Nirvana - Nevermind (180g Vinyl LP)

When Nevermind arrived in September 1991, Nirvana were still best known to underground rock audiences. Within months, their second album had changed the direction of mainstream guitar music. Its breakthrough was not simply a matter of volume: Kurt Cobain's gift for melody, the band's explosive dynamics and the friction between pop hooks and abrasive sound made these songs unusually immediate.

Recorded principally at Sound City Studios with producer Butch Vig and mixed by Andy Wallace, Nevermind captures Cobain on guitar and vocals, Krist Novoselic on bass and Dave Grohl on drums. Grohl's forceful playing gave the trio new rhythmic power, while Vig's production brought the melodies into focus without smoothing away their edges. The contrasts between quiet verses and roaring choruses work because the songs are carefully constructed.

Smells Like Teen Spirit opens with one of rock's most recognisable guitar riffs before erupting into a chorus that became a generational anthem. In Bloom pairs an enormous melody with a sly lyrical perspective, and Come as You Are uses a watery guitar figure to create a more uneasy, hypnotic mood. Breed is short and ferocious, while Lithium moves between fragile calm and overwhelming intensity. The acoustic Polly brings a disturbing, restrained close to the first side.

Side B begins with the frantic Territorial Pissings, then shifts to the intricate vocal and guitar interplay of Drain You. Lounge Act rides a propulsive Novoselic bassline, and Stay Away returns to the band's harsher side. On a Plain finds a surprisingly bright melody within the distortion before Something in the Way ends the album in a near-whisper, with an atmosphere unlike anything else on the record.

This 180g black vinyl LP contains the original twelve-song sequence, identified by barcode 720642442517. Decades after its release, Nevermind remains compelling not only for its enormous cultural impact but for the strength and variety of the performances themselves.

Supplied brand new and sealed.

Available from Heathen Records, your independent Australian online record store specialising in new and collectible vinyl.

Details

• Artist: Nirvana
• Album: Nevermind
• Format: 180g black vinyl LP
• Genre: Grunge / Alternative Rock
• Original Release: 1991
• Number of Records: 1
• Tracks: 12
• Label: DGC / Geffen
• Barcode: 720642442517
• Condition: Brand new & sealed

Track List:

Side A
A1 Smells Like Teen Spirit
A2 In Bloom
A3 Come as You Are
A4 Breed
A5 Lithium
A6 Polly

Side B
B1 Territorial Pissings
B2 Drain You
B3 Lounge Act
B4 Stay Away
B5 On a Plain
B6 Something in the Way