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Harvey Mandel - Live At The Matrix (1968)



Harvey Mandel (zwany "The Snake") to jeden z najlepszych gitarzystów. Trudno zliczyć wszystkie projekty muzyczne w których uczestniczył. Współtworzył m.in. fantastyczną grupę bluesową Canned Heat. Grał w zespołem Johna Mayalla - The Bluesbreakers, z Johnem Lee Hookerem, Grahamem Bondem, Charlie Musselwhite'em etc. etc. Na prawdę trudno wyliczyć to wszystko. Nagrał też sporo płyt, które firmował własnym nazwiskiem. To wszechstronny muzyk, wiecznie poszukujący - nie stroniący też od eksperymentów muzycznych. W prezentowanej odsłonie - z koncery w klubie The Matrix z 1968 roku - usłyszeć możemy długie gitarowe improwizacje, które mają posmak tamtych czasów. Takie granie było wówczas bardzo modne i trudno się dziwić.



Mandel became the original guitarist with Charlie Musselwhite, releasing the debut album Stand Back! in 1966. As a result of heavy airplay in San Francisco, they were invited to play The Fillmore by Bill Graham. Mandel moved to the Bay Area, regularly performing at the infamous club "The Matrix", where local favorites like Jerry Garcia, Elvin Bishop and Jefferson Airplane would sit in and jam.

On meeting the record producer Abe Kesh, Mandel was able to release his first solo album for Mercury Records entitled, Cristo Redentor in 1968, which included his version of "Wade in the Water."

In July 1969 he replaced Henry Vestine as lead guitarist in the blues band Canned Heat. Harvey remained with Canned Heat for nine months (until April 1970) with slide guitarist/vocalist Alan Wilson and singer Bob "The Bear" Hite. The custom of Canned Heat suggested that each member of the band acquired a nickname upon joining the band. Harvey's nickname, "The Snake," was given to him years before by keyboardist Barry Goldberg in Chicago (attributed to his cracked leather jacket and "snake-like guitar licks"). After several tours and three albums, including Future Blues, he was recruited by British bluesman John Mayall to be a member of the Bluesbreakers, recording the album, entitled USA Union together.

The band featured Mandel with Canned Heat bassist Larry "The Mole" Taylor, and violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris. Mandel also appeared on another significant Mayall album, Back To The Roots, on which Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor also guested. He also toured with Taylor and Harris under the name "Pure Food and Drug Act" and released one album before Harris was assaulted, effectively ending his career.

He resumed his solo career, releasing several more albums for Janus Records in the 1970s including Baby Batter, The Snake, and Shangrenade, the record where Harvey employed 2-handed fretboard tapping. Mandel was one of the first rock guitarists to utilize this technique, years before Eddie Van Halen and Stanley Jordan.

One of Mandel's most significant session credits was his participation on Black and Blue, the 1976 album by The Rolling Stones.

Following his stint with the Stones, he became a busy session player, with groups such as Love and The Ventures, and opened for Jeff Beck on his Canadian tour as a power trio with Jimmy Haslip, bassist for The Yellowjackets. He relocated to Chicago in the late 1970s and continued to tour extensively, as well as supporting groups such as Roxy Music. In 1980, Mandel relocated to Florida as a member of the house band at Ron Wood's Miami nightclub, "Woody's," with Rolling Stones attendant saxophonist, Bobby Keys.

In the mold of Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, and Mike Bloomfield, Mandel is an extremely creative rock guitarist with heavy blues and jazz influences. And like those guitarists, his vocal abilities are basically nonexistent, though Mandel, unlike some similar musicians, has always known this, and concentrated on recordings that are entirely instrumental, or feature other singers. A minor figure most known for auditioning unsuccessfully for the Rolling Stones, he recorded some intriguing (though erratic) work on his own that anticipated some of the better elements of jazz-rock fusion, showcasing his concise chops, his command of a multitude of tone pedal controls, and an eclecticism that found him working with string orchestras and country steel guitar wizards. Mandel got his first toehold in the fertile Chicago white blues-rock scene of the mid-'60s (which cultivated talents like Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, and Steve Miller), and made his first recordings as the lead guitarist for harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite. Enticed to go solo by Blue Cheer producer Abe Kesh, Harvey cut a couple of nearly wholly instrumental albums for Phillips in the late '60s that were underground FM radio favorites, establishing him as one of the most versatile young American guitar lions. He gained his most recognition, though, not as a solo artist, but as a lead guitarist for Canned Heat in 1969 and 1970, replacing Henry Vestine and appearing with the band at Woodstock. Shortly afterward, he signed up for a stint in John Mayall's band, just after the British bluesman had relocated to California. Mandel unwisely decided to use a vocalist for his third and least successful Philips album. After his term with Mayall (on USA Union and Back to the Roots) had run its course, he resumed his solo career, and also formed Pure Food & Drug Act with violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris (from the '50s R&B duo Don & Dewey), which made several albums. In the mid-'70s, when the Rolling Stones were looking for a replacement for Mick Taylor, Mandel auditioned for a spot in the group; although he lost to Ron Wood, his guitar does appear on two cuts on the Stones' 1976 album, Black & Blue.

Recording intermittently since then as a solo artist and a sessionman, his influence on the contemporary scene is felt via the two-handed fretboard tapping technique that he introduced on his 1973 album Shangrenade, later employed by Eddie Van Halen, Stanley Jordan, and Steve Vai. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

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Joachim Kühn and Rolf Kühn - Bloody Rockers (1968)



Bardzo często podkreśla się romantyczny liryzm Joachima Kühna. Jeśli jednak jego celem byłoby wyrażanie najgłębszych emocji należałoby stwierdzić, iż ten wirtuoz pianina, ta emblematyczna postać europejskiego free jazzu jest szaleńcem.

Jego skomplikowana gra, zmieniająca się z każdą frazą, stale sobie zaprzeczająca, poprzez dekonstrukcję wprowadzająca innowacje, świadczy raczej o ciągłych próbach zrywania z samym sobą. „Tworzenie” jest jedynym hasłem przewodnim tego poety chaosu. Jest Niemcem, mówi po angielsku i mieszka w Hiszpanii : „Żyję jak Cygan bez domu, co roku daję koncerty na czterech końcach świata.

W wieku 50 lat, Joachim Kühn jest jednym z najbardziej wziętych pianistów jazzowych. Urodzony przy dźwiękach muzyki, którą umiał czytać zanim nauczył się alfabetu (jego brat, z którym dzielił pokój, całymi dniami słuchał Benny`ego Goodmana), studiował nie tylko pianino, ale też teorię i historię muzyki oraz kompozycję u Arthura Schmidta Elsey`a od 1949 do 1961r.

„Wydaje mi się, że już w wieku 9 lat zdecydowałem, że zostanę muzykiem jazzowym. Aby stać się dobrym jazzmanem, dobrym improwizatorem należy liczyć się z wieloma latami pracy, trzeba wszystkiego się nauczyć, po czym wszystko zapomnieć.”

