Nirvana

Compilations that try to summarize the importance of bands as seminal as Nirvana often serve as a sort of Cliffs Notes in that they usually choose the most obvious songs and target the casual beginner, rather than the ardent fan. Nirvana sets the tone for the latter listener with the posthumous "You Know You're Right," the band's haunted last recording. This compilation's version of "Been A Son" sounds bigger and darker than the poppy version from Incesticide. Other than that, the rest of Nirvana comprises the radio hits from Nevermind and In Utero.

With its chorus of double-tracked, serrated, drowsy bellowing, "You Know You're Right" is
the most Sabbath-esque song Kurt Cobain ever wrote. The last recording of his short
career centers around harsh drones and repetitions. It is not upset and losing it; it is upset
and inert. Cobain sings it with certainty. Here, after Nevermind, after the MTV enshrining
and all the interviews, he knows what turns the crowd on. In this single-disc coll... More >