The gigantic success of Nevermind (1991) brought Nirvana to the roof so raw that the trio decided to make a successor that was as unruly as possible. Very charmed by the first LPs from The Pixies and The Breeders, the three gentlemen approached engineer Steve Albini to record an authentic alternative rock album. Albini really wanted to help the band, but was afraid that record company Geffen would
… thwart his method. After Nevermind's million-dollar sale, the label would certainly aim for a hip, commercial product. He was right, even if it wasn't so much the label, but Nirvana herself that backed down. In Utero (1993) became a record that was very much in two minds. From noise and unadulterated punk (Very Ape, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter) the band switched without batting an eyelid to plump pop (Dumb, Pennyroyal Tea). Albini's dry recording technique showed Nirvana in its purest form, but the band wanted to remix some songs to release on single. In Utero this turned out to be a very diffuse album that did not come out completely. Certainly not because it turned out to be Nirvana's swan song. (JE)more