W wieku 15 lat gra swój pierwszy klasyczny koncert. W roku 1961 staje się profesjonalnym jazzmanem, który z rozwianymi włosami, wzrokiem skupionym na 88 klawiszach, przelewa nawałnice lirycznych nut. Doskonały warsztat techniczny i wirtuozeria przywołują Litza a wewnętrzny śpiew i gęstość przypominają Coltrane`a. „John Coltrane wywarł na mnie bezsprzecznie największy wpływ, nauczył mnie być indywidualistą i zawsze iść do przodu w muzyce. Jest to jeden z najważniejszych muzyków naszych czasów.

Od 1962 do 1999r prowadzi swoje własne trio, od 66 do 69 wraz z bratem kierują kwartetem w Hamburgu, a następnie swoim własnym zespołem w latach 69-71 w Paryżu. Należy również do formacji Jean-Luc Ponty`ego (Experience) od 71 do 72r., po czym rozpoczyna współpracę ze szwedzkim puzonistą Eje Thelinem. Wtedy też rozpoczyna tournee po Azji, Afryce Polnocnej, Portugalii i Hiszpanii. Od 1974r. bierze udział w największych międzynarodowych festiwalach i sesjach nagraniowych (do dziś ponad 200 płyt), oraz kontynuuje liczne tournee. W latach 80, spędzonych we Francji oddaje się komponowaniu nie rezygnując przy tym z tournee, między innymi z trio założonym z Danielem Humair i Jean-François Jenny Clarkiem.

Przyjaciele twierdzą, iż Kühn żyje tylko dla i dzięki muzyce. Jest przede wszystkim wybitnym pianistą (nawet, jeśli uczył się gry na saksofonie), który opanowawszy szeroką technikę, podobnie jak jego przyjaciel, Martial Solal, stale się doskonali. Odwiedza praktycznie wszystkie zakątki klasycznej muzyki zachodniej, jazz, free jazz, rock, awangardę i współczesność.

Lubię wszystkie rodzaje muzyki, nie dzielę muzyki na rodzaje i style, muzyka to muzyka... Jest muzyka dobra i zła. Angażuję się we wszystkie rodzaje muzyki. Jak byłem młody grałem be-bop, w latach 60 free, a w 70 fusion. Najważniejsze jest to, żeby przechodząc te wszystkie przemiany starać się odnaleźć swój własny styl.



I couldn't find an exact date on this release but it feels like '67 or early '68. Groovy jazz(ish) rock tunes, heavy on the rock but occasionally heading "out there" (check the way Sounds of Feelings devolves in the middle). All orginals with songwriting credits split evenly throughout the album. Older brother Rolf Kühn started out playing clarinet in the late 40's, relocated to the U.S. mid 50's subbing for Benny Goodman and playing with Tommy Dorsey's band. Back to Germany in '62 he began to get a bit more adventurous throughout the decade.

Thanks to great Magic Of Juju for this stuff.

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Kevin Coyne - Case History ... Plus (1994)




Kevin Coyne (ur. 27 stycznia 1944 r., w Derby w Wielkiej Brytanii, zm. 2 grudnia 2004 r. w Norymberdze, w Niemczech), angielski wokalista i gitarzysta bluesowy, kompozytor, reżyser i pisarz.

Po studiach na akademii sztuk plastycznych zaczął pracować jako pielęgniarz w szpitalach psychiatrycznych (najpierw w Preston, a potem w Londynie), wśród ludzi zagubionych życiowo i wyobcowanych, narkomanów i alkoholików. Doświadczenia zdobyte w tej pracy znalazły swe odbicie w tekstach jego piosenek.

Pod koniec lat 60. XX w. zaczął występować ze swoimi zespołami: Siren i Kevin Coyne Band, a w latach 80. z zespołem Ruts D.C. Stworzył również kilka dramatów muzycznych, m.in. England, England (1977), napisany wraz z Snoo Wilsonem, a także Babble (1978), oparte na historiach z kronik sądowych i Fat Old Heroes (1978), opowiadający o schyłku życia Elvisa Presleya.

W jednym ze szpitali, w których pracował, nakręcił film The Institution (1978), zaś do komedii Die Schawrtzfahrer (1982) napisał muzykę. W połowie lat 80. zapadł na ciężką depresję, spowodowaną nadużywaniem alkoholu i przeprowadził się do Norymbergi.

Zmarł na zwłóknienie płuc. Po jego śmierci, jego żona - Helmi rozpoczęła wielką akcję reedycyjną albumów Kevina Coyne'a. (wikipedia)



In 1973, the singer-songwriter Kevin Coyne, who has died of lung fibrosis aged 60, released his second album, Marjory Razor Blade. It was well received by critics, although his wantonly mannered and guttural delivery, exploration of unorthodox song structure and often improvised lyrics concerning unsavoury topics were not conducive to chart success.

His dour and self-effacing manner did not help in interviews, either. Indeed, Virgin's press office referred to him as an "anti-star". Nevertheless, largely through Radio One presenter John Peel's championing, Coyne built a cult following. What he was proving was the artistic merit of sweating over something new while more celebrated contemporaries turned out increasingly ordinary albums. He toured New Zealand and North America, and released a further seven Virgin albums - while their spin-off singles were worthwhile marketing exercises.

If he meant nothing in the Top 40, Coyne was appreciated as a songwriter's songwriter, and collaborated with musicians such as Zoot Money, Andy Summers, Carla Bley, Robert Wyatt and, for 1979's Babble, Dagmar Krause, the mainstay of Slapp Happy and Henry Cow.

He earned, too, the admiration of Johnny Rotten and Sting. Coyne was infinitely less precious and artistically self-centred than other artists of that era, such as Nick Drake, Melanie Safka and James Taylor, whose primarily acoustic albums appealed more to self-doubting adolescent diarists than fans of heavy metal, jazz-rock and similar genres that dominated early 1970s rock.



Born in Derby, Coyne was educated at Joseph Wright school of art from 1957 to 1961 and then studied graphics and painting at Derby school of art from 1961 to 1965. He was also performing, mostly in folk clubs, where he sometimes provoked the extreme audience reaction that became more pronounced after he turned professional.

From 1965 to 1968, Coyne worked as a social therapist at Whittingham hospital, Preston. He then worked for London's Soho Project as a drugs counsellor. These experiences - and a fondness for the grippingly personal styles of black rural bluesmen - informed his early attempts at composition as a vocalist with Siren, a blues-rock quartet, contracted to Peel's Dandelion record company.

Aided by plugs from Peel, two singles and two albums sold steadily if unremarkably before Siren disbanded in 1972. By then married and a father, Coyne quit his day job and struck out on his own with a solo album, Case History, and a European tour with other Dandelion artists. He also ventured into musical theatre via a revue at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. Then came the contract with Virgin.



Coyne was to become particularly popular in Germany, location of the in-concert Live Rough And More album - and, in the early 1980s, he formed a German backing outfit, The Paradise Band. This was more convenient for commuting to an ever-increasing workload, the strain of which, combined with a messy divorce and worsening alcoholism, had caused a nervous breakdown.

