Nirvana
In Utero

If 1991 appeared as The Year Punk Broke (thanks Dave Markey ...), the following year could have been titled as The Year Nirvana Broke. The release of "Nevermind" after a quick gear shift naturally brought fame, chart domination, and TV commitments that Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl could never have imagined. The enthusiasm that erupted around these events had a disruptive effect, such that we can say a large group of artists in unsuspecting times initiated an idea, also following the encouraging exhortation of the moment that everyone is capable of doing it, which also laid the groundwork for a young movement (?) aimed at discovering the various sonic nuances that grunge hinted at, along with the uncontrollable desire to break and transgress that distinguished it.

It is essential to mention that "Nevermind", the second album by Nirvana, caught everyone by surprise, simultaneously modifying and overwhelming rock and the record industry, which would be forced to pay attention to what was happening in the underground, the habitat from which the (adoptive) trio from Seattle, hardly more than debutants, emerged. From that moment on, the majors would start the hunt for the new Nirvana, and an enticing record contract would become the new currency of exchange, guaranteeing a rewarding debut album often offset by a lack of maturity and a short artistic life of many reckless bands.

The anticipation for the full-length is led by the single "Heart-Shaped Box", alluring and sinuous in the verse and introduction as much as raw and visceral in the solo and chorus, while the mixing of Scott Litt (R.E.M.) would facilitate the inclusion of an appropriate acoustic guitar as wanted by Cobain. The leader's awareness of considering some tracks to have greater potential than others leads to using the abrasive "Serve The Servants" as the album's opening track, followed by "Scentless Apprentice" being the excess agonizing counterpart, capable of satisfying those who loved the less controlled rage of the group's beginnings. A perfect connection to the previous album is "Rape Me", characterized by an inner nervousness and the interchange between yielding and chaotic atmospheres, also lingering in "Frances Farmer...", distinguishing the group's stylistic signature. In "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter", in line with the anger of "Milk It" and contrary to the title which is anything but radio-friendly, the calibrated rhythmic hammering by Novoselic and Grohl supports with declared suffering the obsessive presence of alienation (Hate, Hate your enemies, Save, save your friends, Find, find your place ...), while the emotional lightness takes over in "Dumb", leaving an indifferent homage to the primordial impulse of "Very Ape" and an inevitable involvement in the pogo of the all-too-short "Tourette's". While "Pennyroyal Tea" perfectly embodies the descent from "Lithium", with "All Apologies" the band seizes the occasion to genuinely and quietly express melancholy, leaving the soft presence of the cello to highlight the poetry, anything but out of context with the entire album.

The third chapter (not considering the pseudo-compilation "Incesticide" of 1992) of Cobain&Co. represents a brilliant artistic growth for the group that allows a muddy yet captivating sound to slither in the name of an artistic evolution that was a sort of chimera to grasp. A discographic journey begun with the seminal harshness of "Bleach" (1989), continuing with the lacerating and spontaneous distress of "Nevermind", and leaving to what was to be called "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die", the role of an honest and straightforward swan song for Kurt Cobain (and his group). The boy with the ocean in his eyes and sadness in his heart who admitted, even shortly before dying and without shame, the difficulty in handling the achieved success. A moving testimony that reaches us from the few words extracted from his last note addressed to all he cared about, and due to its poignant simplicity, doesn't even need translation: To families, friends and fans: "Riding the wave of success ... Difficulties that go along with it ...".

[The deluxe edition of the album consists of three discs and a DVD. The first CD presents the original version of "In Utero", remastered at Abbey Road Studios, extended with intriguing tracks like the powerful "Moist Vagina" and the versions of "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" (as conceived with the production of Steve Albini) and not included in the album, but also the interesting and surprising "Marigold", crafted from Grohl's pen and the only Nirvana track not authored by Cobain. The second CD contains a refreshed version of "In Utero" provided by Albini himself, using the existing multi-track recordings and including some tracks discarded in '93, as evidenced by the different solo in "Serve The Servants", the counter-melody in "All Apologies", or the infinite guitar solo in "Very Ape". The concert held by Nirvana at Pier 48 in Seattle on December 13, 1993, is instead contained in the third disc and DVD, previously broadcast by MTV for the "Live And Loud" series. For the Italian fan, the DVD will certainly be appealing, allowing them to savor their idols before the RAI cameras as guests on the Tunnel show in February '94, as well as the performance of "My Friend's Girl" (The Cars), held on the following March 1st in Monaco, and only a little over a month later, it would be understood to be Nirvana's last performance.]