At the beginning of this month, we looked at Bleach. Jumbled in places, but a nice start. Then on the 15th, we took a gander at Nevermind. An absolute musical colossus, it cemented itself as the pinnacle & face of Grunge. Now, on the last day of July, we look at what would ultimately & tragically be their final album. A record that might very well be the most personal out of all of Nirvana’s releases, and one that might leave a scar on some listeners. Let’s not waste anymore time, and take a look at my review for In Utero. Let’s begin.
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“Nirvana broke into the mainstream with their second album, Nevermind, in 1991. Despite modest sales estimates, Nevermind was a major commercial success, popularizing the grunge movement and alternative rock. Nirvana expressed dissatisfaction with the sound of the album, citing its production as too polished. Early in 1992, the singer, Kurt Cobain, told Rolling Stone that the next album would showcase "both of the extremes" of their sound, saying: "It'll be more raw with some songs and more candy pop on some of the others. It won't be as one-dimensional." The producer of Nevermind, Butch Vig, said later that Cobain had needed to work with a different producer to "reclaim his punk ethics or cred".
Cobain wanted to start work in mid-1992, but his bandmates lived in different cities, and Cobain and his wife, Courtney Love, were expecting the birth of their daughter, Frances Bean. Nirvana's record label, DGC Records, had hoped to release a new Nirvana album for the 1992 holiday season; instead, they released the compilation album Incesticide.
In a Melody Maker interview published in July 1992, Cobain said he was interested in recording with Jack Endino, who had produced Nirvana's 1989 debut album Bleach, and Steve Albini, the former frontman of the noise rock band Big Black, who had produced various independent releases.[16] In Seattle in October 1992, Nirvana recorded several demos with Endino, mainly as instrumentals, including songs later rerecorded for In Utero. Endino recalled that they did not ask him to produce their next record, and that they constantly debated working with Albini.
Nirvana recorded another set of demos while on tour in Brazil in January 1993. "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip" was recorded by Craig Montgomery at BMG Ariola Ltda in Rio de Janeiro, during the three-day demo session. It was originally titled "I'll Take You Down to the Pavement", a reference to an argument between Cobain and the Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
Nirvana chose Albini to record their third album. Cobain said he chose Albini because he had produced two of his favorite records, Surfer Rosa by the Pixies and Pod by the Breeders. Cobain wanted to use Albini's technique of capturing the natural ambience of a room via the placement of several microphones, something previous Nirvana producers had been averse to trying.
Albini was known in the American independent music scene for his criticism of the mainstream music industry and had a strict preference for analog recording rather than digital. He sent a disclaimer to the British music press denying rumors of his involvement with Nirvana, only to receive a call from Nirvana's management a few days later. Albini dismissed Nirvana as "R.E.M. with a fuzzbox" and "an unremarkable version of the Seattle sound". However, he accepted the job because he felt sorry for them, perceiving them as "the same sort of people as all the small-fry bands I deal with," at the mercy of their record company.
Before recording began, Nirvana sent Albini a tape of the demos they had made in Brazil. In return, Albini sent Cobain a copy of the then-unreleased PJ Harvey album Rid of Me to give him an idea of the acoustics at the studio where they would record. Albini said that Cobain was impressed with the sound of Harvey's vocals on the album, "He really liked the way her singing came across. He was a fan."
In Utero was a major critical and commercial success. Critics praised its lyrics and raw, unconventional sound. It reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart; "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album is certified 6× platinum in the US for 6 million sales and has sold 15 million copies worldwide.”
Basic Description
Unfiltered, Raw, & Personal.
More than any of Nirvana’s other albums, In Utero is the record that’s the most illuminating. Nevermind gave us a small peak inside Kurt’s mind, but this release throws the doors wide up for all of us to see. This is not a pretty record: it is uncomfortable, it is not very pretty for the most part, and there is nothing that’s left up in the air when it comes to what kind of emotions that are going to assail you when you listen to this release. At times maybe we’re given too much of a glimpse into what Kurt was feeling (More on that a little later), but regardless, the end result is Nirvana’s equivalent of World Coming Down, and that’s a plus if you ask me.
Best Track
I’m kind of a sucker for Heart-Shaped Box. The Nirvana equivalent of Alice In Chains’s classic Man In The Box from 3 years prior, it’s a potent song that feels like something you’d listen to with the lights down. It’s gently raining outside, you’re sitting in your living room, you’ve been going through a lot recently in the emotion department, and you have a glass of bourbon or scotch on the coffee table comforting you. This is another song from the band that fluctuates between soft & hard instrumentation and vocals, yet at no point does the train fly off the tracks. Even before I listened to In Utero for the first time, I was always able to recognize this song when it played on the radio. I just never knew the name.
Heart-Shaped Box
Worst Track
Big of a tie between two time-wasters. Very Ape & Tourette’s both play for just under 2 minutes (1:56 & 1:37 respectfully), and while not necessarily lacking in intensity, these tracks feel like they were put on the album just to fill for time. Tourette’s is a little worse in this regard, as it’s the 2nd to last song of the album, and feels like a small slap to the face.
Very Ape
Tourette’s
Aside from that, In Utero’s only other fault lies with how personal it gets. Bleach got the ball rolling, and Nevermind gave us a small glimpse into Kurt’s psyche, but this record gives us perhaps a little too much of what was he was feeling. He went on record saying that In Utero was the most personal of the albums, and it certainly shows, but even then he may have taken one step too far, and the end result is an album that’s definitely great quality wise, but delves into the black a little too much.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:
In Utero
Overall Impression & Rating
In Utero was an emotional titan upon it’s release, and still remains one today. Sure, we might have been given too much of a glimpse into the mind of Kurt Cobain, but it was a darkly illuminating glimpse none the less. Everything we felt as we listened to the album all came from the most damaged parts of Kurt’s psyche, and even over 30 years later there’s leftover energy floating in the ether. If this was Kurt crying out for help, then he truly must not have been doing well mentally at the time. So if you’re someone who likes more emotional music, then In Utero is for you.
In Utero gets an 8.5 out of 10.
And that was In Utero. I liked it less than Nevermind, but certainly more than Bleach. It’s certainly an album not to avoid, but it’s intensity might be a little too much for some. Like I said above, if you’re able to handle more emotional music, then you’re going to love this album. Sadly, tragedy would ultimately strike the face of the Grunge movement, as on the 8th of April in 1994, he was found dead in the Greenhouse of his home in Seattle at just 27 years old due to a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head (The police concluded that he did the deed 3 days prior). His passing sent shockwaves among his fans, who treasured his music as something that helped them get through their lives, and many in the music world were affected by his death as well. Yet, even with his presence no longer on this Earth, and with Grunge fading away by the late 90s, it would still somehow exist in a sense. See you all in a day or two, when I’ll begin the final leg of this journey covering some Post-Grunge bands. Be back soon!
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