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Nirvana released Nevermind on September 24, 1991 with 46,251 copies of the album shipped to American record stores and 35,000 copies were shipped in the UK, where Nirvana’s previous album, Bleach, had been successful.

Nirvana’s first album, Bleach, was a heavy affair, influenced by both Chris Novoselic (whose real name is Krist Novoselic, which he also used on some releases) and Kurt Cobain’s love of The Melvins. Along with many of The Melvins records, Sub Pop released Bleach. It went on to become moderately successful on college radio and in the UK.

After Bleach, as Nirvana worked on the demos in Butch Vig’s studio in Wisconsin, the songs Nirvana were coming up with for their next album were more melodic. Kurt Cobain said, “The early songs were really angry … But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier.” This did not sit well with Chad Channing, Nirvana’s drummer from Bleach, who became disillusioned with the sound and his exclusion from the songwriting process. After the demos Chad Channing was fired.

Nirvana hired Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters, to record and release the song “Sliver” on Sub Pop, a sign of the sound to come. However this did not last long and Nirvana were left looking for another drummer.

Buzz Osbourne of the Melvins had introduced Nirvana to Dave Grohl, who was looking for a new band following the break-up of his band Scream, a hardcore punk band. A few days after arriving in Seattle, Chris Novoselic and Kurt Cobain auditioned Dave Grohl, with Chris Novoselic later stating, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”

The recruitment of Dave Grohl, along with the release of Sliver, was a pivotal moment for Nirvana. Sliver did not fit with the typical Sub Pop sound and on learning that Sub Pop’s financial worries meant they were looking to be taken over by a major label anyway, Kurt Cobain took Nirvana to Geffen Records on Kim Gordon’s recommendation.

Butch Vig’s  services were retained for the album and with a budget of $65,000, Nirvana recorded Nevermind at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California in May and June 1991.

Geffen Records hoped that Nevermind would sell around 250,000 copies. 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.

As Nirvana 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 January 11, 1992 Nevermind became Nirvana’s first number one album, replacing Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at the top of the Billboard charts. Nevermind eventually spent two hundred and fifty-two weeks on the Billboard 200. 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.”

When you now listen Nirvana’s Nevermind it is hard to understand the fuss. The problem is not Nevermind’s greatness, it is simply that everybody who has picked up a guitar since then has been influenced by them at best and ripped them off at worst.

You need to go back to the time Nevermind was released. The 1980s rock scene had descended into farce, with bands seemingly more interested in their hair than even sex, drugs or rock and roll. Even those that cared about their music had found their own decadence in 45 minute long guitar solos, which seemed to punctuate every live show I saw back then.

Kurt Cobain although reportedly originally happy with Andy Wallace’s mixes, later disparagingly described it as “a Motley Crue record”. It is true that there is a sheen that you do not hear on a Pixies or Smithereens record, but Nevermind was as far removed from what was on the rock scene at the time as their 1970s punk predecessors were to the hippy and prog-rock artists of their time. No polished guitar solos and big-hair, just stripped back songs played with passion or “Bay City Rollers getting molested by Black Flag” as Kurt Cobain described it.

Whatever it was, the music world was never going to be the same.

Track Listing

All songs were written by Kurt Cobain, except where noted.

1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Kurt Cobain , Chris Novoselic, Dave Grohl) – 5:01
2. “In Bloom” – 4:14
3. “Come as You Are” – 3:39
4. “Breed” – 3:03
5. “Lithium” – 4:17
6. “Polly” – 2:57
7. “Territorial Pissings” – 2:22
8. “Drain You” – 3:43
9. “Lounge Act” – 2:36
10. “Stay Away” – 3:32
11. “On a Plain” – 3:16
12. “Something in the Way” – 3:55
    * “Endless, Nameless” (6:44) is a hidden track on some copies of the record.

Nirvana

• 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

Crew

• 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 – infant in cover photo

Release Information

Nevermind was originally released on September 24, 1991 on Geffen Records in the US and on Polydor Records in the UK.

References

• Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain
• Nirvana: Nevermind (Classic Rock Albums)
• Mojo
• Q Magazine
• Classic Rock

Dave Grohl Arrives in Seattle

On September 21st, 1990 Krist Novoselic and Kurt Cobain picked Dave Grohl up from Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport. He stayed with Kurt Cobain in his “Hellhole” apartment in Olympia and auditioned for the band a few days later. He got the job, with Krist Novoselic later stating, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”

This search had been a long and tortuous one and came at the end of a frustrating summer for Nirvana.

Aaron Buckhard, Nirvana’s first Drummer

Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic had got together and started playing. In early 1987 they started playing with a neighborhood kid called Aaron Buckhard. There was no audition, as Aaron put it, “They said they needed a drummer and I was a drummer”

However by October 1987 Aaron Buckhard, got a new job as assistant manager of Aberdeen’s Burger King. With the job taking up more of his time he was not prepared to make the trip to Nirvana’s rehersal space in Krist’s basement in Tacoma and he was out of Nirvana. “I thought Kurt’s songs were great, but I never thought there would be a market for them”, said Aaron Buckhard later.

