Incesticide

Nirvana | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 15, 1992)
• Original Release Date: December 15, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000003TAB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,891 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #45 in Music > Music Deals > 3 CDs for $25, Plus FREE Super Saver Shipping

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Originally intended as a stopgap record following the massive success of Nirvana's Nevermind, the archival Incesticide album has taken on an added significance in light of subsequent events. Consisting of outtakes, demos, non-album singles, and live BBC sessions, it's a fascinating if less-than-truly essential listening experience. Highlights include the rip-roaring childhood memoir "Sliver" and its caustic companion (from a pre-Nevermind single) "Dive." There's also a brilliant cover of the Vaselines' "Molly's Lips." --Daniel Durchholz

Product Description

Buying time and thwarting bootleggers, Nirvana and DGC released the rarities compilation 'Incesticide' toward the end of 1992. Like any odds'n'sods collection, this is uneven, but that's its charm since it captures Nirvana's character better than any official album. After all, this was a band that was born equally from '70s sludge metal, bubblegum pop, post-punk artiness, and indie rock inclusiveness, each of which are apparent on this collection. There are some non-entities here, particularly on the second side, but the plodding sub-metallic grind was part of their identity, one part of their multi-faceted character.
Nirvana meant everything to everyone, from the jangle pop veterans to the garage rock ravers that worshiped the Stooges to stoner metal fetishes and indie rock bed-sits that adopted Sebadoh just as they outgrew Morrissey - everybody loved Nirvana, and there's something for every kind of fan here, thanks to murky sludge, Devo and Vaselines covers, BBC sessions, instrumentals, and limited-edition singles, plus sub-Melvins goop; everything visceral where 'Bleach' was tame.
'Nevermind' doesn't capture this freewheeling indie spirit but 'Incesticide' does, piling on some essentials in the meantime - the pummeling 'Dive,' the childhood snapshot 'Sliver,' the terrific forgotten indie pop tune 'Been a Son,' and 'Aneurysm,' perhaps the greatest single song the group ever recorded. Yeah, there's some filler here, but this is the sound of what Nirvana was actually like. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, dear..., January 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Incesticide (Audio CD)

....I LOVE Incesticide. And I must be the only Nirvana fan on the planet whose favorite song is Big Long Now. Why is this song so ignored? My god, the words, the haunting melody, the haunting vocals... ....

I won't get into analysing the songs and interpreting them blow-by-blow, but I will say that Kurt Cobain uses at least 7 different voices on this CD, and that each song is melodically and instrumentally genuine and original. The cover songs are also brilliant.

And here's just a little tidbit I have to mention: I became a Nirvana fan only quite recently. I was slightly too young for the whole Nirvana craze of 1991, and the tragedy of 1994.
But when I recently purchased Nevermind, I was hooked. Now, I purchased that album of course because that was "the one to get". HOWEVER, in a matter of one week, I had heard both In Utero and Incesticide, and quite honestly I don't think the big blaring "WARNING"-s are all that important for first-time listeners of the less-commercial Nirvana, if those listeners know good music when they hear it. This is just pure, glorious music with a brain, the kind where you can't predict the ending before the song is halfway through. The kind that you can't sing along to all that easily. The kind where you have to make an effort, for god's sake.
If the pop sap of today's various 'NStynks didn't drain you of your senses, get this CD. Don't be hesitant. And get Bleach and In Utero with it. There's more to Nirvana than Nevermind and Unplugged, as utterly fabulous as those two are (and my goodness, they are!). It might take a couple of listenings to get used to Incesticide. But only a couple. The quality will then speak for itself.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly great compilation, May 21, 1998

By 

Sam Jeffreys <[e-mail]> (Poole, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incesticide (Audio CD)

This is my second favourite Nirvana record (after Bleach). It's a compilation of various outtakes, b-sides, and also BBC radio sessions. The album opens in fantastic style, with the super-rockin' "Dive", followed by (in my opinion) the best ever Nirvana song, "Sliver" (which is totally unlike anything else they did). From then on, the album is split into two distinct halves. The first half is very happy, cheerful stuff, with a whole lot of covers (some from The Vaselines, and a brilliant Devo cover). This is Nirvana at their most happy. The second half is mostly Bleach-outtakes, and so is a lot heavier and not so friendly to the listener. It also sees Kurt messing around a lot with his voice, trying out different stuff. It takes a while to get into the second half of the album, but it's well worth it. There is some great music going down here. "Beeswax", "Mexican Seafood" and "Hairspray Queen" all have killer tunes. Check out the bassline on "Hairspray Queen" - I love that damn bassline! "Downer" is a great song, which is also the last track on the Bleach CD. "Beeswax" has some potentially-very-crazy-and-cool lyrics. All in all, this is a really great grab-bag of stuff. Lots of cool songs - Buy it!

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Areo Zeppelin +Aneurysm=one [great]cd, May 3, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Incesticide (Audio CD)

here are all of the tracks and why i love them:
Dive:9/10 good bass at the beginning, but it gets repetitive
Sliver:10/10 i love this song. the lyrics are a little strange, but what do you expect from Kurt?
Stain: 8/10 i don't like this song as much as the others. i don't know why
Been a Son: 9/10 the lyrics are pretty cynical, this song is about Kurt's sister (i think)
Turnaround:10/10 a great cover of a great band (Devo)
Molly's Lips: 8/10 i might appreciate it more if i heard the original one by the Vaselines
Son of a gun: 10/10. this is one of my favorite songs. i don't know why.
(New Wave) Polly: 7/10 the Unplugged version is the best.
Beeswax: 8/10 i like the drums in the beginning and the chorus.
Downer: 10/10. another favorite. it was originally on Bleach (another great cd) and eventually made its way here and onto Wishka.
Mexican Seafood: 9/10 good, but strange.
Hairspray Queen: 10/10 my third favorite. kinda hard to understand but very very good.
Areo Zeppelin 20/10 ok, so my rating is a little over the top. but this is hands-down the most under-appreciated song of the 90s. a lot of people don't feel that way, but i do. my favorite song on the cd, the hidden gem
Big Long Now:8/10 it's good, but kinda sounds depressing.
Aneurysm:10/10 my second favorite. it starts out in distortion, then gets calm, then does that over again until they get to the lyrics (then it continues) this is sorta like switching between two different songs that sound good together. my second favorite.
overall cd:10/10
maybe someday, when people get over the poser rock that dominates the airways these days, they'll finally notice the raw beauty of Incesticide.
R.I.P. Kurt Cobain