One of the most notable aspects of revisiting the peerless Nevermind on its 20th anniversary is the realisation that, for all of the album’s influence and importance, very few bands today actually sound like Nirvana. Whilst other genres – such as, say, punk-funk – have umpteen practitioners, the fuzzed-up melodic bliss of Nevermind is not really on the current musical syllabus.
I think the explanation for this apparent anomoly can be found in a quote James Dean Bradfield gave to Hot Press a couple of years ago, when he astutely observed that, “The most difficult thing to do in music is make a really convincing rock album.” It’s difficult because there is nothing to hide behind. Nirvana did not utilise electronics, kick into extended dance grooves, or utilise orchestras or brass sections. They simply played irresistible punk anthems, which showed that, just sometimes, the best are full of passionate intensity.
Their success was chiefly attributable to Kurt Cobain’s Beatles-like melodic genius. To be sure, the likes of ‘Come As You Are’, ‘In Bloom’, ‘Drain You’, ‘Lithium’ and, of course, the immortal ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ possess anger and fury in abundance, but they also boast choruses that have you leaping out of your seat with excitement. Which is not to say that Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl weren’t an integral part of Nirvana’s success – the former’s bass playing is always brilliantly inventive, whilst it’s impossible to imagine Nevermind without Grohl’s powerhouse drumming.
It’s also worth noting that Cobain’s all-round artistic talent was another significant element in Nirvana’s globe-conquering exploits. In addition to his considerable abilities as a singer, songwriter and frontman, his unique vision and flair for memorable imagery also resulted in a number of classic album covers and music videos. Which brings us to another question – just what would he have thought of a ‘deluxe edition’?
It would appear that Cobain, the classic anti-establishment agitator, harboured a fear of repeating himself artistically, and finding himself in middle-age doing “the Clapton thing”, recycling his greatest hits. There is something about the subversive, anarchic spirit of Nevermind that sits uneasily with something as mainstream and “classic rock” as a deluxe reissue. Still, a 20th anniversary edition offers as good an opportunity as any to revisit and take stock of the album itself, as well as dipping into the obligatory archive material.
Unsurprisingly, the accompanying discs prove merely interesting, as opposed to revelatory. The ‘Boombox Rehearsals’ disc does exactly what it says on the tin, with the band bashing out the raw material of Nevermind in live and unpolished form. Though some of the songs feature alternative titles and slightly different arrangements, the chief point of note is that, even its embryonic form, the album does sound very exciting and dripping with potential.
The ‘Devonshire Mixes’ disc, meanwhile, features versions of the songs put together by producer Butch Vig as a reference for the band during production, and though they aren’t far off the completed versions, they do lack the magical sparkle they attained once mixer Andy Wallace had sprinkled his sonic stardust. Also included in the ‘super deluxe’ edition are a CD and DVD of Nirvana’s Hallowe’en 1991 concert at the Seattle Paramount, the latter being particularly important as the only Nirvana show shot to film, and thus a tremendous record of a band who, on their night, were simply an unbeatable live act.
Thinking of how to sum up this brilliant album, which remains my favourite of all time – and which, like The Catcher In The Rye, is likely to remain a touchstone for confused, alienated youth for generations to come – I find myself returning to Thurston Moore’s superb liner notes for the excellent 2004 Nirvana boxset, With The Lights Out: “Nirvana expressed anger, amusement, satire, defeat, emotion and debate. They just wanted to be part of the scene they began with and were so inspired by. Their music ruled so hard that they became so much more – whether they liked it or not.”