Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)

Reason for Listening:
#197 on the Billboard 200 (Week of 20191026). From the bottom. Whatever looks good.
Last Week: 176 | Peak: 1 | Weeks on Chart: 443.

---

Released 19910924.
12 songs. 42:20. Nevermind (1991)
12+1 songs. 42:20+6:44. Nevermind (1991)
12+1+8. 42:20+6:44+28:21. Nevermind (Target) (2011)
12+1+8 & 18 songs. 42:20+6:44+28:21 & 70:25. Nevermind (Deluxe) (2011)
12+1+8 & 18 & 11 & 19 songs. 42:20+6:44+28:21 & 70:25 & 39:42 & 66:26. Nevermind (Deluxe) (2011)
Wikipedia

---

Notes:
--20191027--
First listen. Super Deluxe Edition
~Disc 1 Part 1~
This part of disc 1 is the first 13 tracks and make up the standard edition of the album. Note that track 13 is technically a hidden track.

4: "Come As You Are";
3: "Lithium";
2: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; "In Bloom";
1: "Polly"; "Something In The Way";
0: "Breed"; "Drain You"; "Stay Away"; "On A Plain";
-1: "Territorial Pissings"; "Lounge Act"; "Endless, Nameless";

~Disc 1 Part 2~
Skipped "Curmudgeon" after 1 minute

2: "Polly";
1: "Aneurysm"; "Drain You";
0: "Even In His Youth"; "Been A Son"; "Sliver";
-1: "School";
-2: "Curmudgeon";

~Disc 2~
Huh. I might not have been paying attention, but for some reason I think this version of "In Bloom" sounds better than the album version. Or maybe it's simply my now increased familiarity with the song.
This version of "Polly" sounds clean or relatively acoustic.
I like the guitar in "Here She Comes Now" (worth a "3") but I'm not fond of the vocals (so the song gets a "2").
I don't like this recording of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I guess it sounds too lo-fi. Or perhaps the vocals sound too raw.
After completing the second disc, I feel as if a lot of their music sounds the same to me.

3: "Lithium"; "Come As You Are";
2: "In Bloom"; "Immodium (Breed)"; "Polly"; "Here She Comes Now"; "Sappy"; "Drain You"; "Something In The Way";
1: "Pay To Play"; "Dive"; "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; "Something In The Way"; "On A Plain";
0: "Verse Chorus Verse"; "Lounge Act"; "Old Age";
-1: "Territorial Pissings";

~Disc 3~
This third disc is essentially the original album, but mixed by producer Butch Vig at Devonshire Sound Studios (and lacks "Polly"); the final album was mixed by Andy Wallace.
As most of the Devonshire mix tracks sound less in-your-face relative to their final album versions, "Territorial Pissings" is tolerable here.
I guess a more scientific way to compare the Devonshire mix and final album mix is to conduct a blinded study. For each song, have someone pick one of the two versions to play first (chosen at random). The listener should then decide whether he/she likes the first or second version better.

4: "Come As You Are";
3: "In Bloom"; "Lithium"; "Something In The Way";
2: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; "Breed"; "On A Plain";
1: "Stay Away";
0: "Territorial Pissings"; "Drain You"; "Lounge Act";

~Disc 4~
This disc features recordings from their live performance at The Paramount. I decided not to listen to it.

Summary:
In this paragraph, I will only consider the standard edition. I was only familiar with a few of the band's songs prior to listening to this album. In fact, the only songs which I rated a "2" or higher were the ones I had heard before. Every other song received a rating between "-1" and "1." As such, I would have little reason to give this album a high rating. With that being said, this has less to do with the album and more to do with my personal music preferences which don't include grunge.

Overall Rating (Standard): 2/5
Favorite Song (Standard): "Come As You Are"

---