In an attempt to find a new drummer Kurt (or Kurdt as he spelled his name then) decided to place an advert in the Seattle Rocket for a drummer -

By December they still had not found a drummer so started rehearsing with Dale Grover as an interim solution. Soon after they went into Reciprocal Studios with Jack Endino to record their first demo. However in January Dale Grover left to go back to play with the Melvins again soon after Kurt’s 21st birthday.

Before leaving Dale Grover had recommended a hard-living drummer by the name of Dave Foster to Kurt and Krist.

Dave Foster did not look like a the Washington punk that Kurt wanted, but when he mentioned that Dave should, “Get with it” he got and angry retort, “It’s not fair to make fun of the short-haired guy, I’ve got a job!”

He also had the misfortune to get into a fight and beat up the son of the mayor of Cosmopolis. So along with 2 weeks in jail, losing his driver’s license and having to pay thousands for his victim’s medical expenses he was also fired from Nirvana. In actual fact he was not fired, Kurt simply stopped asking him along to practices and asked Chad Channing instead.

Chad Channing

Chad Channing joined Nirvana as things began to happen for them. They recorded “Love Buzz” the first single released on Sub Pop’s record of the month club and their debut album “Bleach” also for Sub Pop. They also embarked on a tour across the US in the back of a van and the relationship between Kurt and Chad began to break down.

By the time Nirvana went to Madison to record the follow up to “Bleach” with Butch Vig at his Smart Studios, although the two respected each other, they could not find common ground on a musical level. He and Kurt’s relationship became very strained during the sessions in Madison.

Kurt had often complained that he was the focal point of the band, with all the stress on him, but whenever Chad had offered to help with the song writing process his ideas had always been ignored, which irked him. Also Chad’s style of drumming did not gel with the music Kurt wanted to make. “Chad was a softer style drummer, but he changed to become harder and more rhythmic.” said Krist Novoselic, “He didn’t like doing that.”

Soon after the Smart Studios sessions at the end of May, Chad Channing left Nirvana.

The Hunt for a Drummer Continues

Nirvana used Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters, to record and release the song “Sliver” on Sub Pop (ironically one of the only songs with a writing credit for Chad Channing), with “Dive” from the Smart sessions on the B-side (you can find both on “Incesticide”) However this was only a temporary arrangement and Nirvana were left looking for another drummer.

, who was looking for a new band following the break-up of his band Scream, a Washington hardcore punk band. The

Dave Grohl Joins Nirvana

Dave Grohl’s band Scream had split up mid-tour in LA. Dave Grohl found himself a long way from home in Washington DC, and Dave Grohl did not have the money to get back to the east coast. So he called his friend Buzz Osbourne of the Melvins, who was living in LA and he introduced Dave to Nirvana.

Nirvana had seen Scream play in San Francisco and liked the way Grohl played, Kurt Cobain frequently compared him favorably with Led Zeppelin’s legendary sticksman, John Bonham. Very quickly he gelled with Nirvana and their summer of frustrations with being unable to play and problems with Sub Pop was at an end.

Now Nirvana were a band again and they set off on a tour of Europe during the fall of 1990. It would also not be long before they had sorted the issues with their record label to as they were now actively pursuing a major label deal.

References

• Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain
• Nirvana: Nevermind (Classic Rock Albums)
• Mojo
• Q Magazine
• Classic Rock

Nirvana prepare to make the follow-up to “Bleach“

Nirvana had released their debut album “Bleach” in 1989, which went on to become Sub Pop’s biggest seller and popular with college radio and in the UK. Even though Sub Pop were going through some financial difficulties, they knew they had to get Nirvana back into the studio to record a new album as the likely sales were needed to keep them afloat. So as spring 1990 came in, Nirvana were to make their second album for Sub Pop, speculatively titled “Sheep”.

Butch Vig

Although it was Sub Pop co-founder Jonathan Poneman’s idea to use Butch Vig on “Sheep”, he was well known to the members of Nirvana, having produced their friends Tad and Killdozer, whose sound they liked and would ask Butch Vig to recreate for them.

Also, when Jonathan Poneman called Butch Vig to propose that he produce the new Nirvana album for Sub Pop he found Butch Vig very receptive to the idea. Butch Vig was keen to work with Sub Pop as he was well aware of their standing in the independent music world, “I wanted to work with Sub Pop because I knew they were a cool label” he later recalled.

