Nevermind

1	Smells Like Teen Spirit 5:02
2	In Bloom 4:15
3	Come as You Are 3:39
4	Breed 3:04
5	Lithium 4:17
6	Polly 2:56
7	Territorial Pissings 2:23
8	Drain You 3:44
9	Lounge Act 2:37
10	Stay Away 3:33
11	On a Plain 3:17
12	Something In The Way 3:51

Barnes & Noble

In retrospect, the title alone told the story. "Nevermind" -- a statement of generational ennui, a tip of the hat to the Sex Pistols (whose only full-length record, of course, was Never Mind the Bollocks), and, finally, the premonition of one tired star's good-bye. The epochal "Smells Like Teen Spirit" begins the record, starting with a low-volume guitar change-up, revving up into a high-volume one, and, after demonstrating that the group's musical heritage had as much to do with Blue Öyster Cult as it did with the Pixies, ending with a famous "No!": "A denial/A denial/A DENIAL!" Released in 1991, Nevermind unintentionally changed a generation and turned the record industry upside down, leaving the entrenched corporate labels to contend with platinum acts emerging from previously ignored independents. Nirvana didn't care. The band showed that it could play grunge heavier than anyone, including Seattle buddies Soundgarden, and also disarmed the skeptical with a rare control of dynamics ("Drain You," "On a Plain") and radio-friendly hit after radio-friendly hit ("In Bloom," "Breed," "Lithium"). Bill Wyman

All Music Guide

Nevermind was never meant to change the world, but you can never predict when the zeitgeist will hit, and Nirvana's second album turned out to be the place where alternative rock crashed into the mainstream. This wasn't entirely an accident, either, since Nirvana did sign with a major label, and they did release a record with a shiny surface, no matter how humongous the guitars sounded. And, yes, Nevermind is probably a little shinier than it should be, positively glistening with echo and fuzzbox distortion, especially when compared with the black-and-white murk of Bleach. This doesn't discount the record, since it's not only much harder than any mainstream rock of 1991, its character isn't on the surface, it's in the exhilaratingly raw music and haunting songs. Kurt Cobain's personal problems and subsequent suicide naturally deepen the dark undercurrents, but no matter how much anguish there is on Nevermind, it's bracing because he exorcises those demons through his evocative wordplay and mangled screams -- and because the band has a tremendous, unbridled power that transcends the pain, turning into pure catharsis. And that's as key to the record's success as Cobain's songwriting, since Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl help turn this into music that is gripping, powerful, and even fun (and, really, there's no other way to characterize "Territorial Pissings" or the surging "Breed"). In retrospect, Nevermind may seem a little too unassuming for its mythic status -- it's simply a great modern punk record -- but even though it may no longer seem life-changing, it is certainly life-affirming, which may just be better. Stephen Thomas Erlewine