He took up permanent residency in Nuremberg, and managed to balance a resumption of his recording and touring schedule with making headway as a painter, exhibiting principally in the Netherlands and Germany. Many buyers of his work were unfamiliar with his rock past. He also wrote Show Business (1993) and several other books of poems and short stories - some in German, most recently Ich, Elvis Und Die Anderen (2000).

While he continued to be received with affection elsewhere, Coyne concentrated on Germany, where he balanced a consistency of presentation with experiment and keeping consumers guessing what he would be trying next. There was also a rumour that Coyne had been approached to replace the late Jim Morrison as lead singer with the Doors. "I didn't," he said, "show much enthusiasm." Morrison was to be, however, a central figure in a Coyne play based on posthumous squabbles between dead pop icons. His 1995 album, The Adventures Of Frank Randle, was based on a stage musical about an English comedian - with Coyne in the title role. It also starred his second wife, singer Julia Kempken.

His sons from his first marriage, guitarist Robert and drummer Eugene, were recruited into the touring ensemble, and were heard on latter day albums, which included Knocking On Your Brain (1997), with guest guitarist Gary Lucas, once of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band; Room Full Of Fools (2000), with Brendan Croker; and Carnival, featuring the track Rolling And Tumbling, a nod to the blues that had captured Coyne's adolescent imagination.

He is survived by Julia, and Robert and Eugene.

Kevin Coyne, singer, composer, writer and painter, born January 27 1944; died December 2 2004 ( The Guardian)

This stuff comes from Music, Peace & Love To The World blogspot.

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Monks - Demo Tapes 1965 (2007)



Cóż ... chyba wszyscy szanujący się miłośnik garażowego grania wie z czym wiąże się nazwa The Monks - to protoplaści punkowego brzmienia, więc nie ma sensu żebym się zbyt wiele rozpisywał - kto chce niech sobie wygugluje.

What the label says about Demo Tapes 1965, by Monks:

Yes, the legendary band the Monks, responsible for one of the most fabulous records of of 60s (Black Monk Time). This is a totally pro studio recording that preceded the album. Here you can find earlier versions of most the album best songs. In this record we have also included two tracks of The Five Torquays (The Monks before changing names and shaving their heads), and one track of the Monks Tribute record Monk Hop by Jason Forrest.

Listen up, jerk, it's black Monk time all over again! This record collects the 1965 demos by the Monks, that storied, proto-punk garage rock platoon comprised of five renegade American GIs stationed in Germany. These sessions aren't really that raw by today's standards (or compared to, say, Stooges bootlegs), but they are grimier and more cavernous than the band's crucial, lone album, the 1966-issued (since reissued) Black Monk Time. Considering the year and the locale in which they were created, the songs on this archival effort are pretty damn bold. Dig singer Gary Burger's mental-ward sermonizing or his gnarled, no wave-ish guitar solos. Feel the primal pulse of his buddies' burbling bass, cheesy-cum-sinister church organ, silly electric banjo and tubby, tom-heavy drums. The Monks, whose Reeperbahn-fueled delusions inspired them to shave tonsures into their heads and wear robes, played the most brilliantly stupid, stripped-down music of the day. They were the self-proclaimed anti-Beatles -- unmelodic, rhythm-based, simplistic and anything but cute. Just listen to the way Burger growls, "Baby, I hate you!," and you'll get the message, loud and clear.

"...the earliest document of their minimalist past...it veers from psychotic nursery-rhyme relentlessness...to distorted psychofolk....a fascinating blueprint for the true deranged genius of BLACK MONK TIME..." MOJO SONGS: Monk Time; Love Came Tumbling Down; Boys Are Boys; Space Age; We Do Wie Du; I Hate You; Pretty Suzanne; Higgle-dy-piggle-dy; Hushie Pushie; Oh, How To Do Now; There She Walks; Boys Are Boys, Monk Hop.

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The Brotherhood - Stavia (1972)



Oto absolutna perełka, na którą trafiłem przypadkiem w sieci - amerykańska grupa The Brotherhood. Praktycznie niewiele wiadomo na ich temat. Działali pod koniec lat sześćdziesiątych i w 1972 roku wydali swoją jedyną płytę. Dla mnie jest to absolutna rewelacja. Kilka bardzo gęstych utworów klimatem trochę nawiązującym do Grateful Dead. Muzykom chyba bardziej chodzi o mocny przekaz niż na długich "rozjechanych" improwizacjach tak modnych w czasach flower-power. Utwory są bardzo treściwe - są też oczywiście improwizacje, ale w takiej dawce jaką potrzeba. Szczerze polecam wszystkim miłośnikom psychodelii i progresji.



Michael Coe - flute, guitar, vocals
Bill Fairbanks - bass, piano, guitar, vocals
Jeff Hanson - lead guitar, vocals
John Hurd - keyboards, bass, vocals
Don Hoskins - drums

Obscure mellow hippie rock with organ and flute, similar to Borealis soundwise, plus some Santana moves. Listenable OK but hardly the stuff private press heads crave. The original was issued through the Rite recording plant, famous for dozens of great 60s punk 45s. The band from Ohio released only that one album whick was reissued in france unknown label with 2 bonus tracks. Very strongly recommended !!!

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Doctor Downtrip (1973)



Formed in Brussels back in 1969, Doctor Downtrip were to debut with a single for the Vogue label. The outfit’s slightly “psychedelic” leanings (with regards to their use of saxophone on “gravitation” and flute on “music for your mind”), gained them quite some attention. Who exactly was in the band remains a mystery, although the Dutchman J. Van Wagensveld did compose both songs on this effort.

In june 1970 they played the “Puzzle P-festival”(a famous Brussels club in the Rue De Bouchers) with many Belgian hardrock bands as well as headliner Wallace Collection. But the first highlight of their relatively brief career was their appearance at the Bilzen Rock & Jazz festival in august 1970 along such acts as Badfinger and Screaming Lord Sutch. Both festivals also had another Brussels band, Burning Plague on the bill. When by the end of 1970 Plague’s Michael Heslop (who was original from the USA) decided to put his band on hold, the announcement of his entry to Doctor Downtrip quickly followed.

After a while this new line-up (John Hastry on bass, Michael Heslop on guitar, Paul Van De Velden on drums, Michel Rorive on vocals and Sylvain Paul on organ) was really rocking as proven on the “summer festival Den Haan “ and the fondly-remembered Jemelle festival on august 8th,1971 where they supported Golden Earring and Genesis.(In april 1972 they supported Genesis a second time when they played in Arl.

It took more than a year before the new five-piece had an impressive armoury of self-penned compositions at their disposal, and the first proof of it, came in 1972 when they released the single “take my place” backed with “depressed” on CBS records. Both songs showed the real potential of this hardrock band as their fine organ/guitar work was finally captured on vinyl. After healthy sales a second two-tracker was scheduled for release, but without haste, as it was already 1973 when “jumpin’ in the air / winter’s coming” saw the light of day.



The “A” side was a radio-friendly rock song (along with sing-along and handclaps) but it was the backside who made impression with yet another heavy song with great solo’s. An appearance as support act for Mark Bolan’s T-REX (on march 24th ,1973) at the big vorst/forest national hall also made impression.

