Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana’s first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind features a more polished, radio-friendly sound than the band’s prior work.[4] Recording took place at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, and Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin in May and June 1991, with mastering being completed in August of that year at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California.
According to frontman Kurt Cobain, the sound of Nevermind was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and the Melvins. While Nevermind is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, the album is noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads (“Polly“; “Something in the Way“) and punk-inspired hard rock (“Territorial Pissings”; “Stay Away”).[5]
Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success. In January 1992, it reached number one on the US Billboard 200; during this time it was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week. The lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, and its video was heavily rotated on MTV. Three other successful singles were released: “Come as You Are“, “Lithium“, and “In Bloom“. Nevermind was voted the best album of the year in Pazz & Jop critics’ poll, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” also topped the single of the year and video of the year polls.
Nevermind is often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X.[6] The album is also widely credited with bringing grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience while ending the dominance of hair metal.[7] It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.[8] In March 1999, Nevermind was certified diamond by the RIAA. Among the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music, Nevermind was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004 as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important”, and is lauded on multiple lists as one of the greatest albums of all time.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Nevermind, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
