In Utero is the third and final studio album from the American grunge band, Nirvana. It was released in September 1993.
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Overview
Following the massive and unexpected commercial success of Nirvana's second album, Nevermind, in 1991, the band had intended to "return to its roots" by recording a more abrasive and less mainstream-sounding release. Singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain had admitted his fear of alienating Nirvana's core fanbase of punk and indie rockers with its recent superstardom, and the band chose Steve Albini, a well-respected producer and member of the bands Rapeman and Big Black, to record the album. In the end, Nirvana was able to have its cake and eat it too: In Utero opened at #1 on the Billboard 200, and had hit singles with the songs "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies", but also showcased the band's more corrosive and experimental side with tracks like "Scentless Apprentice" and "Milk It", keeping its punk credibility intact.
Recording
In Utero was recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. It was recorded for a total of $24,000, and Albini took a flat rate of just $100,000, turning down royalty payments which would have given him far more. Recording sessions started on Valentine's Day 1993, and were completed in about one week (including the basic tracks and overdubs), after which Albini spent a few days mixing the songs. In total, the band used 12 of the 14 days they had booked for the studio; Cobain later described it in Michael Azerrad's Nirvana biography Come as You Are as "the easiest recording [Nirvana had] ever done." [1] Three songs, "Heart-Shaped Box", "Pennyroyal Tea", and "All Apologies", were later remixed by Scott Litt, which caused friction between the band and Albini.
Medical themes
Cobain had flirted with medical themes in the past, such as in the Nevermind song "Drain You" and in some of his paintings and collages, but never to the extent as on In Utero - the title itself is a Latin term meaning, literally, "in the uterus." The lyrics contain mentions of or references to semen, hymens, open sores, parasites, milk, and even abortion, and the album's artwork includes a photo of a pregnant anatomical angel on the front cover (with angel wings later added by Cobain), a collage of flowers, plastic fetuses and turtle shells on the back cover, and various Greek symbols of fertility on the back cover and sprinkled throughout the liner notes.
Controversy
Even before In Utero's release, the album was surrounded by turmoil. A number of articles emerged in early 1993 which suggested that Geffen Records, the band's record label, disliked the album and was reluctant to release it. When three songs were later remixed, many cited this as proof of Nirvana yielding to the label. Geffen responded with a press release in which Cobain said, "There has been no pressure from our record label to change the tracks we did with Albini. We have 100 per cent control of our music." [2]
When In Utero did hit the shelves, many feminists objected to the song "Rape Me," which Cobain defended in several interviews as being "anti-rape." Wal-Mart and Kmart refused to carry the album because of its artwork, and a "clean" version was released for them which featured an altered version of the back cover collage - "zoomed in" to omit the fetuses - and listed "Rape Me" as "Waif Me", though the lyrics of the song remained unchanged. The band defended its decision to release a censored version by pointing out that many fans in places like the Midwestern United States may not live near record shops, and buy most of their albums from chain stores like Wal-Mart.
Singles
"Heart-Shaped Box" was released as In Utero's first single in August 1993, and features "Milk It" (CD only) and "Marigold" as B-sides. The second single was a split for the songs "All Apologies" and "Rape Me" (both A-sides), and was released in December 1993 with "Moist Vagina" as the B-side. A third single, for the song "Pennyroyal Tea" and featuring "I Hate Myself And Want To Die" and the band's MTV Unplugged rendition of the folk song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" as B-sides, was planned for a May 1994 release, but was cancelled following Cobain's death in April 1994. A few copies were released prematurely, and today can fetch a hefty sum from collectors. All singles were released outside of the U.S. only. Though never released as a single, the song "Dumb" was picked up by many alternative rock radio stations, and became a modest hit.
Trivia
- At least four In Utero songs - "Dumb", "Pennyroyal Tea", "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter", and "All Apologies" - were written in 1990, three years before the album's release. The song Sappy was planned to be released on "In Utero" between tourette's and All Apologies, (making it track #12), but was taken off at the last minute. A version of the song that may have been the album version was released in 2004 on the Nirvana box set, With the Lights Out. (Sappy was also believed to have been written in 1990).
- Early titles for In Utero included "Verse Chorus Verse" and "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die" (the latter was abandoned when the band became concerned that fans might not understand it was a joke). The final title was taken from a poem by Courtney Love, Cobain's wife and singer/guitarist of the band Hole.
- Cobain wrote a set of liner notes for In Utero which was not used at the time, but made public in 2002 with the publication of Journals. In his notes for the "odds and sods" compilation Incesticide, he had famously attacked the homophobic, racist and sexist faction of his fanbase, which he wanted to eliminate. The unused In Utero notes were less confrontational, dealing mostly with the songs themselves. For the "Serve The Servants" entry, he wrote about the fractured relationship he had with his father, a theme addressed very clearly in the song itself. For the "Pennyroyal Tea" entry, he wrote, "It doesn't work you hippie," referring to the abortifacient after which the song is named.
- In Utero was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1994, but lost to U2's Zooropa. Nirvana won the same award two years later with its posthumous MTV Unplugged In New York album.
Track listing
All songs by Kurt Cobain unless otherwise noted.