Therefore it came as a surprise to hear the band was working on a full-lp with a new singer; Jean Paul Goossens (and Serge Paul on second guitar). This first lp (recorded with Jean Huysmans in five days!) was without any doubt a cracking way to make their mark on the Belgian scene, and capable numbers such as “free morning time”, ”lost city”, “wanted”(heavy!!!) and the uptempo “big blue train” all demonstrated an uncanny knack for creating great hardrock-music. 1974 saw the release of another 7” with two reworked songs from that first album but after this, there was only silence from the Doctor’s camp.

By the end of 1975 Doctor Downtrip had already undergone a few changes with Heslop & Paul leaving to be replaced by only a guitarplayer: José Cuisset who came from Lagger Blues Machine. But it wasn’t only the line-up who’s been changed, also the name was shortened to Downtrip.
After that, the band managed to record their second lp and for the first time produced it themselves (all other recordings were produced by Jean Huysmans). “If You Don’t Rock Now” was released in 1976 on CBS/Epic. Excellent hard-rocking stuff throughout; highlights were “sweet lies” and the awesome “getting louder”. Although they were a regular attraction at nations rock clubs and festivals, from then on, they no longer seem to have been able to get invitations to play the bigger support slots.

It took more than two years before another Downtrip album hit the shops, but “Downtown” was a fine third set. Especially the first side had storming numbers such as “scarecrow”, ”shout it out”, “dedicated to you” and the longer title song. Despite this album things started falling apart and by the end of the decade, the Downtrip members concluded that they were fighting a losing battle and had called it a day without making much of a fuss about it. (review from waytoyoursoul.blogspot)

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Nirvana - In Utero Demos (2001)



Amerykańska grupa rockowa spod znaku grunge i alternatywnego rocka. Istniała w latach 1987 – 1994. Założycielem grupy był Kurt Cobain (gitara, wokal) oraz imigrant chorwackiego pochodzenia - Krist Novoselic (bas). Przez formację przewinęło się w sumie 7 perkusistów, ostatnim był Dave Grohl (od 1990 roku). Wspólnie z Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, czy Soungarden nadawała kierunek rockowej scenie przełomu lat 80. i 90.

Cobain i Novoselic spotkali się po raz pierwszy w 1985 roku. Obaj zafascynowani byli formacją Melvins. Mieli już za sobą próby założenia własnych zespołów, ale dopiero poznanie perkusisty Aarona Burcharda zaowocowało powstaniem pierwszego składu formacji, która do historii muzyki miała przejść pod nazwą Nirvana. We wczesnej fazie – muzycy określali swoje brzmienie jako połączenie Scratch Acid z Gang of Four. Perkusista nie zagrzał miejsca w zespole – został z niego usunięty, a na jego miejsce przyjęto Dale’a Crovera, z którym nagrano pierwsze taśmy demo. Po jego odejściu – za bębnami siadł Dave Foster. Zmiany personalne nie były jedynymi, z którymi borykał się zespół – muzycy nie mogli zdecydować się na ostateczną nazwę formacji – pojawiały się - Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew i Ted Ed Fred. Ostateczna nazwa – Nirvana pojawiła się w 1988 roku. A jej debiut sceniczny – miała z kolejnym perkusistą – Chadem Channingiem w marcu tego roku.

Zadebiutowali singlem „”Love Buzz/Big Cheese” (1988), a rok później wydali pierwszy longplay – „Bleach”, jak podkresla wielu – odtwórczy w stosunku do dokonań Melvins, Pixies i legendy hard rocka – Black Sabbath. Koszty albumu pokrył Jason Everman i choć nie pojawił się w żadnym utworze na płycie – został umieszczony w składzie jako gitarzysta. Przetrwał w formacji jedynie trasę promocyjną krążka, a potem został wyrzucony ze składu.

W 1990 roku Nirvana rozpoczęła pracę nad kolejnym wydawnictwem długogrającym. Po zakończeniu pracy w studiu – z zespołu odszedł dotychczasowy perkusista - Chad Channing, coraz mniej angażujący się twórczo w komponowanie utworów. Do zespołu dołączył więc ponownie Dale Crover oraz Dan Peters, który zagrał jednak tylko w jednym utworze – „Sliver”. Kilka tygodni później Cobain i Novoselic poznali Dave’a Grohla. W ten sposób ukonstytuował się klasyczny skład zespołu.



Po zerwaniu kontraktu płytowego z Sub Pop – w 1990 roku związali się z DGC Records. Niedługo potem ruszyły prace nad nowym krążkiem – „Nevermind” (1991). Materiał częściowo był już gotowy („In Bloom” oraz „Breed”), nad innymi pracowano i długo nie było widać ostatecznej wersji utworów. Ostatecznym miksowaniem zajął się producent Slayera – Andy Wallach. Sami muzycy określili wydawnictwo jako „zbyt gładkie”. Promował je singiel „Smells Like Teen Spirit”, który z dnia na dzień stał się niebywałym sukcesem komercyjnym zespołu. Trasa promująca krążek uczyniła w zespołu megagwiazdę – na koncerty brakowało biletów, fanów wpuszczano ponad dopuszczalny limit miejsc, a do tego wszechobecne kamery telewizyjne. Tymczasem, po trzech miesiącach od wydania – „Smell Like Teen Spirit” sprzedawał się w imponującym nakładzie 400 000 egzemplarzy tygodniowo! W styczniu 1992 roku zajął 1. miejsce prestiżowego zestawienia Billboard Top 200, deklasując „Dangerous” Michaela Jacksona. Podobnie było z całym longplay’em, który sprzedawał się znakomicie.

W lutym 1992 roku Kurt ożenił się z Cortney Love, liderką zespołu Hole. Pięć miesięcy później na świecie pojawiło się ich jedyne dziecko – córka Frances Bean Cobain. Kilka dni po jej narodzinach Nirvana dała słynny koncert na Reading Festival. Krążyły plotki o kłopotach zdrowotnych wokalisty oraz możliwym rozpadzie grupy. Cobain wykorzystał to, by zadrwić z dziennikarzy – wjechał na scenę na wózku inwalidzkim, potem jednak wstał i dał świetny występ. Prawdą było jednak to, że zespół wydawał się przytłoczony sukcesem oraz był wykończony trasą koncertową. Dlatego muzycy zdecydowali się jedynie na kameralne występy w drugiej połowie roku.

Kilka tygodni później zespół wystąpił na rozdaniu nagród MTV Video Music, na który ustalono wspólnie z dyrekcją stacji – wykonanie najnowszego singla grupy – „Lithium”. Nie zgodzono się bowiem na utwór „Rape Me”, jako zbyt mocny w przekazie. Kurt jednak nie byłby sobą, gdyby choć nie próbował postawić na swoim – bezpośrednio przed wykonaniem „Lithium” zaśpiewał dwie linijki zakazanej piosenki. Występ przeszedł do historii również z tego powodu, że basiście odmówił posłuszeństwa wzmacniacz – ten rzucił w górę swoją gitarę, która spadając dość mocno uderzyła go w głowę. Widząc to – wokalista zaczął niszczyć pozostały sprzęt, a perkusista krzycząc – pozdrawiał ze sceny Axla Rose’a, wokalistę Guns N’ Roses siedzącego na widowni.

