In the history of popular music Nirvana occupies an increasingly important standing. As with Hendrix some decades earlier what it achieved in a short space of time has lived with us and will continue to do so a long time afterwards. When I heard some months back that Nirvana might reform with the unique and talented PJ Harvey I thought it was one of the single most fascinating pieces of music news I had ever read. I could only really see someone like her replacing Cobain. She had the relevant howl and screech that someone needs to pull off the vocal parts that Cobain had penned in the early nineties. Very few could have filled such a large pair of shoes and not looked stupid. Okay, so it didn't happen, but what a thought it was. It reminded everyone just how relevant Nirvana is today, how much many of us still want and adore the band.
In the grand scheme of things, popular music misses Cobain, and the band's small catalogue is a thing of intense scrutiny and inspiration, not to mention strange beauty. 'Nevermind' or 'In Utero'? It is an oft recurring question. For me, it has only ever been the same answer. That album this month turns 20 years of age. It is as stunning today as it ever was, in fact, even more. It feels like a passionate response to the popularity of 'Nevermind,' as if Cobain and co. were saying 'if you like that, then we are going to do this instead!' They had the winning formula, but for a band of such talent to copy the blueprint it had created was all too boring. 'In Utero' gripped me from the very beginning. There was something more human, ugly, and real about it. It was the sound of a man in pain, recording his inner torment, and I hate to say the sound was unbelievably good, but it truly was. It's easy to pick out songs, singles, special moments, but the whole as one big, noisy, tender and well constructed album is astonishing. From start to finish it is a masterwork, and looking back the perfect epitaph. The dynamics are more urgent, the tone is darker and some of the lyrics are the greatest ever. I understand why 'Nevermind' is considered the greatest for many, but for me the challenge of this record, released in September 1993, is what makes it greater. It feels like a more honest depiction of the band and its leader. The listener is pushed into a territory less comfortable, and has to come to terms with possibly not escaping unscathed.
It's a full on blow to the senses, and it still doesn't really sound like anything that had come before or has been made since, even though it is the ever popular genre of rock music. It makes you wonder what Cobain would have sounded like today had he continued shredding his voice in that compelling way that sucks you into the records. Everything here is perfect, from the voice and guitar to bass and drums, the lyrics and changes in volume to the way it picks the listener apart and leaves you changed forever. It is music of the highest calibre. It is life changing, tragic, golden and utterly brutal.
Nevermind what others think, 'In Utero' is the definitive Nirvana. The extended deluxe anniversary release of the album can only serve to demonstrate how good the band was at that time. It was the band's peak, it ended all too soon, and it won't be forgotten within the context of the pantheon of popular music, and nor should it be.
'In Utero' is 20 years old. It's one of the all time classics, go and give it a listen now!
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