Nirvana Record “Sheep” with Butch Vig at Smart Studios

Having played a gig the night before in Chicago, Nirvana drove down to Madison, Butch Vig’s home and the location of Smart Studios, in early April 1990. Sub Pop did not have the money to pay them advances, so Nirvana were reliant on gigs to pay their living expenses and were booked to start a 6 week tour on April 10th in Ann Arbor, so Nirvana knew they had to work fast to get all the tracks done.

Unlike “Bleach”, where the songs were finished and had been well rehearsed before entering the studio, Nirvana’s new songs were not yet finished. Nirvana had been touring extensively and not had the time to sit down and thresh them out, although most of the arrangements had been solidified through playing at sound checks and in some cases, live. However most were lacking completed lyrics.

So Nirvana went to work on “Sheep” with Butch Vig at his Smart Studios in Wisconsin feeling under prepared and under pressure.

Butch Vig and Nirvana soon struck up a good rapport. Nirvana were not used to people bringing ideas to them about how to record and Butch Vig had the knack of doing this without seeming overbearing. He had experience getting the type of sound Nirvana wanted and went out of his way to try to capture the intensity of Nirvana’s live performances to the point of putting sheets of plywood around the studio to try to get a sound closer to that in a club. He also pushed Cobain’s pop sensibility.

The songs Kurt Cobain was coming up with were more melodic and poppy than those on “Bleach”. Kurt had been torn between his heavy, punk roots and this new direction, but Butch Vig thought this was the way to go and told Kurt, “You have a genius for doing this. Don’t ignore it, it is beautiful”. However Nirvana felt nervous about both the unfinished nature and the differences between this new material compared to “Bleach”. This all left them unsure which to tackle first and which to leave alone.

For all Nirvana’s early nervousness, Butch Vig was impressed at how focused the arrangements were, especially since several of the songs had never been played live before.

Doug Olsen, the engineer at Smart Studios for the sessions, was also amazed at how certain Kurt Cobain was about what he wanted. When he offered him what he thought was a better Marshall valve amp to use over Kurt’s transistorized Sunn he was greeted with an acerbic, “No, I don’t want to do that…”

The Songs that became the “Nevermind” Demos

By the end of the week they had recorded eight tracks, seven of Kurt’s compositions and a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Here She Comes Now”

In Bloom

In Bloom remained almost identical to the version that appeared on “Nevermind“, although it was completely re-recorded. On the original version there was a bridge, which after recording they decided they did not like, so the section was cut out and that is how the song remained.

The only area that showed any real change was the drumming. Dave Grohl’s no nonsense style on the “Nevermind” version is starkly different to the more complex fills employed by Chad Channing and highlighted one of the reasons he and Nirvana would later part ways.

Dive

Dive was a live favorite for Nirvana, a bass driven track that did not make it to “Nevermind” but was released as the B-side to Sliver (and appears on Incesticide)

Lithium

Lithium was another track that made it to “Nevermind“, but the Smart Studios recording was a fraught affair. Chad Channing and Kurt Cobain’s visions of what the drumming should be differed, and it came to a head on the recording of Lithium. Kurt grabbed the sticks and showed Chad what he wanted. Chad had been feeling under appreciated and this was another sleight he felt and would contribute to their worsening relationship.

Imodium

Imodium was the name of a diarrhoea treatment that Tad Doyle of Tad used while Nirvana toured with them in Europe. The track became “Breed” on “Nevermind“, possibly to avoid legal problems with McNeil Healthcare, the makers of Imodium.

Pay To Play

This song became “Stay Away” on “Nevermind“. Musically it changed little, with the addition of a tighter ending and Dave Grohl’s more streamlined drumming.
The original lyrics refer to the practice of many club owners to force bands that played at their club to buy a quantity of tickets upfront, which they would have to sell to their fans to make any money. Kurt thought this practice was reprehensible, but also felt that the people that went along with it were simply sheep, hence the lyrics “Monkey See Monkey Do, I Don’t Know Why, Walk Around I Follow You”

Sappy

Originally titled “Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus” due to it’s simple structure, Sappy would be revisited during the “Nevermind” sessions but it did not make the album.

Polly

Polly is the only track where the original Smart Studios recordings made it to “Nevermind“. The haunting track was, according to Butch Vig, in half an hour flat on a beaten up, cheap, 5 string acoustic guitar (apparently the strings were as old as the guitar as they had never been changed!) Vig, just set up a microphone and recorded it.

Kurt had tuned the guitar down a semi-tone from E, but the guitar was horrible, with duct tape holding the tuning keys in place. The basic take was recorded with Kurt and Krist playing live and they got a take that was hauntingly beautiful, if a little out of tune. However Kurt was impatient and did not want to try for another take, so this was the take that the song was built on using overdubs.

The overdubbed cymbal accents, the only percussion on the track, are the only contribution of Chad Channing that makes it onto “Nevermind“.