W grudniu 1992 roku pojawiła się w sklepach - „Incesticide” - składanka utworów z tak zwanych stron B, niepublikowanych dotąd nagrań studyjnych oraz piosenek z dotychczasowych minialbumów i singli, materiał na potrzeby BBC oraz covery The Vaselines i Devo.

Do pracy nad kolejnym krążkiem „In Utero” grupa zaprosiła Steve’a Albiniego, który miał przywrócić na albumie ciężkie brzmienie formacji. Kurt był zachwycony efektem końcowym, tym bardziej, że longplay nagrano w iście ekspresowym tempie 14 dni. Niestety wytwórnia nie podzielała tego entuzjazmu. Wokalista narzekał potem, że miksowanie zepsuło pierwotny efekt – między innymi ustawiono zbyt nisko linię basów. Do pomocy zaangażowano Scotta Litta, znanego ze współpracy z R.E.M., a Kurt dodatkowo dołożył więcej instrumentarium oraz wokal wspomagający. Wydawnictwo zadebiutowało we wrześniu 1993 roku na 1. miejscu zestawienia Billboard Top 200. Niewątpliwie krążek odniósł komercyjny sukces, choć już nie tak spektakularny, jak poprzednik. Niedługo potem zespół ruszył w promocyjną trasę koncertową po USA, wspomagany na scenie przez gitarzystę Pata Smeara (The Germs).



W listopadzie tego roku formacja zagrała bez prądu dla MTV. W repertuarze znalazły się tylko dwa przeboje – „Come as You Are” oraz „All Apologies” oraz covery mniej znanych kompozycji. Zarejestrowano wszystko przy pierwszym podejściu w niecała godzinę, co było mistrzowskim wynikiem, jak na dotychczasowe doświadczenia MTV. Premiera wydawnictwa miała miejsce w grudniu 1993 roku.

Początek kolejnego roku zastał muzyków w trasie koncertowej. Kurt zachorował na zapalenie oskrzeli i krtani. Tracił głos. Kolejny występ trzeba było odwołać. 4 marca, żona artysty znalazła go nieprzytomnego w pokoju hotelowym. Natychmiast odwieziono go do szpitala, gdzie stwierdzono standardową reakcję na zażywany lek oraz alkohol, który znaleziono we krwi muzyka. Pozostałą część tournee trzeba było odwołać. Następne tygodnie okazały się jego powrotem do uzależnienia od heroiny. Umieszczono go w ośrodku odwykowym, z którego po tygodniu uciekł i samolotem wrócił do Seattle. Tydzień później, 8 kwietnia został znaleziony martwy z raną postrzałową głowy w swoim domu. Jak stwierdziła policja – nie żył od trzech dni.

Wraz z jego śmiercią skończyła się historia zespołu Nirvana. (miastomuzyki.pl)

Kurt Cobain – guitar, vocals
Krist Novoselic – bass
Dave Grohl – drums, backing vocals
Kera Schaley – cello on "All Apologies" and "Dumb"
Steve Albini – producer, engineer



In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American grunge band Nirvana released on September 13, 1993 by DGC Records. Nirvana intended the record to be significantly divergent from the polished production of its previous album Nevermind. To capture a more abrasive and natural sound, the group hired producer Steve Albini to record In Utero during a two-week period in February 1993. The music was recorded quickly with few studio embellishments, while the song lyrics and album packaging incorporated medical imagery that conveyed frontman Kurt Cobain 's outlook on his new-found fame and personal life.

Soon after recording was completed, controversy erupted as rumors circulated that DGC did not like the sessions with Albini and might not release the album in its original state, as it considered the result "uncommercial". Although Nirvana publicly denied the statements, the group was not fully satisfied with the sound Albini had captured. Albini declined to alter the album further, and ultimately the band hired Scott Litt to make minor changes to the album's sound and remix the singles "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies".

Upon release, In Utero entered the Billboard 200 chart at number one and received critical acclaim as a drastic departure from Nevermind. The record has been certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has sold over four million copies in the United States alone.

Nirvana broke into the musical mainstream with its major label debut, Nevermind, in 1991. Despite modest sales estimates—the band's record company, DGC Records, forecast that 50,000 copies would be sold—Nevermind became a huge commercial success, selling millions of copies and popularizing the Seattle grunge movement and alternative rock in general. However, all three members of Nirvana—singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl — later expressed dissatisfaction with the sound of the album, citing its production as too polished. Early in 1992, Cobain told Rolling Stone that he was sure that the band's next album would showcase "both of the extremes" of its sound, saying "it'll be more raw with some songs and more candy pop on some of the others. It won't be as one-dimensional [as Nevermind]". Cobain wanted to start work on the album in the summer of 1992. However, the band was unable to since Cobain and his bandmates lived in different cities, and the singer and his wife Courtney Love were expecting the birth of their daughter Frances. DGC had hoped to have a new album by the band ready for a late 1992 holiday season release; since work on it proceeded slowly, the label released the compilation album Incesticide in December 1992.



In a Melody Maker interview published in July 1992, Kurt Cobain told the English journalist Everett True he was interested in recording with Jack Endino (who had produced the group's 1989 debut album Bleach) and Steve Albini (former frontman of the noise rock band Big Black and producer for various indie releases). Cobain said he would then choose the best material from the sessions for inclusion on the group's next album. In October 1992, Nirvana recorded several songs (mainly as instrumentals) during a demo session with Endino in Seattle; many of these songs would later be re-recorded for In Utero. Endino recalled that the band did not ask him to produce its next record, but noted that the band members constantly debated working with Albini. The group recorded another set of demos while on tour in Brazil in January 1993. One of the recordings from this session, the long improvisational track "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip", was included as a hidden track on non-US copies of In Utero.

Nirvana ultimately chose Albini to record its third album. Albini had a reputation as a principled and opinionated individual in the American independent music scene. While there was speculation that the band chose Albini to record the album due to his underground credentials, Cobain told Request magazine in 1993, "For the most part I wanted to work with him because he happened to produce two of my favorite records, which were Surfer Rosa [by the Pixies] and Pod [by The Breeders]." Inspired by those albums, Cobain wanted to utilize Albini's technique of capturing the natural ambiance of a room via the usage and placement of several microphones, something previous Nirvana producers had been averse to trying. Months before the band had even approached Albini about the recording, rumors circulated that he was slated to record the album. Albini sent a disclaimer to the British music press denying involvement, only to get a call from Nirvana's management a few days later about the project. Although Albini considered Nirvana to be "R.E.M.with a fuzzbox" and "an unremarkable version of the Seattle sound", he told Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad he accepted because he felt sorry for the band members, whom he perceived to be "the same sort of people as all the small-fry bands I deal with", at the mercy of its record company. Before the start of recording sessions, the band sent Albini a tape of the demos it had made in Brazil. In return, Albini sent Cobain a copy of the PJ Harvey album Rid of Me to give him an idea of what the studio where they would record at sounded like.

