"Nevermind" Album Review
Alpha101 I've always had mixed feelings about this album. One day I love it and blare it out of my radio, the next I state that it is an okay but overrated album, and the next I hate it and feel like throwing it in the fire. This has been going on for about the past year. Hopefuly, I'll explain clearly why I feel this way."Smells Like Teen Spirit" opens the album with perfection. The lyrics, in my opinion, are some of the best ever written, the riff is great, and the solo, while uncomplicated, is one of my favorites in history. But, the song does sound a bit too poppy, bland, and soulless, in a way. However, I've always liked this song not for the song itself, but for the musical revolution that followed, and the impact that this single song had on music at the time of it's release. Overall, it is no where near one of the bands best, but it is still one of my favorites, if that makes any sense at all. It's one of their easiest songs to play, and was way too commercial, but inspired many musicians to come, and is unbelievably catchy.
"In Bloom" used to be my favorite by the band, but it has slowly become the opposite. It's really catchy, and the lyrics are, again, pretty well written, as Cobain was one of the genre's best song writers, but that's all that this song has going for it. Like the song above, it just lacks depth and emotion. I always picture Cobain sitting in front of a microphone, a blank expression on his face, choking out the words to this song. He just doesn't really seem to care about the topic that he is singing about.
"Come As You Are" is one of the band's best songs, period. The opening is haunting, the chorus is one of the most well known in grunge, and the lyrics are simple, yet unbelievably deep at the same time. Also, the climax of the song is one of the best in history. This has always been in my top five songs by the band, and for good reason.
"Breed" has always been one of my least favorites on the album, until recently, of course. The song is very fun to sing along to, and, in my opinion, it has some of the best drumming from Grohl on the entire album. It's still one of the weaker tracks, but it is by no means bad.
"Lithium" has always, to me, been Nirvana's worst and most overrated song. I just never saw the appeal of it. The lyrics are very well written, I must say, but the chorus is way too simple and gets annoying fairly quickly. It's my least favorite song on the album, and one of my least favorites in the band's discography.
"Polly" is a true gem from the band. Cobain never really tackled issues as he does in this song, so it's easily one of the band's most unique and diverse tracks. The lyrics are hauntingly beautiful, and the song is great all the way through. It's one of the highlights on the album, in my opinion, and is overlooked way too often.
"Territorial Pissings" is probably the fastest track on the album. It's one of my personal favorites on the album, and one of the best by the band. Again, Grohl's drumming is on point, and Cobain does a great job screaming and giving the song it's edgy feel. It does get a bit old after a while, I must admit, but it is still a good track.
"Drain You" is my absolute favorite song on the album. It's melodic and slow, has clean vocals, and sounds really poppy. it's pretty much everything Nirvana stood against. So why do I like it so much, you might ask? I don't have an answer to that, I really don't. I've just always loved this particular song with a passion, and it is easily in my top five by the band.
"Lounge Act" was a track that I'e always skipped while listening to the album, and I, sadly, never realized my mistake until recently. I was listening to the album and it came on, and I, reluctantly, let it play out. It's the best decision that I've made in months. It's another kind of slow and melodic tune, yet it picks up late in the song. It's catchy, and has some of Cobain's best writing on the album.
"Stay Away" is my least favorite song on the album. It's not a terrible song, but I've just never felt compelled to listen to it for more than a couple of times. This is one that I usually skip.
"On A Plain" is another track that I usually skip, and only realized my mistake recently. It's chorus is one of my favorites in the history of grunge, it has unmistakably beautiful lyrics, and is just a damn fine song. There's nothing more to say about it than that.
"Something in the Way" is one of my favorites by the band, and does a perfect job of closing the album. It's gut-wrenchingly sad, and has Cobain barely singing, which adds to the tone of the song. I've always been known to hum this song whenever sad, and it has always made me feel better. It was a perfect close to a not perfect, but great album.
"Endless Nameless" is the actual ending of the album, though I don't really consider it to be, because it's a hidden track, and, frankly, I just never listen to it. It's just a bungled up mess and is not very pleasing to the ear, which is exactly why the band included it on the album. As a hidden track, it is good, as it's a nice little bonus to the album, but as a song itself, it's not good at all, which I'm sure most fans can agree with. But I'm pretty sure that the band didn't actually put a lot of effort into the song. if they did, they would have included it in the original lineup of songs. It's not bad, but it's frequently skipped, so it doesn't ruin the effect that "Something in the Way" has on me. If I listen to that song, and then let this one play out, it just ruins the feel for me.
Overall, to this day I still have mixed feeling about the album. Almost every single song is great, but all feel lifeless and empty. It really sounds like the stuff played on the radio today. It feels as if the band played each song motionless and enthusiastically, and didn't really care enough to give each song the edge that was so prominent in their debut album "Bleach." Before I change my mind, yes, it is a great album, and is probably in my top fifteen albums in history. But, It is also their most uninteresting album of the band's career, and I rarely ever feel like going back to it after hearing it only one time. I don't have the issue with "Bleach," or "In Utero."
9.2/10 - Great Album
Comments
The album is great but it's not my favorite grunge album - bobbythebrony
An all time favorite of mine. Good review - ProPanda