In Utero [VINYL]

Product Information

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The real treat here is the second disc, which features an entirely new mix of the album, also done by original album producer Steve Albini. Certainly, having a full color picture of it enlightened me to what it was I had been looking at on the back of this album for all those years.

Engineer-producer Steve Albini has enabled Nirvana to replicate the savage immediacy of their live sound-the sound of a band without commercial aspirations or pretensions, just thrashing away for the sheer joy of noise. Originally released in 2002, Nirvana features the rare and previously unreleased studio version of 'You Know You're Right', the last song the band ever recorded, available exclusively on this compilation.

All of it comes this a wonderfully-designed box that houses a great book full of interesting notes, essays and pictures. Celebrating In Utero’s 30th, the album pressed on 180-gram vinyl plus 5 b-sides and bonus tracks pressed on a 10-inch have been newly remastered from 96kHz 24-bit transfers of the original analog tapes by original album engineer Bob Weston. After the embarrassing debacle that was the Nevermind re-release, I expected nothing but the worst from this.

It’s still the same album, nothing sounds unrecognisable, but it is fascinating, and an absolute must-listen for die-hard Nirvana fans. I actually like them more than the final versions that made the album, but I can see why they were replaced, they’re pretty abrasive and intense. Personally, I feel that when I have an album from a band I like in my music collection I want it to be as accurate of a rendition as possible of what the artistic vision for the album truly was. Some critics - and the band themselves - were disappointed in the sound of Pennyroyal Tea and felt that it was the one that could have done with Nevermind producer Butch Vig's magic touch.

Language - Regardless of country of origin all tracks are sung in English, unless otherwise stated in our description. Two of the tracks are being touted as “never before released songs” but they’re literally just instrumental jams. Original album artwork has been expanded to a premium tip-on gatefold jacket for the first time with new 10-inch jacket art. This same collage is featured on the back of the album but I could never appreciate what it was on my initial copy of the album. Final studio album from the seminal grunge band, who chose alternative noise guru Steve Albini as producer.

They wanted to do something unapologetic, raw and in someways bring Nirvana closer to their debut album Bleach.

I have been waiting for this, I could have brought the standard version but knew they would release a 30th anniversary version of this album eventually. The sweetspot between Nirvana at their rawest and hardest but also displaying Cobain's you-can't-teach-that-knack for writing the perfect pop song.