The members of Nirvana and Albini decided on a self-imposed two-week deadline for recording the album. Wary of interference by DGC, Albini suggested the band members pay for the sessions with their own money, which they agreed to. Studio fees totaled US$ 24,000, while Albini took a flat fee of $100,000 for his services. Despite the suggestions of Nirvana's management company Gold Mountain, Albini refused to take percentage points on record sales, even though he stood to earn approximately $500,000 in royalties. While a common practice among producers in the music industry, Albini refused to take royalties because he considered it to be immoral and "an insult to the artist".



In February 1993, Nirvana traveled to Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota to record the album. Albini did not meet the band members until the first day of recording, though he had spoken to them beforehand about the type of album they wanted to make. Albini observed that "they wanted to make precisely the sort of record that I'm comfortable doing". The group stayed in a house located on the studio grounds during the recording sessions. Novoselic compared the isolated conditions to a gulag; he added, "There was snow outside, we couln't go anywhere. We just worked." For most of the sessions, the only people present were the band members, Albini, and technician Bob Weston. The band made it clear to DGC and Gold Mountain that it did not want any intrusion during the album production, going as far as not playing any of the work in progress for its record label A&R representative. To prevent the group's managers and label from interfering, Albini instituted a strict policy of ignoring everyone except for the band members; the producer explained that everyone associated with the group aside from the musicians themselves were "the biggest pieces of shit I ever met".

The album sessions began slowly but would ultimately gain momentum; the band arrived at Pachyderm Studio without their equipment, and spent much of the first three days there waiting for it to arrive by mail. However, once recording began on February 13, work moved quickly. On most days the group began work around midday, took breaks for lunch and dinner, and continued work through midnight. Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl recorded their basic instrumental tracks together as a band. The group utilized this setup on all songs except for faster compositions like "Very Ape" and "tourette's", where the drums were recorded separately in a nearby kitchen due to its natural reverb. Albini surrounded Grohl's drum kit with approximately 30 microphones. Cobain added additional guitar tracks to about half the songs, then added guitar solos, and finally vocals. The band did not discard takes, and kept virtually everything it captured on tape. Albini felt he was more an engineer than a producer; despite his personal opinions, he ultimately let the band judge which were decent takes. He said, "Generally speaking, [Cobain] knows what he thinks is acceptable and what isn't acceptable [. . .] He can make concrete steps to improve things that he doesn't think are acceptable." Cobain reportedly recorded all his vocal tracks in six hours. The band completed recording in six days; Cobain had originally anticipated disagreements with Albini, whom the singer heard "was supposedly this sexist jerk", but called the process "the easiest recording we've ever done, hands down". The only disruption occurred a week into the sessions, when Courtney Love arrived because she missed Cobain. The band, Love, and Albini refused to go into specifics, but Weston's girlfriend—who served as the studio's chef—stated that Love created tension by criticizing Cobain's work and being confrontational with everyone present.

Audio mixing is the process by which a multitude of recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics and panoramic position are commonly being manipulated and effects such as reverb might be added.... process for the album was completed over the course of five days. This rate was quick by Nirvana's standards, but not for Albini, who was used to mixing entire albums in a day or two. On occasions when work on a song mix was not producing desired results, the band and Albini took the rest of the day off to watch nature videos, set things on fire, and make prank phone calls for amusement. The sessions were completed on February 26.

Albini sought to produce a record that sounded nothing like Nevermind. He felt the sound of Nevermind was "sort of a standard hack recording that has been turned into a very, very controlled, compressed radio-friendly mix [. . .] That is not, in my opinion, very flattering to a rock band." Instead, the intention was to capture a more natural and visceral sound. Albini refused to double-track Cobain's vocals and instead recorded him singing alone in a resonant room. The producer noted the intensity of the singer's vocals on some tracks; he said, "There's a really dry, really loud voice at the end of 'Milk It' [. . .] that was also done at the end of 'Rape Me,' where [Cobain] wanted the sound of him screaming to just overtake the whole band." Albini achieved the album's sparse drum sound by simply placing several microphones around the room while Dave Grohl performed, picking up the natural reverberation of the room. Albini explained, "If you take a good drummer and put him in front of a drum kit that sounds good acoustically and just record it, you've done your job."

Azerrad asserted in his 1993 biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana that the music of In Utero showcased divergent sensibilities of abrasiveness and accessibility that reflected the upheavals Cobain experienced prior to the album's completion. He wrote, "The Beatlesque 'Dumb' happily coexists beside the all-out frenzied punk graffiti of 'Milk It,' while 'All Apologies' is worlds away from the apoplectic 'Scentless Apprentice.' It's as if [Cobain] has given up trying to meld his punk and pop instincts into one harmonious whole. Forget it. This is war." Cobain believed, however, that In Utero was not "any harsher or any more emotional" than any of Nirvana's previous records. Novoselic concurred with Azerrad's comments that the album's music leaned more towards the band's "arty, aggressive side"; the bassist said, "There's always been [Nirvana] songs like 'About a Girl' and there's always been songs like 'Paper Cuts' [. . .] Nevermind came out kind of 'About a Girl'-y and this [album] came out more 'Paper Cuts'". Cobain cited the track "Milk It" as an example of the more experimental and aggressive direction the band's music had been moving in in the months prior to the sessions at Pachyderm Studio. Novoselic viewed the album's singles "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" as "gateways" to the more abrasive sound of the rest of the album, telling journalist Jim DeRogatis that once listeners played the record they would discover "this aggressive wild sound, a true alternative record".



Several of the songs on In Utero had been written years prior, some of which dated back to 1990. With tracks like "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle", Cobain favored long song titles in reaction to contemporary alternative rock bands that utilized single-word titles. Cobain continued to work on the lyrics while recording at Pachyderm Studio. Nonetheless, Cobain told Spin in 1993 that in contrast to Bleach and Nevermind, the lyrics were "more focused, they're almost built on themes." Michael Azerrad asserted that the lyrics were less impressionistic and more straightforward than in previous Nirvana songs. Azerrad also noted that "[v]irtually every song contains some image of sickness and disease". In a number of songs Cobain made reference to books he had read. "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" was inspired by Shadowland, a 1978 biography of actress Frances Farmer, whom Cobain had been fascinated with ever since he read the book in high school. The song "Scentless Apprentice" was written about Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, a historical horror novel about a perfumer's apprentice born with no body odor of his own but with a highly developed sense of smell, and who attempts to create the "ultimate perfume" by killing virgin women and taking their scent.

