The new two-disc reissue of Nevermind attempts to put the album in a different kind of context, augmenting the original 12-track record with 27 B-sides, outtakes, alternate versions, and live cuts that illustrate how Nirvana’s success wasn’t exactly the happy accident it’s remembered as. Coming off its unruly 1989 debut, Bleach, Nirvana was a purposely ragged but tuneful outfit that hammered all kinds of rough patches into Cobain’s indelible melodies. That band can be heard on early versions of future Nevermind classics like “In Bloom” and “Stay Away” (initially titled “Pay To Play”), which sound like sludgy Raspberries covers done in the style of Masters Of Reality-era Black Sabbath.
If Nevermind had sounded like that, the record would probably still live on as an underground classic, but it’s doubtful that it would’ve crossed over to heavy-rotation-on-MTV status. Cobain had fantastic songs to burn at the time—evidenced by toss-offs like the positively metallic “Curmudgeon” and the should-be hit “Sappy,” later released on 1993’s No Alternative compilation—but he needed slick packaging to sell Nevermind to the masses.
Heard against the noisy extra tracks—particularly the “boombox rehearsal” versions of “Territorial Pissings” and “Lounge Act”—Nevermind is as sterling as the first Boston album. (Cobain likened it to Mötley Crüe.) While the band might’ve wished at the time that Nevermind sounded more like Scratch Acid (or at least Dinosaur Jr.), producer Butch Vig gave the music the pristine treatment it demanded; songs like “Lithium” and “Come As You Are” deserved to become sing-along standards enjoyed by everybody, not just a select cadre of fans in the Pacific Northwest.
And what of Nevermind’s most famous song, the one that alludes to a kiddie underarm deodorant that’s long since been forgotten? It might be hard to hear “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with fresh ears, but the Nevermind reissue does succeed at putting Nirvana in its proper place, paying respect to the legend and the loud, irreverent, humanistic rock ’n’ roll band behind it.
