Nirvana (Nirvana album)

Nirvana
Greatest hits album by Nirvana
Released	October 29, 2002
Recorded	1988–1994
Genre	Grunge, alternative rock
Length	49:38
Label	DGC
Producer	Steve Albini, Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Scott Litt, Butch Vig
Nirvana compilations chronology
Incesticide (1992) Nirvana (2002) With the Lights Out (2004)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Pitchfork	(7.0/10) [3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Nirvana is a "best-of" compilation album by the American grunge band Nirvana, released in October 2002.

The album opened at #3 on the Billboard 200 with 234,000 copies sold. Currently, it has sold 6 million copies worldwide. It has sold nearly 2.2 million copies in the United States, according to Soundscan, and has sold more than 2 million copies in Europe as of 2007. ^[5]

Release

Nirvana was the third Nirvana album to be released following the death of singer/ guitarist Kurt Cobain in April 1994, and the first to feature studio material. It contains the previously unreleased "You Know You're Right", a song recorded during the band's final studio session, in January 1994. The album also includes a selection of the band's more popular songs, pulled mostly from 1991's Nevermind and 1993's In Utero, but also containing three pre-Nevermind songs and two songs recorded during the band's MTV Unplugged set in November 1993.

The album contains liner notes by music journalist David Fricke.

Background

Nirvana was released following the settlement of a long-standing legal dispute between Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, and surviving Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. Much of the dispute centered around "You Know You're Right", which Novoselic and Grohl had wanted to release on a long-delayed Nirvana box set. However, Love blocked the song's release, and sued Novoselic and Grohl over control of Nirvana's legacy.

Love's lawsuit maintained that "You Know You're Right" was a "potential 'hit' of extraordinary artistic and commercial value."^[6] She believed that "You Know You're Right" would be "wasted" on a box set, and instead belonged on a single-disc compilation similar to the Beatles' 1.^[7] In September 2002, it was announced by the Nirvana camp that the lawsuit had been settled, and that "You Know You're Right" would be released on "Nirvana, a one-CD history of the band."^[8]

Reception

Several critics believed that Nirvana was too brief, and omitted key tracks. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote that "the presence of a few more tracks, along with placing "You Know You're Right" at the end where it belongs, would have made this collection not just stronger, but possibly definitive. As it stands, it feels like a bit of a cheap compromise and a wasted opportunity." ^[9] Will Bryant of Pitchfork praised the album as "an artful selection of the band's most seminal material," but also dismissed it as "a party mix for parents who want to appreciate Cobain's Lennon-esque knack for great melodies without having to click past "Scentless Apprentice" or "Territorial Pissings"...utterly inoffensive: an impulse buy from Columbia House, perhaps, with no more artistic value than The Eagles' Greatest Hits or the Beatles' 1." ^[10]

Track listing

All songs by Kurt Cobain unless otherwise noted:

1. "You Know You're Right" (previously unreleased) – 3:38
2. "About a Girl" (from Bleach) – 2:49
3. "Been a Son" (from Blew) – 2:23
4. "Sliver" (from Incesticide) – 2:14
5. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (from Nevermind) (Cobain/Grohl/Novoselic) – 5:01
6. "Come as You Are" (from Nevermind) – 3:39
7. "Lithium" (from Nevermind) – 4:17
8. "In Bloom" (from Nevermind) – 4:15
9. "Heart-Shaped Box" (from In Utero) – 4:41
10. "Pennyroyal Tea" (from In Utero, single remix) – 3:38
11. "Rape Me" (from In Utero) – 2:51
12. "Dumb" (from In Utero) – 2:34
13. "All Apologies" (from MTV Unplugged in New York) – 3:51
14. "The Man Who Sold the World" (from MTV Unplugged in New York) (David Bowie) – 3:47

Bonus tracks

15. "Something in the Way" (from MTV Unplugged in New York) – 4:01 (appears on vinyl and Japanese CD copies only)
16. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (from MTV Unplugged in New York) (Traditional; arranged by Lead Belly) – 5:08 (appears on vinyl and international CD copies only)