Cobain stated in a 1993 interview with The Observer that "for the most part [In Utero]'s very impersonal". The songwriter also told Q that year that the abundance of infant and childbirth imagery on the album and his newfound fatherhood were coincidental. However, Azerrad argued that much of the album contains personal themes, noting that Grohl held a similar view. Grohl said, "A lot of what he has to say is related to a lot of the shit he's gone through. And it's not so much teen angst anymore. It's a whole different ball game: rock star angst." Cobain downplayed recent events ("I really haven't had that exciting a life") and told Azerrad that he didn't want to write a track that explicitly expressed his anger at the media, but the author countered that "Rape Me" seemed to deal with that very issue. While Cobain said the song was written long before his troubles with drug addiction became public, he agreed that the song could be viewed in that light. "Serve the Servants" contains comments about Cobain's life, both as a child and as an adult. The opening lines "Teenage angst has paid off well/Now I'm bored and old" were a reference to Cobain's state of mind in the wake of Nirvana's success. Cobain dismissed the media attention given to the affect his parents' divorce had on his life with the line "That legendary divorce is such a bore" from the chorus, and directly addressed his father with the lines "I tried hard to have a father/But instead I had a dad/I just want you to know that I don't hate you anymore/There is nothing I could say that I haven't thought before". Cobain said he wanted his father to know he didn't hate him, but had no desire to talk to him.

Cobain originally wanted to name the album I Hate Myself And I Want to Die, a phrase that had originated in his journals in mid-1992. At the time, the singer used the phrase as a response whenever someone asked him how he was doing. Cobain intended the album title as a joke; he stated he was "tired of taking this band so seriously and everyone else taking it so seriously". Novoselic convinced Cobain to change the title due to fear that it could potentially result in a lawsuit. The band then considered using Verse Chorus Verse—a title taken from its song "Verse Chorus Verse", and an earlier working title of "Sappy"—before eventually settling on In Utero. The final title was taken from a poem written by Courtney Love.

The art director for In Utero was Robert M. Fisher, who had designed all of Nirvana's releases on DGC. Most of the ideas for the artwork for the album and related singles came from Cobain. Fisher recalled that "[Cobain] would just give me some loose odds and ends and say 'Do something with it.'" The cover of the album is an image of a Transparent Anatomical Mannikin, with angel wings superimposed. Cobain created the collage on the back cover, which he described as "Sex and woman and In Utero and vaginas and birth and death", that consists of model fetuses and body parts lying in a bed of orchids and lilies. The collage had been set up on the floor of Cobain's living room and was photographed by Charles Peterson after an unexpected call from Cobain. The album's track listing and re-illustrated symbols from Barbara G. Walker's The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects were then positioned around the edge of the collage.

After the recording sessions were completed, Nirvana sent unmastered tapes of the album to several individuals, including the president of DGC's parent company Geffen Records Ed Rosenblatt and the group's management company Gold Mountain. When asked about the feedback, Cobain told Michael Azerrad, "The grown-ups don't like it." He said he was told his songwriting was "not up to par", the sound was "unlistenable" and that there was uncertainty that mainstream radio would welcome the sound of Albini's production. There were few people at Geffen or Gold Mountain that wanted the band to record with Albini to begin with, and Cobain felt he was receiving an unstated message to scrap the sessions and start all over again. Cobain was upset and said to Azerrad, "I should just rerecord this record and do the same thing we did last year because we sold out last year—there's no reason to try and redeem ourselves as artists at this point. I can't help myself—I'm just putting out a record I would like to listen to at home." However, a number of the group's friends liked the album, and by April 1993 Nirvana was intent on releasing In Utero as it was. According to Cobain, "Of course, they want another Nevermind, but I'd rather die than do that. This is exactly the kind of record I would buy as a fan, that I would enjoy owning."



The band members began to have doubts about the record's sound. During this time Cobain admitted, "The first time I played it at home, I knew there was something wrong. The whole first week I wasn’t really interested in listening to it at all, and that usually doesn’t happen. I got no emotion from it, I was just numb." The group concluded that the bass and lyrics were inaudible and approached Albini to remix the album. The producer declined; as he recalled, "[Cobain] wanted to make a record that he could slam down on the table and say, 'Listen, I know this is good, and I know your concerns about it are meaningless, so go with it.' And I don't think he felt he had that yet [. . .] My problem was that I feared a slippery slope." The band attempted to fix its concerns with the record during the mastering process with Bob Ludwig at his studio in Portland, Maine. Novoselic was pleased with the results, but Cobain still did not feel the sound was perfect.

Soon afterward, in April 1993 Albini remarked to the Chicago Tribune that he doubted Geffen would release the completed album. Albini commented years later that in a sense he felt he spoke about the situation "from a position of ignorance, because I wasn't there when the band was having their discussions with the record label. All I know is [. . .] we made a record, everybody was happy with it. A few weeks later I hear that it's unreleasable and it's all got to be redone". While Albini's remarks in the article drew no immediate reply from the group or its label, Newsweek ran a similar article soon afterwards that did. Nirvana denied there was any pressure from its label to change the album's sound, sending a letter to Newsweek that said that the article's author "ridiculed our relationship with our label based on totally erronous [sic] information"; the band also reprinted the letter in a full-page ad in Billboard. Rosenblatt insisted in a press release that Geffen would release anything the band submitted, and label founder David Geffen made the unusual move of personally calling Newsweek to complain about the article.

Nirvana wanted to do further work on the recorded tracks, and considered working with producer Scott Litt and remixing some tracks with Andy Wallace (who had mixed Nevermind). Albini vehemently disagreed, and claimed he had an agreement with the band that it would not modify the tracks without his involvement. Albini initially refused to give the album master tapes to Gold Mountain, but relented after a phone call from Novoselic. The band decided against working with Wallace and chose to remix and augment the songs "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" with Litt at Seattle's Bad Animals Studio in May 1993. One song, "I Hate Myself and Want to Die", was omitted from the final listing as Cobain felt there were too many "noise" songs on the album. The rest of the album was left unaltered aside from a remastering which sharpened the bass guitar sound and increased the volume of the vocals by approximately three decibels. Albini was critical of the album's final mix; he said, "The end result, the record in the stores doesn't sound all that much like the record that was made. Though it's still them singing and playing their songs, and the musical quality of it still comes across."

To avoid over-hyping the album, DGC Records took a low-key approach to promoting In Utero; the company's head of marketing told Billboard before the album's release that the label was taking a promotional strategy similar to that of Nevermind, and explained that the label would "set things up, duck, and get out of the way". The label aimed its promotion at alternative markets and press, and released the album on vinyl record as part of this strategy. In contrast to the previous album, the label did not release any of In Uteros singles commercially in the United States. DGC sent promo copies of the album's first single "Heart-Shaped Box" to American college Campus radio, modern rock, and album-oriented rock radio stations in early September, but the label did not target Top 40 radio. Despite the label's promotion, the band was convinced that In Utero would not be as successful as Nevermind. Cobain told Jim DeRogatis, "We're certain that we won't sell a quarter as much, and we're totally comfortable with that because we like this record so much."

