Nirvana was a hugely influential alternative rock trio responsible for popularizing the Seattle-born "grunge" sound that they helped to pioneer. Fully formed in 1990, guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl broke into mainstream music and the consciousness of 'Generation X,' paving the way for bands such as Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgargen to go on to… Read more in Amazon's Nirvana Store
Essentially a greatest-hits collection with one previously unreleased song, "You Know You're Right," and producer Scott Litt's 1994 remix of "Pennyroyal Tea," Nirvana the album is nevertheless a welcome addition to the band's canon. Crisp, elegant liner notes by Rolling Stone writer David Fricke put us squarely in Kurt Cobain's mindset as he entered a Seattle studio in January 1994--a full two days later than expected--to record what would be his final session with Nirvana. The resulting "You Know You're Right" locates Cobain at the apogee of his disenfranchisement with tongue nevertheless planted firmly in cheek. Bawdy, raucous, and venomous, "You Know You're Right" could have been lifted from Nevermind. A mix of tracks from that album ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come as You Are," "Lithium," and "In Bloom") sits opposite stuff from early EPs and the Bleach disc ("About a Girl," "Been a Son," and "Sliver"), plus two from the MTV Unplugged sessions and several more from In Utero. Not the Nirvana treasure chest we hoped for, but solid nonetheless. --Kim Hughes
Product Description
International edition of their 2002 collection includes one bonus track, 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night'. 15 tracks in all including the previously unreleased track, 'You Know You're Right'. Geffen.
This is a very dry overview of Nirvana's career. I know the main goal is to assemble all of the hits on to one CD for casual fans intimidated by actual albums, but would it have been so hard to include some of the fan favorites that rank among the groups most essential work, if not their most well-known?
"Drain You" belongs here. "Polly" belongs here. "Aneurysm" should be here in some form (it was a hit off the 1997 live album and a highlight of Incesticide). "Love Buzz" was always a live staple and one of the standout songs from their debut. At a time when CD prices are reaching ridiculous new heights and other legendary performers like The Beatles and Elvis are seeing 30-song single-CD career overviews released, the Nirvana best-of CD should have featured a little bit more than it does.
The new song, "You Know You're Right", is typical Nirvana but enjoyable and emotional nonetheless. It stinks that hardcore fans will be driven to buy 13 songs they already have for this one new tune, but thats Geffen's plan now, isn't it?
38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 starsTime To Cement The Legend and Milk It Dry, October 30, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Nirvana (Audio CD)
The remaining members of Nirvana wanted the bands previously unreleased gem "You Know You're Right" to be released with a batch of other rarities in a box set of "new" material. Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, wanted to be able to use Nirvana's name and the much-hyped new tune as a bargaining chip in a new deal with Universal Records. She won in the courts, and now the song has been tacked on as the obligitory new track on a collection of 13 songs that have been released and heard a million times before.
Nirvana doesn't lend itself well to compilation because they only released 3 albums that each sound very, very different. It's not very expensive and a much more rewarding decision to buy each of the three albums rather than this cheesy "Greatest Hits" record, something it's hard to imagine a living Kurt Cobain authorizing. The songs are good, but a lot of the groups best work is missing here and the arrangement leaves a lot to be desired.
40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
It could not be more obvious how much of an income attempt this entire CD is. With the disc and Kurt Cobain's "Journals" out "just in time for the holiday season", it doesn't take a genius to figure it out: the exploitation is insulting. While every track on the disc is extremely good and complete (as well as remastered)you begin to realize just how bland it is. With a band like Nirvana, an artistic purging of the most unique kind, you'd expect a couple of non-singles on there. Really good songs that weren't radio-friendly but truly represented what the band was about in full context. Instead, you have a bevy of all of the hits, which obviously is to be expected of the average band. But the original idea (that probably would have happened had Courtney Love not gone into a seizure over it) was a boxset full of rareties and material true to the band. It would have marked the 10th Anniversary of the release of "Nevermind" and it most likely would have been awesome. This album takes it's place, and with the exception of "You Know You're Right" (the overly-hyped though still really good "last Nirvana song") it pales in comparison to what could have been. Forgive me. I'm somewhat selfish. I'm obviously grateful, yet somewhat let down.
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3.0 out of 5 starsNot as Advertised
What was listed was a 'used' disk, what came was someone's home copy on a CD-R disk of the original in a used case...
Published 1 month ago by Jim Hudspeth
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Only Nirvana I Own
I'm a casual Nirvana fan. Not because I wouldn't have loved them if I'd paid enough attention at the time, but I was busy or something.
Published 7 months ago by James Mckinnon
3.0 out of 5 starsCheap Thrills
This album is a cheap way for the people that really got into "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to get their Nirvana fix.
Published 12 months ago by C. Nichols
4.0 out of 5 starsGary
This is a well-done compilation of Nirvana's best hits. It has all the good pop-y Nirvana songs.
Published 17 months ago by Gary M. Erickson
5.0 out of 5 starsNirvana CD
CD arrived quickly and was in good condition. I listen to it often :)!!!!!
Published 19 months ago by Elizabeth Williams
3.0 out of 5 starsThere's more to it than this . . .
In truth, I give the band Nirvana five stars, as it is one of the most influential rock bands of the 90's.
Published 19 months ago by Eric S. Kim
3.0 out of 5 stars14 songs only!
Only for diehard fans of the late grunge group Nirvana would this album since it includes an unreleased track called You Know Your Right which was the last track record by the...
Published on December 5, 2008 by arturo olivo
5.0 out of 5 starsA Compilation To Own
For some reason I never even knew this album existed. It's basically a "Best Of" compilation with the last recorded song with Kurt on it.
Published on June 25, 2008 by Bradley Jacobson
5.0 out of 5 starsbest of Nirvana
if you don't already have all the Nirvana albums, you should definitely buy this one.
Published on May 14, 2008 by HaoKaren
5.0 out of 5 starsSimply Named Nirvana
I was so happy to purchase Nirvana's self-titled Greatest Hits album. What can you say about this awesome band that hasn't already been said?
