This '90s Band Defined Grunge, But Not With The Album Everyone Says

What is the first album you think of when the word "grunge" is mentioned? Many of you are probably thinking of "Nevermind," Nirvana's second album and their breakout release. Thanks in no small part to that album, grunge became the predominant sub-genre of rock as it seemingly drove hair metal to extinction, with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" crossing over to the pop charts and cracking the top 10 in Billboard's Hot 100 in early 1992. That's completely fair; "Nevermind" was the best way to introduce Nirvana to the mainstream, and even with its pristine production values, it was still unquestionably heavy rock at its core, and a totally different flavor of heavy rock than the much glossier hair metal that dominated the '80s. And of course, "Nevermind" catapulted Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain into rock star status, establishing the young musician as the preeminent voice of his increasingly disgruntled generation.

It's true that many fans feel that Nirvana's follow-up, 1993's "In Utero," is their least favorite album from the band, but there's a very strong case to be made that it's their most definitive. Although Cobain apparently liked the radio-friendly approach producer Butch Vig brought to "Nevermind," he and his bandmates wanted to return to their rawer, less polished roots, hence the decision to hire underground scene veteran Steve Albini to helm the follow-up record. Thankfully, this was the right choice for the Seattle-based power trio. But what makes "In Utero" the best possible representation of Nirvana's sound and ethos?

It's a bit too much to call "Nevermind" a "bubblegum record" or something similar to it, as Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic told Mojo. Likewise, not every album that benefits from high-end studio magic is automatically bad — ranking "Nevermind" as one of the top rock albums of the '90s is definitely not a hot take. But when it comes to defining the rawness of grunge, no Nirvana album does it better than "In Utero."  

Most of the double-tracked vocals that characterized "Nevermind" are gone, and so are the heavily processed guitars and bass, and the crisp and shiny drums. What listeners get instead is a far more organic sound, which was par for the course for Steve Albini-produced records. The natural roughness in Kurt Cobain's vocal delivery is more apparent, while the guitars and bass almost sound like they were plugged into cheap practice amps. As for the drums, Dave Grohl's sound on "In Utero" feels like a better match for underground punk recordings, or even '60s garage rock. Simply put, this isn't the kind of grunge designed to impress label executives in fancy suits or curry favor with Top 40 radio programmers.

Sure, most of those things can also be said about Nirvana's 1989 debut album, "Bleach." But one has to remember that back then, the band was still trying to find its footing, and neither had the clout nor the luxury to hire big-name producers. Then you have the songs, which, save for rare exceptions such as "About a Girl," were nowhere near as hooky as they were on "Nevermind," and even on "In Utero."

In terms of catchy songs, "In Utero" is the happy medium between "Bleach" and "Nevermind," and that makes it very accessible to most rock listeners despite the conscious aim for grunge authenticity. That's most evident in songs such as "Heart-Shaped Box," "All Apologies," "Rape Me," "Serve the Servants," and "Pennyroyal Tea," most of which were released as singles. Yes, there are a few substantially louder screamfests ("Scentless Apprentice," "Milk It," "Tourettes"), but for the most part, these, too, are catchier than the more dissonant tracks from "Bleach." (Okay, we'll admit that there's nothing catchy about "Milk It," which features a guitar solo that can be considered among the worst of all time.)

Lyrically speaking, the songs on "In Utero" are darker than those on "Nevermind," and knowing what we now know about Kurt Cobain's tragic death in April 1994, some of the album's themes hit much closer to home — "All Apologies" almost feels like his way of saying goodbye. Yet the frontman's gift for writing hook-laden, pop-flavored melodies keeps shining through on "In Utero"; only Cobain could make "Pennyroyal Tea," a song inspired in part by his chronic stomach problems, sound like a late-period Beatles song with fuzzier guitars.

Nirvana may have only recorded three studio albums, but thanks to the group's decision to eschew the gloss of "Nevermind" without sacrificing much of the hookiness that made it a massive hit, "In Utero" is the best possible coda to the career of the band that introduced the world to grunge.