"In Utero" Album Review
Alpha101 When I first heard this album, I was in love with it. Now that I've been listening to it for a year or two, it's starting to lose it's charm. You'll see why in a minute."Nirvana." If you say the word now and days 1,000 teenagers swarm in front of you wearing Kurt Cobain shirts. But, back while Nirvana was still in action, it took a while for them to get famous. "Bleach" was pretty well received, but the album that pushed the band to star status was, obviously, "Nevermind." After that album came out, Nirvana was huge. Afterwards they came out with "Insecticide," and, finally, "In Utero," before Cobain's tragic death. After his death, Nirvana fans went back to "In Utero" and listened to it again. this time, the songs carried different meaning. At first, they seamed harmless, but after his death, it's agreed that almost every son on the album reflected suicide and depression in some way. This is completely true, and that's why I loved it, at first.
"Heart Shaped Box" is the most popular song on the album, so it makes sense that it would be first on my list. Obviously, it's a great song, with a catchy chorus, haunting lyrics, and an amazing music video. I don't have much to say about this one.
"Rape Me," probably the most controversial song on the album, is one of my favorites by the band. Theories about the song go back and forth between fans. Some claim it was an anti-rape song, as Cobain once put it, but others claim that he was making it up, and it represented the emotional rape that Cobain went through every day. Either way, it's a very good song. The lyrics are fairly simple, but that's the beauty of the song. My only qualm is the opening sounds very similar to "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nirvana wasn't really the most unique band when it comes to guitar, so this is expected, but I mean come on! At least make it sound a little different!
"Dumb" is my favorite Nirvana song. It's another very simple song, but it's much more heartfelt. Cobain's voice goes great with the song, and it's become sort of my theme song over the years.
"Frances Farmer Will have Her Revenge on Seattle" is possibly Nirvana's most underrated song. The chorus is one of my favorites from the band, and it's message is very inspiring, and I can completely relate to it.
"Pennyroyal Tea" is another great track. Not much to say, but it's very catchy, and the lyrics are so weird and unique.
"Serve The Servants" is a great opening track to the album. It starts the album out perfectly, and, while not the best on the album, it's one of Nirvana's most impressive.
"Milk It" is just...wow. Like I said, some of the songs on the album were beautifully tragic, and this is one of them. "I am my own parasite. I don't need a host to live." "Look on the bright side is suicide." Those are some of the darkest lyrics I've ever heard, but they're so beautiful it makes me tear up a little bit. Also, Grohl does a great drop in this one.
"Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" is a mixed bag for me. I love the chorus, but the rest of the song is irritating to me. The constant buzzing and shrieking gives me a migraine.
"Scentless Apprentice" is an okay song. I love the story behind the song, but, like the song above, is kind of hard to listen to.
"Tourettes" is a horrible song. That's all I have to say about it. I see what Cobain was going for, but he fell short.
"Very Ape" - read the sentence above a second time.
"All Apologies" is a great song, even though it is a little overrated. It's a fantastic way to close the album.
The reason that the album kind of lost hold on me is because, one, while some songs are fantastic, some are just terrible. Also, the album doesn't run very smoothly, even though it has an incredible beginning and ending. The middle is just kind of mashed together.
The order should go as this:
"Serve the Servants"
"Heart Shaped Box"
"Pennyroyal Tea"
"Dumb"
"Frances Farmer Will have Her Revenge on Seattle"
"Milk It"
"Radio Friendly Unit Shifter"
"All Apologies"
(Bonus song) "Scentless Apprentice"
The rest of the songs should not be included on the album. This would be a perfect album if it was ordered similar to this, but it's just kind of...random, really.
It's a great album, probably in my top 20, but it has lost it's charm. It's not Nirvana's best, let alone histories' best album. You will like it if you are a fan of Nirvana. If not, you will probably have a hard time getting into it.
9.2/10