For someone like me, a Gen Xer who was 18 in 1991, Nirvana has always had a special place in my musical heart. Now I’m nearly 53 and it’s a little different of course. I remember the whole “grunge explosion” and how the pop landscape changed as a few distorted chords took over airwaves and changed business models. I also remember his suicide, and the slow realization that Kurt Cobain was a talented person, but honestly just a kid. He deserved the success he earned, but mostly now I feel for his family and wish they still had him around.
As a fan, though, the music he and the band made stick with me. I still bop my head when I hear Teen Spirit on the radio, and my kids have developed an affection for it too. My oldest, nearly 17, is exploring all the sounds of my youth and enjoying his fair share of Nirvana songs.
It’s times like this when I think I’ll try to sneak some of the lesser known punk acts into his repertoire. And what better way to do that than to deliver some Nirvana songs played by a lot of older and not-so-well-known acts.
This album is one of the (seemingly) hundreds of tribute albums released by Cleopatra Records. They release a lot of good stuff from a lot of good bands, and these tribute records must really help their bottom line.
I picked this CD up in 2000 when it came out, and it has survived various purges over the years. Mostly because of my Nirvana soft-spot, but also because there are a handful of really great tracks on here that are worth playing over and over.
The bands are mostly your old-timers from the 70s and 80s, bands that influenced the grunge scene and who mostly never really made their fortunes.
DOA, Flipper, Dee Dee Ramone, and UK Subs do amazing covers, their songs in particular rise to the top of this relatively uneven disc. Blanks 77 (who?) get their take on the biggest song, Smells Like Teen Spirit, but it’s some better known acts that really kick this album into gear.
Canadian stalwarts DOA do a ripping version of All Apologies, with Joey Shithead’s growl taking over Cobain’s whisper. They make it their own, and it’s a powerhouse.
Flipper (one of my all-time favorites) do a version of Scentless Apprentice that is droning, messy, sloppy, and pitch perfect for that band. In an ironic twist some years after this came out, Krist Novoselic from Nirvana played with Flipper for a few years and apparently worked this track into their setlist.
Dee Dee Ramone walks through a version of Negative Creep. He’d actually pass away not too long after this, so I think this is one of his last recorded efforts. But the best, the very best song on the album goes to the British great, UK Subs, and a very subs-esque take on Stay Away. Charlie Harper is shouting like he really truly means it. Just stay away, stay awaaaaaay. It’s a beautiful thing.
It’s rare to have a tribute album be 100% fantastic all the way through. Everyone likes different bands, different songs, different versions, and you’ll react to each one a bit differently if you’re a Nirvana fan (or a fan of the punkers playing the songs). Regardless, the album is a lot of fun, a cool window for my kids to hear songs they like played by bands I like. And it also stands as a warm tribute to a young man who wrote songs in his bedroom while inspired by Flipper, UK Subs, and Ramones. It’s a full circle album in many ways, and worthy for your Gen X collection.