“ อัลบั้มที่ทำให้กระแสเพลงอัลเทอร์เนทีฟพุ่งแรงสุดในยุค ’90 ก่อนที่ Kurt Kobain จะปลิดชีวิตตัวเองอย่างเป็นปริศนา ปล่อยให้ภรรยาห่ามอย่าง Courtney Love ทำตัวบ้าบอในวงการบันเทิงต่อไป วงดนตรีสามชิ้นที่เล่นแน่น ดิบทั้งเนื้อหาและซาวนด์ดนตรีที่เป็นเอกลักษณ์ Nevermind คือ การรวมกันของกีร์ต้าริฟฟ์เท่ห์ๆ ที่มีเกองหนุนเป็นบสไลน์ที่ติดหู ทำให้เพลงที่มีเสียงกีร์ต้าแตกๆ ดังๆ แต่มีรูปแบบเพลงที่ไม่ซับซ้อน รวมกับเมโลดี้ที่สวยงาม และการถ่ายทอดอารมณ์ผ่านเนื้อร้องที่ร้องเอง แต่งเอง เข้าใจเอง นำพาดนตรีร็อคไปยังดินแดนใหม่ที่ไม่เคยมีใครเข้าถึงมาก่อน อัลบั้มนี้หาน้อยคนนักที่จะไม่รู้จัก ”

 

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit

2. In Bloom

3. Come As You Are

4. Breed

5. Lithium

6. Polly

7. Territotal Pissings

8. Drain You

9. Lounge Act

10. Stay Away

11. On A Plain

12. Something In The Way

 

Led by singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain, Nirvana is the latest underground bonus baby to test mainstream tolerance for alternative music. Given the small corner of public taste that nonmetal guitar rock now commands, the Washington State trio's version of the truth is probably as credible as anyone's. A dynamic mix of sizzling power chords, manic energy and sonic restraint, Nirvana erects sturdy melodic structures - sing-along hard rock as defined by groups like the Replacements, Pixies and Sonic Youth - but then at-tacks them with frenzied screaming and guitar havoc. When Cobain revs into high punk gear, shifting his versatile voice from quiet caress to raw-throated fury, the decisive control of bassist Chris Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl is all that keeps the songs from chaos. If Nirvana isn't onto anything altogether new, Nevermind does possess the songs, character and confident spirit to be much more than a reformulation of college radio's high-octane hits.

Nirvana's undistinguished 1989 debut, Bleach, relied on warmed-over Seventies metal riffs, but the thrashing Nevermind boasts an adrenalized pop heart and incomparably superior material, captured with roaring clarity by coproducer Butch Vig. Cued in with occasional (and presumably intentional) tape errors, most of the songs - like "On a Plain," "Come as You Are" and "Territorial Pissings" - exemplify the band's skill at inscribing subtlety onto dense, noisy rock. At the album's stylistic extremes, "Something in the Way" floats a translucent cloud of acoustic guitar and cello, while "Breed" and "Stay Away" race flat-out, the latter ending in an awesome meltdown rumble.

Too often, underground bands squander their spunk on records they're not ready to make, then burn out their energy and inspiration with uphill touring. Nevermind finds Nirvana at the crossroads - scrappy garageland warriors setting their sights on a land of giants.3/5

Q Mag
Three years after the release of their debut, Bleach, Seattle's Nirvana return and in one fell swoop the trio have created precisely the sort of record their former label, Sub Pop, has strived for with bands like Mudhoney and Tad since its inception in 1986. Like Bleach, it is a guitar-heavy blend of bubblegum punk, full of the flavour of the Pacific Northwest (home of Twin Peaks and Ted Bundy). All the songs, from the fiery Smells Like Teen Spirit to the smiling Drain You, reflect singer/guitarist Kurdt Kobain's skilful intermingling of Stooges-style brute yobbism (grinding guitars and yelping vocals), American punk and late-'70s art rock of the sort that Talking Heads pioneered so successfully. The whole thing is brought together by Kobain's distinctive voice, which has the same whiskey'n'fags sound as Tom Waits and carries all the pain, hurt and misery of long-time loser in love, Joe Cocker.4/5

New York Times
The culmination of 10 years of post-punk, and a reinvention of the style for a new generation....Smart, sarcastic rock, noisy and catchy and unabashedly confused, that zoomed from a collegiate cult following into the Top 10 without a hint of appeasement

Amazon
One of the defining moments of the 1990s, despite happening at the start of the decade. The guitars start jittering, then "BOOMA-ABOOMA-ABOOMA-ABOOM!", the drums kick in and grunge splatters itself all over a generation of MTV viewers. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" will surely always speak to alienated teenagers, while giving them something to thrash around their rooms to, kicking the whole thing off as it means to go on. "Come As You Are" is dark and twisted, while "Lithium" and "In Bloom" show Kurt Cobain's often overlooked sense of humour, and "Stay Away" highlights the best way to shred your vocal chords. It's nigh-impossible not to love this album, and it will remain Nirvana's most affectionately remembered work. It's just a shame that a misplaced sense of "selling out" (stupid term if ever there was one) led to such an internal rejection of "...Teen Spirit". A work of genius, no question. --Emma Johnston

allreviews.com
Perhaps the last great rock record. Tuneful, rocking and hard enough to appeal to a wide range of listeners, Nirvana's transition from the limited appeal punk rock of Bleach to making music that sounded great on mainstream radio was amazing. Dave Grohl, who's since released two solid records with Foo Fighters, was a key addition at drums and Kurt Cobain's songwriting showed incredible growth. Cobain's death is the great loss of our time. His lyrics had personality and a sense of humor. His guitar work could be melodic and assaultive at the same time, like on Teen Spirit. His influence is clear both in lesser grunge bands and even now in the far less imaginative bands creating the garbage of today's rock radio. MTV Unplugged, with its sadly subdued tone, foreshadowed Cobain's death but also showed a versatility that indicates that he could have had a long, interesting career. Nevermind also has good variety. If you only know the songs from the radio, On A Plain, Breed and Drain You are just as strong.