742. Nirvana - In Utero (1993)

Track Listing

1. Serve The Servants
2. Scentless Apprentice
3. Heart Shaped Box
4. Rape Me
5. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle
6. Dumb
7. Very Ape
8. Milk It
9. Pennyroyal Tea
10. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
11. Tourette's
12. All Apologies/Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip


Review

This is probably the best studio album ever that Nirvana ever made. I only say probably because my impression of Nevermind might be tainted by "listener's fatigue", it has been so overexposed that it is hard to come to it with fresh ears.

In Utero avoids the problem of Nevermind by sounding fresher, something which might also be attributed to Steve Albini's great production work. Albini gives Nirvana an edge which was absent from their previous albums, it both makes the album more challenging and more rewarding.

There are a couple of big hits here and Heart Shaped Box is one of the best Nirvana tracks ever, but the rest of the album is just as good, if less radio-friendly. There is still the MTV Unplugged to come, and it really the apex of Nirvana, seeing their progression it is a pity to see Cobain's career cut short by bulletitis.

Track Highlights

1. Heart Shaped Box
2. Serve The Servants
3. Rape Me
4. All Apologies

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The original title for In Utero was to be I Hate Myself And Want to Die, sharing its title with a song that was planned for the album. The phrase had originated in mid-1992 from one of Cobain's journal entries, and was meant as humor. It was Cobain's response whenever someone would ask him "how are you?". The tentative album title would be changed after Novoselic convinced Cobain that I Hate Myself And Want to Die could potentially result in a lawsuit. The band considered the title Verse Chorus Verse, a title shared with "Verse Chorus Verse" and an earlier working title of "Sappy". The final title was taken from one of Courtney Love's poems, and is a Latin term meaning "in the uterus".

Heart Shaped Box: