Live recordings
Nirvana: Legendary concert recordings for the 30th anniversary
Kurt Cobain, singer of the American cult rock band Nirvana, performing in Seattle (1993). photo
© Robert Sorbo/AP/dpa
“In Utero” was the third and final album by the band Nirvana. A few months later, singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide. 30 years later, live recordings of the last concerts are now being released.
It should be different, different from the successful album “Nevermind”. That was the claim and that’s what they pulled out for Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl returned to a studio in Cannon Falls – around 60 kilometers from Minneapolis in the US state of Minnesota.
When “In Utero” was released in the US on September 21, 1993, fans and critics alike were shocked by the brutal sounds of the Nirvana album.
Today, Nirvana’s third and final album is considered their most authentic work. It shot to the top of the charts in the United States and Great Britain immediately after its release. The work, which has been awarded multiple platinum and gold awards, was also able to stay in the top 100 for several weeks in Germany.
With angel wings
Accordingly, the iconic album with the female figure with angel wings and glass skin on the cover is being celebrated for its 30th anniversary: with several new editions that combine 53 previously unreleased songs as well as two unabridged live recordings of their last concerts.
The release of the recordings of the concert on January 8, 1994 in the grunge metropolis of Seattle will make the hearts of many Nirvana fans beat particularly fast. Because it was the last the group performed in America just a few months before the death of their frontman Kurt Cobain. On April 8, 1994, three days after his death, his body was found in the garden shed of his property – with an overdose of heroin in his body and a shot in the head from a shotgun.
In addition to the drug paraphernalia, investigators also found a suicide note. The singer, guitarist and songwriter was 27 years old. The band broke up after Cobain’s death – just seven years after forming.
In February of the same year, the band started the European leg of their tour planned until April with “In Utero”. But on March 1st she gave her last concert in Munich’s Terminal 1. Cobain overdosed in Rome on March 6 and agreed to undergo rehabilitation. The album initially had the working title “I Hate Myself And I Want To Die”.
New mastering
The songs in the concert recordings were recorded by musician and producer Jack Endino from the stereo tapes created at the time, which also include six live bonus tracks that were recorded in New York City, Rome and Springfield. Endino was already at the mixing desk for Nirvana’s debut album “Bleach”.
With “In Utero” the group no longer wanted to be reduced to their mega success of “Nevermind”, which was released two years earlier. She found the album, which sold around 30 million copies, to be too gentle. The band wanted to return to the original intensity of their debut album “Bleach” – heavily distorted guitar sounds, harsh drum tones and Cobain’s eruptive vocals about fear, disorientation and dreams.
Musician Bob Weston also contributed to the album’s creation, and 30 years later he has remastered the 12 original tracks from “In Utero”, including “Scentless Apprentice”, a disarming cacophony: heartbreaking guitar, screaming vocals, exhausted drums.
The song is inspired by the novel “Perfume” by Patrick Süskind, in which the hero is born without body odor. “Dumb” and “All Apologies” appear in between, which act like warm currents in cold water with a lighter guitar and more melodic bass and guitar riffs.
A stroke of genius with a sad ending
The raw and unfiltered sounds of “In Utero” shocked many when it was released. But for Cobain, it meant the group found its true place again. He was convinced that the record would sell less than “Nevermind,” he said in an interview. Some might consider this a failure, but for her it is a success. In fact, the record didn’t come close to the commercial success of “Nevermind”. To date, the album has sold 15 million copies.
The band has had one of the shortest but also most successful careers in music history. She has only released three studio albums (“Bleach”, “Nevermind”, “In Utero”), but has sold more than 75 million records to date. A stroke of genius – with a sad outcome.