mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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nevermind mtv unplugged in new york
Nevermind When thinking of grunge, you probably get the image of a band that can’t really play, a singer screaming out his heroin addiction and all of his fears that’s burried beneath the intolerable noise of distorted guitars. And that image probably would be true. Nirvana started all that in the early 90’s, but what separates them from similar bands is one thing; Kurt Cobain. Cobain was filled with talent and managed to mix the loud guitars with great melodies. Simple perhaps, but oh, so catchy. Thanks to Cobain’s sense of melody, he also was able to come up with great riffs that further intensified the songs. What really makes me enjoy Nirvana is Cobain’s vocals. There’s something about it, with it's contrasts and contradictions. It’s full of confidence, but at the same time very insecure. It’s melodic, but also it seems like it would prefer to just scream out one note. Sometimes tender and sometimes trashy. Either way, you can never miss the passion and emotions put into every phrase and line. These contrasts is something reflected in the actual arrangements too. For instance, the smash hit and opener of Nevermind; “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. It starts out with a simple guitar riff, then comes the verse with the bass and drums, keeping it nearly on a ballad level, and everything explodes in the chorus where the band almost tries to beat out their pain by smashing their instruments as hard as possible. Then back to the calmer, but still intense, verse. If the band had not been able to arrange these songs so successfully and maybe had decided to kick ass from the very first beat, it most certainly would have been a tiring listen. As it is now, the band achieves something special and interesting with all these little changes here and there. I must say the album drags a little in the middle, but it is bouncing back very quickly with “On A Plain” and “Something In The Way”. And the opening is one of the strongest any band of the 90’s managed to release. A classic.
MTV Unplugged In New York If some people thought Nirvana was selling out with Nevermind, they must have thought even less of this release. MTV sums up everything that the evil commercial mind is about and while their Unplugged-series is milked out, sappy and completely uninteresting, there actually was a time when it was artistically intriguing, intimate and personal. Nirvana’s unplugged gig was probably the most successful along with Eric Clapton’s. Probably because they embraced the original concept more than other artists. They rearranged their electrical hits into new acoustic versions, they played a couple of covers to show their roots, some personal obscure favorites from their past and maybe more importantly, they both had a purpose. Whilst Clapton grieved his son, Nirvana dealt with Cobain’s suicidal mind. Because of the commercial success of these two albums, Bryan Adams and The Corrs among others where eager to do it. However, they performed their hits note by note with acoustic instruments and brought in big orchestras with violins and other stuff, which immediately turned the concerts into something quite the opposite to what it originally was meant to be. Nirvana do cheat a little, using guitar effects and electrical instruments, even if dressed up as acoustic ones. However, that’s not important. What is important is how this record proves that a good song is always a good song no matter how it’s presented. The grunge and punk noise isn’t to be found anywhere here, and the stripped down versions shows that there are more to these numbers besides the energy of the original studio versions. Besides the great songwriting, Cobain’s amazing vocal performance is very impressive. It more than makes up for his lousy guitar technique that’s revealed when the safety blanket of distortion is gone. As you probably know, Kurt wasn’t around when this album was released. He probably wouldn’t have liked the commercial circumstances, but it would have been very interesting to see how he would have developed over the years. I don’t think his artistic vision matched drummer Grohl’s Foo Fighters, though. Hopefully not.
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