In Utero

In Utero is the third and final studio album by Grunge band Nirvana. Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum 5 times by the RIAA. The album is notable for its drastic turn from Nevermind's sleak and polished production and goes for a raspier, noise rock sound. The album was produced by Big Black frontman Steve Albini.

## Background

After the success of *Nevermind*, NIrvana was dissatisfied with the polished production of the album, which somewhat detracted from their punk roots and alienated Nirvana's punk fans." DGC Records wanted Nirvana to release a third album by the 1992 holiday season, but since the band was unable to because the members lived in different cities, DGC released *Incesticide*. Cobain expressed interesr in working with Jack Endino (who produced their first album) again, as well as Steve Albini of Big Black. Nirvana recorded several songs on a demo with Endino, who did not produce the album. After mcuh debating, the group hired Albini. Albini had produced two of Cobains favorite albums: *Pod* by The Breeders and *Surfer Rosa* by The Pixies.

## Music and Lyrics

Nirvana wanted to steer away from the sleek production of Nevermind. In a 1992 interview with *Rolling Stone*, Cobain stated the album would have "'both of the extremes' of its sound, saying "it'll be more raw with some songs and more candy pop on some of the others.

Albini had Cobain scream loudly occasionally through the album to help differentiate *Nevermind* from *In Utero*. He also put several microphones around the room to record the reverberation of Dave Grohl's drumming. The album itself has been noted to be very diverse, ranging from many different genres and tones. Michael Azzerad, author of *Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana*, stated: "The Beatlesque 'Dumb' happily coexists beside the all-out frenzied punk
 graffiti of 'Milk It,' while 'All Apologies' is worlds away from the
apoplectic 'Scentless Apprentice.' It's as if [Cobain] has given up
trying to meld his punk and pop instincts into one harmonious whole." David Fricke praised Albini's production on his review of the third album. "Steve Albini's production, an *au naturel* power-trio snort that is almost monophonic in its compressed intensity, is particularly
effective during those dramatic cave-ins."

Some of the songs written for the album were written even in 1990. Some of the songs had been originally worked on with Jack Endino and were rerecorded with Albini.

## Reception

In Utero debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, despite DGC attempting to limit promotion of the album by not releasing singles to the album in the United States. The album has appeared on top 100 charts all over magazines. Despite the positive reception, the album's 20th anniversary reissue has gotten more positive reviews. Whereas *Q* Magazine rated the album 4/5 stars, the magazine has also rated the 20th Anniversary reissue 5 stars.

## Tracklist

All songs written by Kurt Cobain, except where noted.

## Trivia

* In Poland, the album has been released multiple times on Euro Star Records.

## Sources

* Rolling Stone: [1]
* Wikipedia: [2]