I am writing this review as a fan of Nirvana who has been left frustrated after reading too much misinformation surrounding this band and their musical genre. I am also concerned with statements regarding this bands talent or lack of it. As such the following statements may stray away slightly from what is typically expected from a "review".

Contrary to popular belief, Nirvana were neither a grunge band or the founders of "grunge" as it is interpreted today. Grunge was a term formulated by Seattle music journalists to describe the fashion trends that had been adopted by a lot of the Seattle punk bands of the time, not as word to be used to "genreificate" the music being produced at this time.

Long before Nirvana signed with Sub Pop (Yes, that's right they weren't always on Geffen!) the Seattle punk scene was thriving, albeit on a mainly local level. The Melvins, Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam were all signed to a label, touring and producing records.

Nirvana at this stage were playing gigs in guys living rooms, local clubs and generally struggling to make ends meet (Kurt lived in a car when Nevermind went platinum and they HAD a deal then).

College students were the mainstay of Nirvana's audience at this stage which is most of the reason why Sub Pop signed Nirvana, musically there was a lot to be desired at this stage and the "desperation" of Kurt's vocals was less noticable at this stage. So what does that mean?

Well, basically it means that if Nirvana had continued to produce such music they would be just as unheard of as many of the underground metal bands around today, and the Seattle scene would have centered around Pearl Jam. This is not to say that Bleach or the Love Buzz demo were "bad" merely that there was nothing definitive or particularly driving about them.

I defy any Nirvana fan that says "Bleach is a better album than Nevermind" because it simply isn't, in any respect and you didn't get into Nirvana via Bleach unless you were fortunate enough to live in the Pacific Northwest in 1989 and bought one of the 1000 copies released at that stage.

The truth is that it was only when Sub Pop began to struggle financially and were unable to offer everything that an increasingly fame hungry and troubled Kurt Cobain demanded and David Geffen stepped in that Nirvana were given the chance to become one of the biggest bands in the history of Rock.

Am I calling them a sellout band? No. How could you describe a band who's final studio album was in the view of their label, "Too bizzare for release" as sellout, Geffen only released In Utero after Kurt threatened to go elsewhere, these are not the acts of someone who chose to sellout... But wait...

Didn't Kurt state all along that he wanted to be famous, be in the biggest rock band in the world, earn tons of money and command lots of respect? Yes, he did, so I guess Nirvana were a sellout act from day one? Not quite..

When Kurt achieved what he wanted (ie. Major label record contract) he became frustrated with the hollowness and emptiness of the superstar lifestyle, money doesn't buy you happiness.. it just isolates you from the rest of the world, the "culture shock" for a guy like Kurt who came from a seriously poverty stricken background was huge, combine this with heroin addiction and a manipulative wife he refused to stand up to and you have the resume of a desperate man. Call me what you will, he just wasn't capable of dealing with his dream when he realised it wasn't all it was made out to be.

This is why we have the obscure story songs and down right hostility on the Nevermind album (Something in the way as an example of the former and Territorial Pissings of the latter). This increased passion, faster paced music and the addition of good production values is what made Nirvana what they were. You cannot personally relate to Cobain's lyrics, you have to treat them like a story they are so unique and insightful that had they been released as spoken word poetry they probably would have been a success.

The massive publicity that Nevermind recieved, the consequent tours that resulted and the legions of fans only seemed to confirm to Kurt his worst fears about fame and fortune. This is what lead to the creation of In Utero, an album comprised of often nonsensical subject matter and lyrics based upon a lifetime of daydreams and introverted notions of Cobain. If you don't understand what I mean by this then try and make sense of this point, everyone has strange thoughts, ideas that don't make sense, dreams that cannot be understood and as a rule, no one talks about these thoughts or expresses them, it's just too hard to relay to others what is going through your head without them actually being in there with you. This is what In Utero was all about, the indescribable mental ramblings of a manic depressive, drug addict, artistic genius.

It was for the reasons above that David Geffen wanted nothing to do with it, the concepts were too strange, the lyrics too personal and nobody could relate to any of it. Yet it was a major success when Geffen finally relented to Cobains wishes. I firmly believe that it was the success of this album that signed Kurt's death warrant. He didn't want the album to be a success, he wanted to return to his Seattle punk routes with a devout hardcore fanbase rather than 30 million kids, he didn't want the world to pretend to understand what In Utero meant or what it was about. He wanted away from it, he wanted to alienate the world.

I believe that Kurt attributed the success of In Utero to that fact that one monster corporate rock album (Nevermind) was enough to largely render the quality of your next releases irrelevant, it didn't matter if it was good or not, fashion and the name would carry it. This was Kurt's worst nightmare, he craved praise and attention but not from "sheep" he wanted to be hailed as an artist by well informed up to speed musicians and musical obsessionists, which is just what he was when looking up to the Melvins as a kid.

The Unplugged in New York album confirmed to the world that Kurt was signing off I fail to see how it wasn't obvious to everyone at the time, the stage was designed to look like a funeral, the choice of songs and the now immortalised "stare" at the end of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". Perhaps it was the very fact that the world was blind to the message Kurt was putting across during that set was enough to finally confirm in his own head that suicide was the only way to escape the false niceness that existed all around him. I suggest that you read Cobain's suicide note and see if you can draw any comparisons to what I have said above.

If you are seeking for a life-altering band to call your favourite, there's few who could surpass Nirvana for the sheer "storyline" that goes with them. Kurt Cobain lead an amazing life, he is one of the few people who tried to speak his mind to the world at the deepest of personal levels even though he often "hid" the personal references in his songs. Kurt is worthy of your pity, your admiriation and your appreciation.

Nirvana were the greatest band in the world.