Nirvana In Utero released

9/21/1993:

In Utero Nirvana

Released: September 21, 1993 Peak: 11 US, 11 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 5 DF Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 0.6 UK, 10.8 world (includes US and UK) Genre: grunge

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Serve the Servants [3:36] Scentless Apprentice (Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl) [3:36] Heart-Shaped Box [4:41] (9/11/93, 4 AR, 1 MR, 5 UK) Rape Me [2:50] Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle [4:09] Dumb [2:32] Very Ape [1:56] Milk It [3:55] Pennyroyal Tea [3:37] Radio Friendly Unit Shifter [4:41] Tourette’s [1:35] All Apologies [3:51] (12/4/93, 45 BA, 4 AR, 1 MR, 32 UK) All tracks written by Kurt Cobain unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 41:23 The Players: Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals) Krist Novoselic (bass)

Rating: 4.425 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Hyped as intentionally uncommercial,” BL In Utero was Nirvana’s “conscious attempt to shed their audience” AMG as singer/songwriter Kurt “Cobain tried to keep indie cred by mocking his Rasio Friendly Unit Shifter status.” BL However, Cobain “wasn’t able to turn off the hook-writing part of his brain. So instead of mere bile, fans still heard hits.” BL It should be noted, though, that “the record had lost its momentum when Cobain died in the spring of 1994.” AMG “Nirvana probably hired Steve Albini to produce In Utero with the hopes of creating their own Surfer Rosa, or at least shoring up their indie cred after becoming a pop phenomenon with a glossy punk record,” AMG but he “later branded the band sellouts for remixing the album.” BL “Even though the band tempered some of Albini’s extreme tactics in a remix, the record remains a deliberately alienating experience, front-loaded with many of its strongest songs, then descending into a series of brief, dissonant squalls before concluding with All Apologies, which only gets sadder with each passing year.” AMG “In Utero, of course, turned out to be their last record, and it’s hard not to hear it as Kurt Cobain’s suicide note, since Albini’s stark, uncompromising sound provides the perfect setting for Cobain’s bleak, even nihilistic, lyrics.” AMG “Cobain’s songwriting is typically haunting, and its best moments rank among his finest work, but the over-amped dynamicism of the recording seems like a way to camouflage his dispiritedness – as does the fact that he consigned such great songs as ‘Verse Chorus Verse’ and ‘I Hate Myself and Want to Die’ to compilations, when they would have fit, even illuminated the themes of In Utero.” AMG “Even without those songs, In Utero remains a shattering listen, whether it’s viewed as Cobain’s farewell letter or self-styled audience alienation. Few other records are as willfully difficult as this.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine BL Blender (10/08). “100 Greatest American Albums” WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/27/2011; last updated 10/2/2023.