In Utero was released on September 13, 1993 in the United Kingdom, and on September 14 in the United States; it was initially only available in vinyl record and cassette tape formats, with the American vinyl pressing limited to 25,000 copies. Although the album was issued on compact disc in the UK on September 14, a full domestic release did not occur until September 21. In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 180,000 copies in its first week of release. Meanwhile, retail chain stores Wal-Mart and Kmart refused to sell the album. According to The New York Times, Wal-Mart claimed it did not carry the album due to lack of consumer demand, while Kmart representatives explained that the album "didn't fit within our merchandise mix". In truth, both chains feared that customers would be offended by the artwork on the album's back cover. DGC issued a new version of the album with reworked packaging to the stores in March 1994. This version featured edited album artwork, and listed the name of "Rape Me" as "Waif Me". A spokesperson for Nirvana explained that the band decided to edit the packaging because as kids Cobain and Novoselic were only able to buy music from the two chain stores; as a result they "really want to make their music available to kids who don't have the opportunity to go to mom-and-pop stores".

In Utero received acclaim from critics. Times Christopher John Farleystated in his review of the album, "Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn't gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana." Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke wrote, "In Utero is a lot of things – brilliant, corrosive, enraged and thoughtful, most of them all at once. But more than anything, it's a triumph of the will." Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne (who gave the album a rating of B+) commented "Kurt Cobain hates it all", and noted that the sentiment pervades the record. Browne argued, "The music is often mesmerizing, cathartic rock & roll, but it is rock & roll without release, because the band is suspicious of the old-school rock cliches such a release would evoke." NME gave the album an eight out of ten rating. However, reviewer John Mulvey had doubts about the record; he concluded, "As a document of a mind in flux - dithering, dissatisfied, unable to come to terms with sanity - Kurt [Cobain] should be proud of [the album]. As a follow-up to one of the best records of the past ten years it just isn't quite there." Ben Thompson of The Independent commented that in spite of the album's more abrasive songs, "In Utero is beautiful far more often than it is ugly", and added, "Nirvana have wisely neglected to make the unlistenable punk-rock nightmare they threatened us with." Critics ranked In Utero as one of the best releases of the year. It placed first and second in the album categories of the Rolling Stone and Village Voice Pazz & Jop year-end critics' polls, respectively. Additionally, The New York Times included it on its list of the top ten albums of the year. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Albumat the 1994 Grammy Awards.

That October, Nirvana embarked on its first American tour in two years to promote the album. A second single, a split release that featured "All Apologies" and "Rape Me", was issued in December in the United Kingdom. The band began a six-week European leg of the tour in February 1994, but it was cancelled after Cobain suffered a drug overdose in Rome on March 6. Cobain agreed to enter drug rehabilitation, but the singer went missing soon afterwards, and on April 8 he was found dead in his Seattle home as the result of suicide by a shotgun blast. The intended third single from In Utero, "Pennyroyal Tea", was cancelled in the wake of Cobain's death and the subsequent dissolution of Nirvana; limited promotional copies were released in Britain. Three days after Cobain's body was discovered, In Utero moved back up the Billboard charts, from number 72 to number 27.

In the ensuing years, In Utero has continued to perform commercially and gather critical praise. In a 2003 Guitar World article that commemorated the tenth anniversary of the album's release, Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross argued that In Utero was "a far better record [than Nevermind] and one that only 10 years later seems to be an influential seed spreader, judging by current bands. If it is possible for an album that sold four million copies to be overlooked, or underappreciated, then In Utero is that lost pearl." That same year, Pitchfork Mediaplaced In Utero at number 13 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1990s, and Rolling Stone ranked it at number 439 on its list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2004 Blender ranked it at number 94 in its "100 Greatest American Albums of All Time" list, while in 2005, Spin placed it at number 51 on its "100 Greatest Albums 1985-2005" retrospective. In Utero has been certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over five million units, and has sold a total of four million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (absoluteastronomy.com)

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Bert Jansch - Jack Orion (1966)



Bert Jansch to jeden z najwybitniejszych gitarzystów. Pod koniec lat sześćdziesiątych występował z innym świetnym gitarzystą Johnem Renbournem w grupie The Pentangle grającej mieszankę folku, bluesa z elementami jazzu. Płyta "Jack Orion" jest jedną z moich ulubionych pozycji.

"Jack Orion" was Bert Jansch's third solo album, recorded in the early summer of 1966, and the first on which he played traditional folk songs rather than mostly original compositions. Jansch plays guitar, banjo and piano on the album, with John Renbourn also showing up to play guitar on half of the tracks (1, 3, 6 and 8). The two had just finished doing an album together and would, of course, eventually end up playing their dueling guitars for the group Pentangle, one of the premier British folk groups of the Sixties along with Fairport Convention (or whichever group had Sandy Denny singing lead vocals).



The title track is 9:46 long and one of those times when Jansch's vocals get in the way of enjoying his guitar playing, which is always the chief attraction on his albums. That is why the instrumental tracks, "The Waggoner's Lad" and "Henry Martin," are my favorite on this 1966 album. The most familiar songs are the instrumental take on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which you might need a moment to recognize (I think he improves the tune nicely), "Nottamun Town," which is where Bob Dylan got the melody for "Masters of War," and "Blackwaterside," which was transformed by Jimmy Page into "Black Mountain Side" on Led Zeppelin's debut album.

I find "Jack Orion" the album to be a second tier Jansch album, which still makes it worth listening (if you are not totally captivated by the title track it is hard to rate it otherwise). The more I listen to his work the more I start to think that I hear him doing something I have heard before, but that never turns out to be the case. But what you keep coming back to is how Jansch is one of the best guitar players you have ever heard and you will enjoy pretty much anything he plays. Word from the U.K. is that Jansch is taking a break from live performances for the first half of 2005 in order to concentrate on a new album, which is certainly welcome news. It is good to know there will be yet another Bert Jansch album to track down in the future. --- Lawrance M. Bernabo

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Tia Carrera (2006)



Austin, Texas denizens Tia Carrera consist of drummer Erik Conn, guitarist Jason Morales, and bassist Andrew Duplantis. Their third offering, which is untitled but marked ACG 012 (for Australian Cattle God 012), is music that takes the listener on a major drug trip. The opiate daze in the guitar lines, the sedative drift of the drum rolls, and the tranquilizing haze of the bass wells all ring with stoner rock keys and a flying kite-like carpet ride. The band has been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath but they have a Southern rock intonation in their chord ruminations more aligned with the Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and Widespread Panic.



There are seven songs on Tia Carrera's third album, but I couldn't tell them apart. The songs all drift into each other and whatever incremental differences there are between the tracks, it is only vaguely perceptible. There is a surreal quality in the songs, like they are a shadow of the tale they are telling. All the songs are instrumental pieces and they each keep the same composed tempo. The songs are tightly seamed in that the instrument parts all fit into each other and move in unison.

There is a '70s tint in their spin wheel psychedelics reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane and Cream, but overall the tones reflect a more modern rock spatiality, so you don't feel like you are listening to something that is quite as dated.



Tia Carrera is a hometown favorite in Austin, Texas. Their on-stage skills are touted for their improvised guitar leads and sweaty headbanging drum rotations. Maybe their album is a shadow of their on-stage presence because the album lacks such impetus. The songs are filled with sensations reflective of narcotic aptitudes and drug-induced penmanship so they feel languid. Such stoner psychedelics were desirable in the '70s, and Tia Carrera has certainly shown a liking for such Southern rock and stoner music and flexes them into a sedate momentum. -Susan Frances

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