- "Serve The Servants" - 3:34
- "Scentless Apprentice" (Cobain/Grohl/Novoselic) - 3:47
- "Heart-Shaped Box" - 4:39
- "Rape Me" - 2:49
- "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" - 4:07
- "Dumb" - 2:29
- "Very Ape" - 1:55
- "Milk It" - 3:52
- "Pennyroyal Tea" - 3:36
- "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" - 4:49
- "tourette's" - 1:33
- "All Apologies" - 3:50
Bonus Track
- "Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip" (Cobain/Grohl/Novoselic) - 7:33 (This "devalued American dollar purchase incentive track" is available on European and Australian copies of In Utero, as well as various other non-US pressings. It is a jam recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January 1993, and does not get a separate track position on the disc, starting about 20 minutes after the end of "All Apologies").
Samples
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Pressings
The first vinyl pressing of In Utero came on a translucent green vinyl. There were 15,000 of these records pressed.
In Utero was reissued by British label Simply Vinyl, and as a gold CD by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
Charting singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 5 |
| 1993 | All Apologies/Rape Me | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 32 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 6 |
| 1993 | All Apologies/Rape Me | Official Irish Singles Chart | No. 20 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 9 |
| 1993 | All Apologies/Rape Me | Official New Zealand Singles Chart | No. 20 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 17 |
| 1993 | All Apologies/Rape Me | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 58 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official French Singles Chart | No. 37 |
| 1993 | All Apologies/Rape Me | Official French Singles Chart | No. 20 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official Sweden Singles Chart | No. 16 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official Belgium Singles Chart | No. 31 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Official Holland Singles Chart | No. 32 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 1 |
| 1994 | All Apologies | Modern Rock Tracks (US) | No. 1 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 4 |
| 1994 | All Apologies | Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) | No. 4 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Hawaiian Island Charts | No. 3 |
| 1993 | Rape Me | Hawaiian Island Charts | No. 3 |
| 1993 | All Apologies | Hawaiian Island Charts | No. 1 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Australian Alternative Music Chart | No. 1 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Triple J Hot 100 | No. 20 |
| 1994 | All Apologies/Rape Me | Hot 100 Brasil | No. 94 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | French Airplay Charts | No. 52 |
| 1993 | All Apologies | French Airplay Charts | No. 21 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Polish Airplay Charts | No. 13 |
| 1993 | All Apologies | Polish Airplay Charts | No. 2 |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Slovakian Airplay Charts | No. 4 |
| 1994 | Rape Me | Slovakian Airplay Charts | No. 16 |
| 1994 | All Apologies | Latvian Airplay Charts | No. 3 |
| 1994 | Rape Me | Latvian Airplay Charts | No. 12 |
| 1994 | Pennyroyal Tea | Latvian Airplay Charts | No. 20 |
Album Charts
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | In Utero | Billboard Top 200 | No. 1 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official UK Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Sweden Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Australian Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official New Zealand Albums Chart | No. 3 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Portugal Album Charts | No. 4 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Finland Albums Chart | No. 5 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Norwegian Albums Chart | No. 7 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Austrian Albums Chart | No. 8 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Holland Albums Chart | No. 10 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Spanish Albums Chart | No. 13 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Japanese Albums Chart | No. 13 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official German Albums Chart | No. 14 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Switzerland Albums Chart | No. 16 |
| 1993 | In Utero | Official Hungarian Albums Chart | No. 40 |
Accolades
- Ranked #3 in Spin's "Best Albums of 1993" (1993)
- Ranked #3 in Rolling Stone's "Album of the Year - Critics Pick" (1993)
- Ranked #5 in Entertainment Weekly's "Top Albums of the Year" (1993)
- Ranked #13 in Mojo magazine's top 100 albums of 1993 (1993)
- Ranked #1 in Kerrang!'s "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - Editors Choice" (1998)
- Ranked #2 in Kerrang!'s "100 Albums You Must Here Before You Die - Readers Choice" (1998)
- Ranked #20 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" (1999)
- Ranked #13 in Spin's "50 Most Essential Punk Records" (1999)
- Ranked #18 in Spin's "90 Greatest Albums of the 90s" (1999)
- Ranked #2 in Magnet's "Top 60 Albums, 1993-2003" (2003)
- Ranked #439 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2003)
- Ranked #13 in Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (Redux)" (2004) [3]
Sales
- American sales: 5 million (5x Platinum)
- UK sales: 100,000 (Gold)
- Canadian sales: 600,000 (6x Platinum)
- Japanese sales: 7 weeks, 85,570 (22 September 1993) & 1 week, 749 (21 October 2004)
- New Zealand: 1993, Platinum.
Personnel
- Nirvana
- Kurt Cobain - Guitar, vocals, Art Direction, Design, Photography
- Krist Novoselic - Bass guitar
- Dave Grohl - Drums, backing vocals
- Karen Mason - Photography
- Steve Albini - Engineer
- Adam Kasper - Assistant Engineer
- Scott Litt - Mixing
- Bob Ludwig - Mastering
- Charles Peterson - Photography
- Bob Weston - Technician
- Kera Schaley - Cello
- Michael Lavine - Photography
- Robert Fisher - Art Direction, Design, Photography
- Neil Wallace - Photography
- Alex Grey - Illustrations
References
- Azerrad, Michael. Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Doubleday, New York: 1993, ISBN 0863697461