Nirvana's in Utero (33 1/3) - Softcover

Gaar, Gillian G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826417760 ISBN 13: 9780826417763

Publisher: Continuum, 2006

Synopsis

Though Nevermind was Nirvana's most commercially successful album, and the record that broke them - and the grunge phenomenon - internationally, In Utero has increasingly become regarded as the band's best album, both by the critics and the band members themselves. Instead of sticking to the "grunge pop" formula that made Nevermind so palatable to the mainstream, Nirvana chose instead to challenge their audience, producing an album that the band's creative force, Kurt Cobain, said truly matched his vision of what he had always wanted his band to sound like. Here, the full story behind the creation of In Utero is told for the first time.

About this title

About the Author:

Gillian G. Gaar is the author of She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock'n'Roll and Green Day: Rebels With a Cause. She served as project consultant on the Nirvana box set With the Lights Out. She lives in Seattle.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

The record was replete with references to babies, childbirth, and reproduction (the album’s very title means "in the womb"); witch hunts, the loss of privacy, illness and disease, and ambivalence about fame. The songs expressed a heartfelt anguish that would later cause some to interpret the entire album as a cry for help, but even at the time of its release In Utero could easily be read as an album focused on physical and spiritual sickness. Rather than being overwhelmed by circumstances, however, Cobain’s songs on In Utero show him – for the most part – still able and willing to fight back. As such, among Nirvana’s recorded efforts, it stands as Cobain’s most personal work.

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0826417760
• ISBN 13: 9780826417763
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112