Album charts

Year	Chart	Position
2002	Australian Albums Chart[11]	1
2002	Austrian Albums Chart[12]	1
2002	Switzerland Albums Chart[13]	2
2002	Belgium (NL) Albums Chart[14]	2
2002	New Zealand Albums Chart[15]	2
2002	Canadian Albums Chart[16]	2
2002	USA Billboard 200[17]	3
2002	UK Albums Chart[18]	3
2002	Norwegian Albums Chart[19]	5
2002	Denmark Albums Chart[20]	6
2002	Italian Albums Chart[21]	6
2002	Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[22]	6
2002	Finland Albums Chart[23]	9
2002	Sweden Albums Chart[24]	10
2002	Holland Albums Chart[25]	12
2002	Spanish Albums Chart[26]	28

Personnel

• Kurt Cobain – guitar and vocals
• Krist Novoselic – bass guitar
• Dave Grohl – drums and backing vocals (except on tracks 2, 3 and 4)
• Chad Channing – drums on "About a Girl" and "Been a Son"
• Dan Peters – drums on "Sliver"
• Pat Smear – guitar on unplugged tracks
• Lori Goldston – cello on unplugged tracks
• Kera Schaley  - cello on "Dumb"

Production

• Nirvana – production
• Butch Vig – production, engineering
• Steve Albini – engineering, mixing
• Jack Endino – engineering, mixing
• Steve Fisk – engineering, mixing
• Adam Kasper – engineering, mixing
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• Scott Litt – production, mixing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Robert Fisher – art direction
• David Fricke – liner notes
• Michael Meisel - project director
• James Barber - project director
• John Silva – project director
• Corbis Bettman - photography
• Frank Micelotta - photography
• Frank Ockenfels - photography
• Charles Peterson - photography
• Redferns – photography

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/nirvana-r613880/review
2. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Bryant, Will (2002-11-14). "Nirvana: Nirvana | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5810-nirvana/. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
4. ^ "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/258385/review/5943219/nirvana. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
5. ^ "IFPI Platinum Awards". Ifpi.org. 2007-04-19. http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat_month_20070419.html. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
6. ^ By Teri vanHorn (2001-06-29). "Love Blocks Nirvana Release - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1444878/20010629/nirvana.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
7. ^ "A piece of Kurt Cobain". Jimdero.com. http://www.jimdero.com/News2002/CobainMar10.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
8. ^ Rasmus Holmen. "[NFC: The Internet Nirvana Fan Club]". Nirvanaclub.com. http://www.nirvanaclub.com/index.php?section=news&file=09_2002.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
9. ^ Thomas, Stephen (2002-10-29). "Nirvana - Nirvana". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/nirvana-r613880/review. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
10. ^ Bryant, Will (2002-11-14). "Nirvana: Nirvana | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5810-nirvana/. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
11. ^ australian charts.com. "Australian Chart Archives". http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
12. ^ austriancharts.at. "Austrian Chart Archives". http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
13. ^ hitparade.ch. "Switzerland Chart Archives". http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
14. ^ ultratop.be. "Belgium NL Chart Archives". http://www.ultratop.be/en/search.asp?cat=a&lang=nl&search=Nirvana. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
15. ^ charts.org.nz. "New ZealandL Chart Archives". http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
16. ^ AllMusicGuide.com. "Canadian Chart Archives". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r613880. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
17. ^ AllMusicGuide.com. "USA Chart Archives". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r613880. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
18. ^ www.everyhit.co.uk. "UK Chart Archives". http://www.everyhit.co.uk/. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
19. ^ norwegiancharts.com. "Norway Chart Archives". http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
20. ^ danishcharts.com. "Denmark Chart Archives". http://danishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
21. ^ italiancharts.com. "Italian Chart Archives". http://italiancharts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
22. ^ (Japanese) "Oricon Weekly Album Charts for the third week of November 2002". Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/search/result.php?kbn=ja&types=rnk&year=2002&month=11&week=3&submit5.x=19&submit5.y=19. Retrieved 2009-10-03. 
23. ^ finnishcharts.com. "Finland Chart Archives". http://finnishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
24. ^ swedishcharts.com. "Sweden Chart Archives". http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
25. ^ dutchcharts.nl. "Holland Chart Archives". http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
26. ^ spanishcharts.com. "Spain Chart Archives". http://spanishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Nirvana&cat=a. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 

• Courtney Love Sues Grohl And Novoselic, Blocks Nirvana Rarity by Teri van Horn, MTV News, June 29, 2001
• A piece of Kurt Cobain by Jim DeRogatis, March 10, 2002

Preceded by One by One by Foo Fighters

Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album November 4–10, 2002

Succeeded by The Best of 1990–2000 by U2