The song was based on the case of Gerald Friend. Friend was a 49 year old who was convicted on August 19, 1987 of kidnapping, raping and torturing a teenage girl from outside a music venue in Tacoma, near Seattle.

Kurt cast himself as the rapist, writing in the first person in a haunting manner. The lyrics are even more harrowing when you read the reports from the trial -

Prosecutor Tom Stratton said he would recommend an exceptionally long sentence for Friend, 49 (age), who was convicted in a similar attack 27 years ago. In the latest case, Friend was charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape in the attack that occurred over several hours late June 5 and early June 6.

Officials said the victim was a runaway who accepted a ride from Friend near the Tacoma Dome after she attended a rock concert in the area. When the girl tried to get out of the car, authorities said, she was handcuffed and abducted at knife-point to Friend’s mobile home.

The victim testified last week that Friend tortured and repeatedly raped her with several objects in his mobile home. She said he blindfolded her and ran a propane torch close to her skin. She eventually escaped.

Here She Comes Now

According to Krist Novoloselic, “Here She Comes Now” was done not for Sub Pop but for Tupelo Records for a Velvet Underground tribute album. It was recorded in a single take and was one of the easiest tracks to lay down according to both Krist Novoloselic and Chad Channing.

Post Smart Studios

According to Butch Vig recording Lithium, “Blew out Kurt’s voice” so they could not record more tracks. However other reports state that Nirvana played a gig with label-mates Tad in Madison on April 6th, their last night in town before they headed up to Ann Arbor, which seems to imply Kurt’s voice was fine.

What is known is that Jonathan Poneman had flown in to see how the sessions had gone. According to Butch Vig he liked what he heard, but the members of Nirvana remember him being very subdued. According to Chad Channing, Poneman’s lack of enthusiasm was one of the reasons that almost nothing from the Smart Sessions was released on Sub Pop.

After Nirvana left Wisconsin on their tour, Butch Vig got down to mixing the tracks. The majority were done on April 11th, 12th and 13th, but according to Butch Vig, “For some reason I didn’t get down to mixing ‘ Here She Comes Now’ until June 8th, 1990”

Sub Pop were aiming for a September 1990 release of Nirvana’s album and all parties were expecting to be back at Smart Studios to record a few more tracks and finish the album, but Butch Vig did not hear anything for a while as Nirvana were to lose one drummer in the shape of Chad Channing, gain another in Dave Grohl and sign with DGC before they would record together again, this time to make “Nevermind”

References

• Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain
• Nirvana: Nevermind (Classic Rock Albums)
• Mojo
• Q Magazine
• Classic Rock

Kurt Cobain is born in Aberdeen, Washington

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 2th, 1967 in Gray’s Harbor Community Hospital overlooking Aberdeen, Washington. He weighed 7lbs and 7.5 oz and had a darkish complexion, which soon lightened, and azure eyes that drew compliments from all that saw him.

The hospital was perched on the hill overlooking Aberdeen, a major logging town in the Pacific North-West. The view across the mouth of the Chehalis River was obscured by the chimneys and smokestacks from the town’s multitude of sawmills, pulpers and lumber yards. The population were almost exclusively employed either directly or indirectly by the logging industry, which was beginning to go into decline in the late 1960s.

Kurt Cobain’s Parents

Kurt Cobain’s father, Donald, was 21 when Kurt was born and worked as a mechanic at the Chevron garage in Hoaquin. He was described as handsome and athletic, but with a geeky quality to him, probably from his short, flat-top haircut and Buddy Holly style glasses. Kurt was said to have inherited his angular jaw-line from the Cobain side of the family.

Kurt’s mother was 19 year old Wendy Cobain. The two had met in high school when Wendy was still Wendy Fradenberg, although she was more popularly known by her nickname, “Breeze”. She was described as a classic beauty, with blond locks and rosy cheeks. The two had married the previous year after Donald had borrowed his father’s car to drive to Idaho so they could marry without parental consent. Wendy had fallen pregnant just weeks after graduating high school.

Kurt Cobain’s Early Years

When Kurt Cobain was first born, the family lived near to Aberdeen in Hoaquin, a small, close knit community. The Cobains rented a small bungalow built in the yard of another house, which accounted for the slightly strange address of 2830 1/2 Aberdeen Avenue, Hoaquin (which has since become a destination for many of Kurt Cobain’s fans) The family soon moved to the main house at 2830 Aberdeen Avenue and soon after Donald was promoted to lead mechanic at the garage, but money was always tight in the Cobain household.

Kurt had a large extended family, with six aunts and uncles on his mother’s side and a further two uncles on his father’s side. He was the first grandchild to be born and so much fuss was made of him.

Kurt Cobain would spend over three-quarters of his life within ten miles of Gray’s Harbor Community Hospital.

References

• Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain
• Nirvana: Nevermind (Classic Rock Albums)
• Mojo
• Q Magazine
• Classic Rock