Incesticide

Incesticide
Compilation album by Nirvana
Released	December 14, 1992
Recorded	1988–1991
Genre	Grunge, Punk Rock. noise rock
Length	44:44
Label	DGC
Producer	Miti Adhikari, Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Dale Griffin, Butch Vig
Nirvana compilations chronology
Incesticide (1992) Nirvana (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Robert Christgau	(A-) [3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Incesticide is a compilation album by the American grunge band Nirvana. Incesticide consists of demos, outtakes, and radio broadcast recordings. At the time, all of the material on Incesticide was circulating within fan communities (albeit in lower quality). It was widely reported in the music press that the band wanted to offer fans a higher-quality alternative, but in the book Cobain Unseen, Charles R. Cross reveals that Kurt Cobain agreed to the release of this compilation because he was allowed complete control over the album's artwork. The album was released on December 14, 1992 in Europe, and December 15, 1992 in the United States and eventually reached number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200.

Release

Incesticide was released on December 14, 1992 in the United Kingdom, and on December 15, 1992 in the United States.^[5] The record label, Geffen, decided against heavily promoting the album, possibly to avoid a "Nirvana burnout" as the band had released Nevermind and four singles in the preceding fifteen months.^[6] Despite this lack of promotion and being a collection of old material, Incesticide debuted at number 51 in the Billboard 200 and sold 500,000 copies in two months,^[7] and as of 2007 has sold more than 1.3 million copies in the U.S. alone.^{[8][not in citation given]} The album is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Artwork and packaging

The cover art was painted by Cobain,^[9] who is credited as Kurdt Kobain in the liner notes.^[10] The rubber duck seen on the album's back cover also belonged to Cobain.

The first several pressings of the album contained liner notes written by Cobain. Versions of the album containing the liner notes by Cobain could be found at record stores as late as 1998. Initial copies in the US and Canada also contained a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker.^[11]

Songs

Previously unreleased

The songs "Been a Son", "(New Wave) Polly", "Hairspray Queen", "Aero Zeppelin", "Big Long Now", and "Aneurysm" were officially unreleased at the time. The versions of "Been a Son" and "Aneurysm" as found on Incesticide are different from the versions previously released on the Blew (EP) and Smells Like Teen Spirit single.

Previously released

• "Dive" and "Sliver" were released on the "Sliver" single in 1990. "Dive" was also previously released on The Grunge Years compilation album in 1991.
• "Stain" was released on the Blew (EP) in 1989.
• The three cover songs, "Turnaround" (Devo), "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun" (The Vaselines) were released on the Hormoaning EP in 1992, which was only released in Japan and Australia.
• "Mexican Seafood" appeared on the 1989 Teriyaki Asthma Volume 1 compilation.
• "Beeswax" appeared on the 1991 Kill Rock Stars compilation album.
• "Downer" appears on the CD version of Nirvana's debut album Bleach (1989).

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Kurt Cobain, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dive" (Cobain, Krist Novoselic)	3:55
2.	"Sliver"	2:16
3.	"Stain"	2:41
4.	"Been a Son"	1:56
5.	"Turnaround" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale)	2:19
6.	"Molly's Lips" (Eugene Kelly, Frances McKee)	1:54
7.	"Son of a Gun" (Kelly, McKee)	2:48
8.	"(New Wave) Polly" (Cobain, Novoselic, Dave Grohl)	1:48
9.	"Beeswax"	2:50
10.	"Downer"	1:44
11.	"Mexican Seafood"	1:55
12.	"Hairspray Queen" (Cobain, Novoselic)	4:14
13.	"Aero Zeppelin"	4:41
14.	"Big Long Now"	5:04
15.	"Aneurysm" (Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl)	4:36

Personnel

All sessions:

• Kurt Cobain – vocals, guitar
• Krist Novoselic – bass guitar

Seattle, WA: Reciprocal Recording Studios (January 23, 1988)
Nirvana's first studio demo tape. Those songs went to the compilation in their rough one-hour mix made by Endino on the day of the recording, though he would have loved to be given the chance to mix them properly.
Songs: "Beeswax", "Downer", "Mexican Seafood", "Hairspray Queen" and "Aero Zeppelin"

• Dale Crover – drums
• Jack Endino – producer, engineer

Seattle, WA: Reciprocal Recording Studios (December 1988 – January 1989)
The Bleach recording sessions.
Song: "Big Long Now"

• Chad Channing – drums
• Jack Endino – producer, engineer

Seattle, WA: Music Source Studios (September 1989)
The Blew EP recording sessions.
Song: "Stain"

• Chad Channing – drums
• Steve Fisk – producer

Madison, Wisconsin: Smart Studios (April 2, 1990 – April 6, 1990)
The sessions for the planned second Sub Pop album.
Song: "Dive"

• Chad Channing – drums
• Butch Vig – producer

Seattle, WA: Reciprocal Recording Studios (July 11, 1990)
The "Sliver" Sub Pop single session.
Song: "Sliver"

• Dan Peters – drums
• Jack Endino – producer, engineer

London, England: Maida Vale Studio 3 (October 21, 1990)
The 1990 BBC session for John Peel.
Songs: "Turnaround", "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun"

• Dave Grohl – drums
• Dale Griffin – producer
• Mike Engles – engineer
• Fred Kay – engineer

London, England: Maida Vale Studio 4 (November 9, 1991)
The 1991 BBC session for Mark Goodier.
Songs: "Been a Son", "(New Wave) Polly" and "Aneurysm"

• Dave Grohl – drums
• Miti Adhikari – producer
• John Taylor – engineer

Album charts

Year	Chart	Position
1992	Austrian Albums Chart[12]	10
1993	Official UK Albums Chart[13]	14
1992	Holland/Netherlands Albums Chart[12]	31
1992	Finland Albums Chart[14]	18
1992	Switzerland Albums Chart[12]	18
1992	Australian Albums Chart[12]	22
1992	New Zealand Albums Chart[12]	23
1992	Sweden Albums Chart[12]	27
1993	Canadian RPM Albums Chart[15]	21
1992	USA Billboard 200[16]	39
1992	German Albums Chart[17]	40
1992	Japanese Albums Chart[18]	50

References

• Azerrad, Michael. Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday, 1994. ISBN 0-385-47199-8
• Cross, Charles. Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain. Hyperion, 2001. ISBN 0-7868-8402-9

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r70562
2. ^ http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/54979/incesticide.html
3. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Nirvana
4. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/232758/incesticiden
5. ^ Azerrad, 1994. p. 357–358
6. ^ Azerrad, 1994. p. 296
7. ^ Cross, p. 269
8. ^ . Nielson Entertainment. http://en-us.nielsen.com/tab/industries/media/entertainment. Retrieved 2010-06-05. 
9. ^ Azerrad, 1994. p. 295
10. ^ Incesticide liner notes
11. ^ http://www.sliver.it/nirvana/test/pages/official/incesticide/americas.html
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Australian Chart Archives". www.http://australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Nirvana&titel=Incesticide&cat=a. Retrieved 02 October 2011. 
13. ^ http://www.everyhit.co.uk/searchsec.php
14. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2003). Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 951121053X.
15. ^ "Nirvana Top Albums/CDs positions (26 - 190)". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5&q1=Nirvana&q2=Top+Albums%2FCDs&interval=50. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 
16. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/nirvana/chart-history/5316?f=305&g=Albums
17. ^ http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Nirvana/19028/?type=longplay
18. ^ Album Chart-Book Complete Edition 1970-2005. Orikonmāketingupuromōshon (2006). ISBN 4871310779.

External links

• Live Nirvana Companion to Official Releases - Incesticide