This week, I have decided to take a step back in time. Mostly for two reasons: the album we are going to discuss was in the news recently and because one of the members is celebrating his 53rd birthday the day I write this.  

Growing up, I was always a heavy music lover. I haven’t spent much time on that kind of music in my column because I understand it isn’t what one would call, “mainstream.” As I’ve grown, I have broadened my musical interests but there is still a special place in my heart for some of the heavier artists in my iTune library. 

Today, I want to speak about a group that was only around for four years, cemented its legacy in the grunge/punk genre, has spawned one of the greatest rock groups in modern history and whose late lead singer and I share a birthday. I am talking of Nirvana. Specifically their 1991 release, “Nevermind.” 

When I stated earlier that this album has come into the news again recently, it’s because on Jan. 14, the baby that is pictured nude on the album’s cover has refiled his lawsuit under claims of the album being child pornography. Now, I don’t want to discuss much on that because that’s for the courts to decide. I am instead going to focus on the album itself. 

Oh, also, Jan. 14 is Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl’s birthday. Grohl has been the frontman of (in my opinion one of the best in the rock genre) the Foo Fighters since 1995. I plan to do something on him or the group soon, but I digress. 

“Nevermind” was first released on September 24, 1991 and was only the group’s second studio album. Its 12-track depths hold some of Nirvana’s most recognizable tunes. Here’s the track list and see which ones you recognize:

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit

2. In Bloom

3. Come as You Are

4. Breed

5. Lithium

6. Polly

7. Territorial Pissings

8. Drain You

9. Lounge Act

10. Stay Away

11. On a Plain

12. Something in the Way

What track listing! Few bands ever knock it that far out of the park on their second album. I can guarantee you can recognize at least one of those songs. 

Part of that success comes from the album’s producer, Butch Vig. He was already fairly well known for his work with other influential punk and grunge groups of the day such The Smashing Pumpkins, Killdozer and Laughing Hyenas. 

As a somewhat quiet guy, Vig was known for knack of reining in some of the wilder groups he worked with. His ability to hone on an artist’s strongpoint and help them apply it musically was something he would continue to be known for, for years.

“When he talked, you listened,” Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said in an MTV music awards interview after “Nevermind” won best alternative video in 1993. 

Vig would continue to work with outstanding acts such as Sonic Youth, Garbage, Muse, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World and Foo Fighters. 

When the time came to record the memorable album, frontman and vocalist Kurt Cobain had begun to find a good balance between melodic and pop-like structured songs with heavy guitar, his almost lazy sounding piercing voice and drum centric sound of grunge/punk music. 

These types of melodic punk sounds are really heard in the first half of the album with tracks like “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come as You Are,” and “Lithium.” Many of the other songs on the album were easily recognizable as much more in-your-face and punk orientated such as “Drain You,” “Territorial Pissings,” and “Stay Away.”

In fact, four of the songs on Nevermind were featured in Nirvana’s final record, “MTV Unplugged In New York a Live Album by Nirvana,” released in 1994. Those four songs were “Come as You Are,” “Polly,” “On a Plain,” and “Something in the Way.” These songs were so well made that their melodies were able to be carried over to an unplugged set and still sound methodic, heartfelt and even emotionally painful. “Unplugged” would be the group’s last album following Cobain’s suicide in 1995.

The album saw almost immediate international success, charting on multiple countries’ number ones for multiple weeks. It even continues to chart as it recently reached #9 on the U.S. Top Rock Albums chart in November of 2021. The album has also been certified diamond in Canada, France and the United States as well as multiple other certifications around the globe. 

If you don’t believe me of how influential and how well respected this album is, Rolling Stone magazine named “Nevermind” #17 in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in the September issue of 2020.

What else can I say on such a legendary album? Is it a genuine masterpiece with every song worth listening to? No. Is it an album that helped define the punk/grunge era of the early ’90s? Of course. If you take nothing else away from this article today, I ask you to take the time to listen to another song off the album that isn’t, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Come as You Are.” 

As a former drummer, I recommend “In Bloom” and “Drain You.” But nothing is stopping you from listening to the entire album.

Jack Jordan is a reporter for The Moultrie Observer.