In bloom – again

Nirvana

Nirvana

Geffen Records

To hear…

Nirvana

Nirvana

Geffen Records

To hear something different come from the late Kurt Cobain is almost surreal. To know that “You Know You’re Right” is nearly 9 years old and doesn’t sound a day more than 3 months, makes modern music sound almost pathetic. But it only goes to show that Nirvana was way ahead of their time.

Nirvana, the greatest hits compilation, has finally been released by the band of the same name, following months and months of legal wrinkles that had to be ironed out by Kurt’s widow, Courtney Love, and his ex-band mates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic.

While there are many great hits on this greatest hits album, one can’t help but be slightly disappointed with the choice of songs. There are four songs from Nevermind, their most popular album. “Most popular” does not mean it was the best. Add to that another four songs from In Utero, their follow-up to their most popular album, and you have what most of us already do; only it has been morphed onto one CD.

Listen closely – and I do mean closely – and you will hear a slightly harder and more guitar-riffy difference in Nirvana’s version of “Pennyroyal Tea” as opposed to the version on In Utero. Be warned though, this isn’t apparent unless you sit with one of the discs in your stereo and the other in your Discman and play them each in 15-second intervals.

Most notable is the version of “Been a Son” that is on Nirvana. It isn’t the one that most have heard on Incesticide, but it was plucked from the Blew EP. Cobain’s voice, on this version, is haunting and deep.

All of the songs on Nirvana are remarkable, but one can’t help but wonder why other great tunes like “Spank Thru,” “Hairspray Queen,” “Love Buzz” or the MTV Unplugged In New York hit “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For a Sunbeam” didn’t make the cut.

This album is just a sliver of what Nirvana really did for music. Without a doubt, it will leave you wanting more, and you’ll find yourself popping the rest of your Nirvana albums into your CD player to get a closer experience to nirvana.