songs on the album, this is the worst. Still quite decent, though. (3,5/5)
Fortunately,
Molly’s Lips is much better. The first of the two Vaselines covers is once again driven by a numb-skulledly simple guitar riff (it never EVER changes in the course of the song) and the lyrics are all of three lines:
She said, she’d take me anywhere, she’d take me anywhere, as long as she stays with me/ She said, she’d take me anywhere, she’d take me anywhere, as long as I stay clean/ Kiss, kiss, Molly’s lips. Silly, yes, but really fun. This is in fact one of my favourite songs to jump around to in the bedroom. The downside? No solo, but then again, it wasn’t necessary. Very good song. (4,5/5)
But in what concerns the covers, Nirvana have saved the best for last:
Son Of A Gun, another Vaselines cover, is a relentless, thumping stormer of a punk song, sure to leave your brain boggled and your neck sore. Dave Grohl keeps the beat going strong all the time, allowing for only the briefest of fills amidst the «thud-thud-thud» of his double bass. Kurt rips with sharp-edged punk riffs and his trademark vocals. As for Dave, he is barely audible, but keeps time steadily. An excellent song, and a frequent replay on this album.
Son of a gun’s in the bathroom/When we play/The raining always stops/When we go away! (5/5)
After
Son, it would be hard to keep the stream of good songs flowing, but believe it or not, Nirvana pull it off. Sure, track #8 is merely a punk re-hash of their megahit
Polly, but this new version (entitled
(New Wave) Polly really delivers the goods. Sure, the denomination is ultra-dumb, but the speeding-up of the song’s tempo works to its advantage: I daresay this version is better than the one on
Nevermind. Of course, making it faster means Kurt can’t have the laid-back attitude he showed on the original version: here, his delivery is almost breathless, as he crams the words into the tight instrumentation. Once again, Grohl reigns supreme, allowing for only short fills to interfere with his drumming. As for Novoselic, he once again takes a back seat to his mates. A great, great song.
Isn’t me/Haven’t seed. (5/5)
The next song is
Beeswax, and it almost disrupts the run of great songs that has been going on since the start of the album. With its sludgy pace, it’s clearly an outtake from
Bleach, and it would have fitted wonderfully on that album. Everything’s here: fuzzy guitars, spaced-out vocals, an ever more spaced out solo and jazzy psychedelic drumming from the great Chad Channing. However, there’s something missing on this song, just like there had been on
Turnaround. Don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t reach the quality of the previous songs.
I got my diddly spayed (3/5)
The next song is the most puzzling one on the album. It’s
Downer, from
Bleach, with absolutely no changes made whatsoever in regard to the «original». If you know
Downer, you know what to expect, it’s still a great song, but…what’s it doing here?!
Hold me now in restitution/Living out your date of fusion/In our whole fleece is your master/Don't feel guilty, master writing (4,5/5)
Mexican Seafood finishes the unbeaten run, as it is no more than a filler song. Once again, it’s sludgy and spaced-out, and it has a decent chorus, but the verse section is very uninteresting, even dull. Sorry guys, no show this time.
Only hurts when I, when I pee (2/5)
Haispray Queen is another puzzling song, but for different reasons: Kurt’s voice sounds completely off the hook on this one. Instead of his usual husky deliver, the way-past-weird Nirvana singer comes across sounding like Bobcat Goldthwaite! This, however, is what makes the song so cool, because otherwise it’s just a regular Nirvana song. Sometimes it’s good to be weird…
I was you mine, you were mine (4/5)
Unfortunately, just like a football team that falters on the final quarter, so this album sees its wonderful streak of top-notch songs end. The remaining three songs range between average and uninteresting, and never capture what made the ones in the first half so interesting. The first is
Aero Zeppelin, another slab of droning white noise where the most interesting feature is the title (AEROsmith + Led ZEPPELIN, get it?). Everything else about this song is forgettable and this is a definite skip victim.
The’ll be fans, they’ll be fans (1/5)
Big Long Now is another distortion-driven snore-a-thon. It’s quite a long song, and it drags on quite a bit, especially because it’s not a ballad and the rhythm is so slow. Still, it’s a good indication as to where the inspiration for groups like Sunn O))) came from. Not as good in the song department, though.
I am blind (1/5)
Fortunately, the album closes up decently enough with
Aneurysm. This song is quite a big hit, and a lot of people love it, though I can’t understand why that is. It’s just another average Nirvana songs, with all the elements included therein. It’s got a better chorus than any of the previous two, though. More
Nevermind than
Bleach, if you get my drift. A decent enough closer for an excellent album.
Meet me, aneurysm! (3/5)
All in all, this could perfectly have been a full-length Nirvana release. It’s as essential as any of them, and just as entertaining. In fact, the only reasons why you can’t consider this a «real» release are revolving cast of musicians (including Mudhoney drummer and early Nirvana member Dale Crover), the wobbly production values (different sessions, folks) and the fact that you can clearly distinguish between the outtakes from
Bleach and those from
Nevermind. The first are fuzzier, and the production is thicker; the second are more light-hearted in both aspects. Still, it remains an essential buy for all rock fans.
Recommended Tracks:
Sliver
Been a Son
Son of a Gun
(New Wave) Polly
