I wrote this shortly after the first Beatles Anthology was released in 1995. I salvaged this from my archives after Wednesday's unexpected merger between Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana. Sadly you have to be both a Beatles nerd and a Nirvana fan for this article to make much sense. This is an edited version that better reflects modern attention spans.
Introducing the Nirvanas Anthology
Much of the excitement surrounding the Nirvanas
Anthology has to do with the brand new song entitled "In Stereo" and
the circumstances surrounding its recording. This song began in the form of a
four-track demo recorded by Kurt in the early 1990's, and was given to the two
and a half surviving Nirvanas by widow Courtney Love. Enlisting the help of
famed Nevermind producer Butch Vig, they transformed the demo into a high
quality Nirvanas recording with bass, drums and plenty of "grunge"
guitar. When asked about "In Stereo," Butch Vig commented, "It's
a sort of love song. When I say that, I mean it's a song about happiness and
holding hands, as opposed to a Courtney Love song. It's a beautiful tune and
they all do great harmonies with Kurt."
Unbeknown to most, the tape's poor quality meant that
Pat Smear was forced to imitate Kurt's voice for some portions of the song.
Dave Grohl, the Nirvanas drummer said, "It was a
nice change. In the olden days, Cobain always had complete creative control.
This time we all were given a chance to throw in our two cents worth. I think
that if Kurt was still alive, and provided that he wasn't so strung out on
heroin that he couldn't remember his own name, he'd really like ‘In Stereo.’ ”
Krist Novoselic was less eager about the project, but eventually
agreed to lend his assistance, saying "I plan to use most of my royalties
to continue the fight against music censorship. The rest will go towards
finally finding a barber who can give me a decent haircut."
"In Stereo" was recorded at Shabbey Roads
studio near Berlin, Washington. Coincidentally enough, this studio is located a
mere two blocks away the Top Heavy Club, where the Nirvanas spent their
formative years developing and honing the sound that millions of teenage girls
and boys would cling to like leeches a scant few years later.
Here is just a teaser of the 45 tracks that compose
Anthology One:
Let's Get Ugly - A Vaselines cover taken from a 1988
Sub-Pop compilation. This was recorded when the band was still known as the
Silver Nirvanas.
Flannel Fields Forever - Takes 9, 12, and 34 - These
tracks are different takes of Flannel Fields Forever. The album version was a
patchwork quilt of takes 2, 25, and 78 which were digitally grafted together to
create the finished song. Here, for the first time, can be heard some of the
other takes that Cobain originally conceived and how this song could have
sounded.
I Like Myself and Wouldn't Mind Living - An early demo
of the song that would become "I Hate Myself and Want to Die." Listen
carefully and you can hear Dave shout "Cranberry sauce" at the end of
the song, for reasons that have yet to be explained properly.
Scoff - An alternative take of this song from the
Bleach album, featuring the drumming of former Nirvanas member Chad Channing.
Controversy over the reasons for Channing's firing on August 16th, 1990, shortly
before the recording of their breakthrough album Nevermind, continues amongst
music academics to the present day. Channing argues that he was a better
drummer, but that Grohl was hired because his look and sound more closely fit
the Nirvanas mould. Also worthy of note is that at the end of this track can be
heard what sounds like "K is gone." This would be used as a piece of
evidence in the 'Kurt is dead' rumour of October 1990, after he was involved in
a mountain bike accident.
Other "proof" included the fact that hair
obscures Kurt's face on the album cover, coupled with the odd spelling of Kurdt
Kobain. All this helped create a rumour that Kurt had died and had been
replaced by a look-a-like. (Possibly Mark Arm.) These "Kurt is dead"
rumours reappeared in 1991, 1992, 1993 and again in 1994 in Rome until he
finally put an end to the rumours once and for all by committing suicide.
Opinion - This Cobain song was given to Mark Lanegan
of the Screaming Trees. Mark lost the song in a poker game. It then passed
through a number of hands, including Conan O'Brian, Yassir Arafat, the Emperor
of Japan and Mark Lanegan (again.) However, by this time, the song had become
disgusted with Mark's carelessness, and changed its tune, becoming a country
western ballad.
Heart-Shaped Box - This features the original Steve
Albini production and highlights the Nirvanas innovative use of loud guitars
and even louder drums. While some consider Albini the fourth (or is that
fifth?) Nirvana, he has maintained a discrete distance about his work on the
album, and has continued to insist that the Scott Litt remix on
"Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies," coupled with a bad
mastering job, ruined the immediacy and rawness of the songs.
I Can Scream Louder Than Love (The Ballad of Kurt and
Courtney) - A song co-written by Love and Cobain about the trials and
tribulations of two successful rock n' roll musicians trying to raise a child
and live out a normal life, even though their every move is being observed
under the media's microscope. It also addresses their numerous and well
publicised shouting matches and neighbour-awakening arguments. Their touching
harmonies and harsh screaming all combine for an aural treat. If one listens
carefully, the plaintive cries of the youngest and most promising member of the
Nirvanas, Francis Bean, can be heard just before the second bridge.
Workin' for The Man - A song that was recorded during
the In Utero sessions. The Eastern flavour of this song is believed to have
come from Novoselic's dabbling in Eastern religion and philosophy. Novoselic at
one point even visited the Mahesh Yogi for insights into life. This reaction
against Christianity is believed to have stemmed in part from Cobain's
controversial claim of 1992 that "The Nirvanas were bigger than
Jesus." This turned out to be a misquote by interviewer Maureen Cleave.
When she finally owned up to her mistake, three months later, she apologised
profusely and publicly corrected the error, saying that Kurt had actually said,
"Jesus Christ! Why is there such a big fuss over the Nirvanas?"
