NIRVANA: n./1 : The ineffable ultimate in which one has achieved disinterested wisdom and compassion. (The Buddha).
If the 70s and 80s lived on Lennons legendary words You may say Im a dreamer but Im not the only one, then for grunge lovers worldwide, Kurt Donald Cobains mesmerising lines Im worst at what I do best and for this gift I feel blessed (from Smells Like Teen Spirit) is certainly what keeps them going.
Ten years on, NIRVANA BLACK has been released which is an epitome of NIRVANA classic songs, and is a must buy for any Nirvana fan, if not for anything, but just for Cobains last recorded, previously unreleased song, You know youre right.
All the best songs from Bleach, Incesticide, Nevermind and In Utero are here, from All Apologies, Lithium, Come As You Are, Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Sliver, Heart Shaped Box etc are here.Of course there are a few songs you could have expected to be in this which are not, but then Nirvana has more than just a handful of hit numbers to their credit.
The numbers are well compiled, keeping in mind Nirvanas transition through various phases in their musical careers and when you listen to the songs from beginning to end, you realize the change in Cobains musical thought patterns and the final song You Know Youre Right really hits you and puts you on a high youve never experienced before.
The song starts on a sober, slow note with a smooth bassline by Noveselic and Cobains all-too-familiar voice floats in, and before you know it, the song explodes with guitar distortion, heavy drums and Cobains legendary yowling comes into play, followed by the same slow verse.
This continues throughout the song and YKYR literally catapults you into nirvana...you cannot listen to this song just once and not rewind it and hear it again, its as addictive as marijuana!!
Also with the album comes the sad realization that the man is no longer with us, which leaves us to wonder what he could have gifted the world in the years 94-05 had he been still alive. For me, rock legends are few and far between;
Ozzy, Morrison, Page, Hendrix, Cobain, Dickinson, Friedman, Mustaine, Waters, Gilmour, Barrett, Van Halen in three and a half generations, and Cobain was the different guy among them-no shred guitaring or psychadelic noises or thrash metal.
With a simple electric guitar, power chords, an amplifier which he used with extreme perfection to produce amazing feedback and his indescribable screaming totalled with a genius mind, he pushed music lovers to the fringe of ecstasy.
Rock on Nirvana, we still love your music.