Nevermind by Nirvana (US)

There are some albums that become popular/influential more because of the time they were released in than the actual quality of their music. Motley Crue released their first album around the time MTV first hit the airwaves (and image became increasingly important in music), and went on to become one of the most popular rock bands of the eighties. Run DMC became popular because of the immense rise in the popularity of rap music back in the mid 1980s. Such was the case with Nirvana's Nevermind. In the early nineties, many were growing tired of the usual glam rockers, Paula Abduhl, and New Kids On The Block. All of a sudden, this new song called Smells Like Teen Spirit just came out of nowhere on the radio and MTV airwaves, and everybody went berserk. It didn't matter that the song's riff consisted of only a few simple chords and the lyrics made absolutely no sense. It was so different from virtually everything else MTV was playing at the time. And because of that, its parent album Nevermind went on to sell millions and Nirvana were heralded as the saviors for modern rock music in the early nineties.

Unfortunately, what was once a unique sound ultimately went on to do nothing more than influence tons of copycat bands and flat out horrible alternative bands in the mid-nineties such as Bush and Presidents Of The United States (though Peaches is always good for a few chuckles). Even today, more than eleven years after the album's release, nearly every mainstream rock band (both crappy and half decent) owes at least a little to Nevermind in one way or another.

And this is ultimately part of the reason why the album doesn't hold up too well these days. At the time, its music was treated as a reflection of the kind of shape the music scene was in at the time, unfortunately the music scene itself has changed dramatically over the years. Today, heavier rock bands like Radiohead as well as pop-country bands like The Dixie Chicks are the big thing amongst most casual music fans. The music scene isn't quite as much about image as it was back in the early nineties (or for that matter, even three years ago when boy bands were all the rage), and image in music was what Nirvana was slamming with Nevermind. Because of the way the scene has changed over the years, the album just seems obsolete in comparison.

Now that the initial praise and fanfare for how different the band was has been gone for nearly a decade, let us analyze how great Nevermind REALLY was: The answer, unfortunately, is "not so great" in this reviewer's eyes.

Part of the problem lies in the overly simplified song structuring. Most of these are simple pop/rock songs with unoriginal, three or four chord riffs and basic verse/chorus/verse/chorus patterns. There are a few solos here or there, but they're usually just repeated versions of Kurt's vocal melodies. Which brings us to two other problems with the album: the lyrics and Kurt's singing voice.

Lyrical writing in Nevermind is very vague and and uninteresting. It's possible Kurt wanted his music to be interpreted in more ways than one, but music that's supposed to be about depth and emotion generally needs somewhat of a theme to go with it, as opposed to typical party time rock which simply needs some energetic rhythms and 100 variations of "Let's get down!!!!" in the lyrics. Rather, some of the lyrics on Nevermind sound like random lines thrown together without any real thought or purpose behind them other than to showcase Kurt Cobain's sick mind. Some listeners will be too irritated with some of KC's idea(l)s to really bother finding any beauty or emotion in his music.

And then we get to Kurt Cobain's singing voice, which is IMO, one of the most overrated voices in rock music. His vocal range is outstanding, but his voice usually sounds annoyingly hoarse and raspy, almost like John Lennon with a cold.

That isn't to say Nevermind doesn't have its share of high points. Smells Like Teen Spirit is an admittedly fun rock/pop song, and In Bloom and Drain You have very sarcastic punk/surfer-rock tones that make them somewhat interesting to listen to. But three songs out of twelve simply doesn't cut the mustard when better grunge/alternative bands like Alice in Chains managed to consistently keep their music fresh and interesting through their albums.

Rather, Nevermind is buried in a sea of overrated songs such as Come As You Are (vague lyrics in front of a riff that doesn't even seem to fit them), Polly (the same vague and overly dramatic lyrics only with an overdramatized acoustic melody to go with them), Breed (with an annoying chorus and voice, as well as some out of place drumming), and possibly the most overrated rock song in the history of mankind: Lithium. How this song became so popular I do not know. It had some annoying verses (especially the melody behind them), and a less but still annoying chorus (that "Yeah Yeah!!!!!" part).

And these factors are ultimately why I cannot recommend Nevermind to anybody other than fans of modern and/or mid-nineties alternative music. And if you were a teenage music fan even when the album came out, there's probably no point in recommending it to you now since chances are you already own it. The album may have been a nice breath of fresh air when it was released in 1991. But listening to it for the first time here in 2003 will only remind you of that horrible alternative music polluting the MTV airwaves in the mid-nineties as well as today, and what ultimately started it all.