Nirvana - Incesticide (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

Areo Zeppelin +Aneurysm=one [great]cd

Sam Jeffreys | 05/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"here are all of the tracks and why i love them:
Dive:9/10 good bass at the beginning, but it gets repetitive
Sliver:10/10 i love this song. the lyrics are a little strange, but what do you expect from Kurt?
Stain: 8/10 i don't like this song as much as the others. i don't know why
Been a Son: 9/10 the lyrics are pretty cynical, this song is about Kurt's sister (i think)
Turnaround:10/10 a great cover of a great band (Devo)
Molly's Lips: 8/10 i might appreciate it more if i heard the original one by the Vaselines
Son of a gun: 10/10. this is one of my favorite songs. i don't know why.
(New Wave) Polly: 7/10 the Unplugged version is the best.
Beeswax: 8/10 i like the drums in the beginning and the chorus.
Downer: 10/10. another favorite. it was originally on Bleach (another great cd) and eventually made its way here and onto Wishka.
Mexican Seafood: 9/10 good, but strange.
Hairspray Queen: 10/10 my third favorite. kinda hard to understand but very very good.
Areo Zeppelin 20/10 ok, so my rating is a little over the top. but this is hands-down the most under-appreciated song of the 90s. a lot of people don't feel that way, but i do. my favorite song on the cd, the hidden gem
Big Long Now:8/10 it's good, but kinda sounds depressing.
Aneurysm:10/10 my second favorite. it starts out in distortion, then gets calm, then does that over again until they get to the lyrics (then it continues) this is sorta like switching between two different songs that sound good together. my second favorite.
overall cd:10/10
maybe someday, when people get over the poser rock that dominates the airways these days, they'll finally notice the raw beauty of Incesticide.
R.I.P. Kurt Cobain"

A truly great compilation

Sam Jeffreys | Poole, UK | 05/22/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is my second favourite Nirvana record (after Bleach). It's a compilation of various outtakes, b-sides, and also BBC radio sessions. The album opens in fantastic style, with the super-rockin' "Dive", followed by (in my opinion) the best ever Nirvana song, "Sliver" (which is totally unlike anything else they did). From then on, the album is split into two distinct halves. The first half is very happy, cheerful stuff, with a whole lot of covers (some from The Vaselines, and a brilliant Devo cover). This is Nirvana at their most happy. The second half is mostly Bleach-outtakes, and so is a lot heavier and not so friendly to the listener. It also sees Kurt messing around a lot with his voice, trying out different stuff. It takes a while to get into the second half of the album, but it's well worth it. There is some great music going down here. "Beeswax", "Mexican Seafood" and "Hairspray Queen" all have killer tunes. Check out the bassline on "Hairspray Queen" - I love that damn bassline! "Downer" is a great song, which is also the last track on the Bleach CD. "Beeswax" has some potentially-very-crazy-and-cool lyrics. All in all, this is a really great grab-bag of stuff. Lots of cool songs - Buy it!"

Nirvana Compilation

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 04/16/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Incesticide was released to capitalize on the mammoth success of Nevermind. The album collects early singles, b-sides and outtakes. The album was most people's introduction to the fact that the band had released music prior to Nevermind. The album's first two songs, "Dive" & "Sliver", made up the band's first single. They are both short, but extremely powerful. The album contains some incredible work in addition to "Dive" and "sliver", most notably "Aneurysm". The song is a furious workout with squealing guitars , feedback, power drumming and amid all the noise, an incredible catchy melody. Other strong cuts include "Molly's Lips", "Beeswax", "Stain" "Hairspray Queen" and "Been A Son". There are some forgettable numbers like "Mexican Seafood" and "Aero Zeppelin", but overall, Incesticide is better than your average compilation."

Oh, dear...

Sam Jeffreys | 01/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"....I LOVE Incesticide. And I must be the only Nirvana fan on the planet whose favorite song is Big Long Now. Why is this song so ignored? My god, the words, the haunting melody, the haunting vocals... ....I won't get into analysing the songs and interpreting them blow-by-blow, but I will say that Kurt Cobain uses at least 7 different voices on this CD, and that each song is melodically and instrumentally genuine and original. The cover songs are also brilliant. And here's just a little tidbit I have to mention: I became a Nirvana fan only quite recently. I was slightly too young for the whole Nirvana craze of 1991, and the tragedy of 1994.
But when I recently purchased Nevermind, I was hooked. Now, I purchased that album of course because that was "the one to get". HOWEVER, in a matter of one week, I had heard both In Utero and Incesticide, and quite honestly I don't think the big blaring "WARNING"-s are all that important for first-time listeners of the less-commercial Nirvana, if those listeners know good music when they hear it. This is just pure, glorious music with a brain, the kind where you can't predict the ending before the song is halfway through. The kind that you can't sing along to all that easily. The kind where you have to make an effort, for god's sake.
If the pop sap of today's various 'NStynks didn't drain you of your senses, get this CD. Don't be hesitant. And get Bleach and In Utero with it. There's more to Nirvana than Nevermind and Unplugged, as utterly fabulous as those two are (and my goodness, they are!). It might take a couple of listenings to get used to Incesticide. But only a couple. The quality will then speak for itself."

Dive into this one for sure

Sal Nudo | Champaign, Illinois | 07/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I bought this quietly released collection of Nirvana B-sides back in 1993, I was astounded at the high quality of music from top to bottom, no different from all other Nirvana albums. If this is the bottom of the barrel for Nirvana, then other bands might as well pack it in right now and find something else to do. Strangely, a reviewer in Rolling Stone magazine claimed "Incesticide" displayed Nirvana's tendancy to "fail" on occassion. I'm not exactly sure what that person was listening to, because "Incesticide" is top-notch, A-side stuff.

The first and last songs on "Incesticide" are classic Nirvana. Sandwiched in between is Kurt Cobain at arguably his rawest, most fruitfully creative peak. With no pressure of a new studio album on his hands, Cobain lets these early Nirvana songs flow out naturally, one after another. This is very exciting music. The leadoff track, "Dive," is a heavy-handed reminder as to why these guys were the best in the world when they toured and made albums together. With a searing shout-along chorus, thumping drums and a tuned-down guitar sound, it's one of Nirvana's best songs ever. Three other outstanding songs come in the form of cover songs: "Turnaround," "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun" all display Cobain's unique and obscure taste in music, especially simple pop music with a punk flavor. The guy had a knack for picking excellent, yet obscure, songs by other bands and putting his own cool spin on them. He was a master songwriter who had an amazingly keen ear for melody, writing punk songs that mainstream music listeners could easily enjoy.

After "(New Wave) Polly," "Incesticide" turns decidedly more quirky, yet no less engaging. If you dig Nirvana even a little bit, you'll enjoy songs like "Beeswax," "Mexican Seafood" and the perversely classic rock sound of "Aero Zeppelin." But it's "Aneurysm" that steals the show on the back-half of the album, and as awesome as it sounds, a better demo version exists on a rare Nirvana album that I own. It sometimes seems like the rawer these guys sounded, the better they were.

The punk/pop music on this record is not to be missed. These songs have a somewhat brighter sound than the ones on Bleach, while retaining a naturalness and a lack of polish that so predominated (and ruined, in Kurt Cobain's mind) the sound on Nevermind. Cobain had his hand all over this record, from the actual writing of the songs to the cover artwork to an interesting message he leaves in the CD booklet. He nearly always gave his fans their money's worth, and this album is no exception. Another Nirvana can never exist."

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