So how is it? Like most tribute albums, some covers are inspired, some are just fun and some deserve to be dragged behind a horse for a few miles. Here's my thoughts:
01 Meat Puppets: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
The Brothers Kirkwood bust out the acoustic guitars (presumably the same ones they used on Nirvana's Unplugged) to put a quieter take on this song. Not an easy song to cover, as NO ONE can replicated Kurt's vocal on the chorus, the Brothers Meat were wise to tone it down a bit. Easily the best cover of the song ever and the creepy backing vocals in the pre-chorus (Hello? Hello? Hello? How low?) are a nice touch.
02 Butch Walker & the Black Widows: "In Bloom"
Butch Walker is great with other people's songs - having seem him play Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" 3 or 4 times live - and this is no exception. The band puts a cool groove in the verse along with some surprisingly appropriate ukelele (the hippest instrument in the world right now) and add a bit more melody in the chorus backing vocals. Additionally, Walker is a hell of a guitar player and he lets it rip during the solo, which is night and day different from the original. Probably the most fun cover on the album. (Ed note: This was before I listened to the Foxy Shazam cover)
03 Midnight Juggernauts: "Come as You Are"
Just awful. A bunch of bleeps programmed with the same notes but none of the spirit of Nirvana. Though it can be argued that "Come As You Are" was always the limpest track on Nevermind, this take does nothing to counter that. Furthermore, the verse vocals sound like stoned Chipmunks. Skip.
04 Titus Andronicus: "Breed"
Definitely inspired, their track stays in spirit with the original, and without Butch Vig's layered production, brings it back to Nirvana's punk roots. This is probably what Nirvana wanted Nevermind to sound like, given their later misgivings about the album's sound.
05 The Vaselines: "Lithium"
One of two bands on this compilation to be covered by Nirvana (the other being, of course, The Meat Puppets), The Vaselines pretty much have license to do whatever they want to the Nirvana catalog. Their cover of "Lithium" is a reverential one, though and the synth and acoustic guitars complement the sparse vocals nicely. Grunge, punk or alternative it's not, but it's still cool and nice to see The Vaselines return the favor, for let's face it, without Nirvana, they are nothing.
06 Amanda Palmer: "Polly"
"Polly" was always Nevermind's creepiest song, and Amanda Palmer keeps that going here with soft, delicate vocals, some cacophonous vibes and, of all things, a banjo. Don't fret, though. The bass solo remains intact.
07 Surfer Blood: "Territorial Pissings"
Florida's alt-rock saviors contribute a pretty accurate cover here, complete with excerpt from The Youngbloods "Get Together". While the track isn't necessarily a disappointment, their choice of song kinda is - after seeing their involvement, I had hoped they would be taking on one of Nevermind's more complicated songs (particularly the next one) instead of it's simplest. Still, no matter who plays this song - Surfer Blood, Nirvana or even The Offspring - it's still punk as all get out.
08 Foxy Shazam: "Drain You"
Hoo boy. At first listen, this was instantly my least favorite song. Not only on the album, but EVER. "Drain You" has always been my favorite Nirvana song (Kurt's as well) and not being at all familiar with Foxy Shazam's music, I was put off from the start. False crowd noises, grand piano - it sounds more like "Bennie & The Jets" than anything Nirvana would have ever done. But the more I listened to it, the more I began to appreciate their take on the song. Foxy Shazam are a big, showy band, as if The Darkness had half an orchestra, but that does not mean they are not reverent. While most bands would have just skipped over the unforgettable interlude, Foxy Shazam owns it, throwing in wayward trumpet lines like Kurt did with guitar feedback. "Drain You" was always Nevermind's sweetest song, a love song wrapped in a lot of obtuse imagery and Foxy Shazam make this as big and as awesome as loving and loveable as any band's encore staple. It might be Nirvana's song, but Foxy Shazam makes it their "Freebird". A+.
09 Jessica Lea Mayfield: "Lounge Act"
Holy shit, this is it. Jessica Lea Mayfield is a star in the making, and her voice has such a quiet intensity, it's perfect for any Nirvana song, but especially for what could easily be argued as Nevermind's finest track. Having seen her live, I can attest that Jessica is the real deal and this cover is no exception. Stripped down to bare bones, her voices creeps over every word, while Richie Kirkpatrick's slinky guitar just sizzles, especially when it's countered over the murky single-note lines before the 3rd verse. I can't say enough about this song - just awesome.
10 Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band: "Stay Away"
This compilation is nothing if not imaginative. Similar to the Foxy Shazam track, 62-year-old Charles Bradley puts a completely different spin on "Stay Away", turning it into a simmering soul track, with some pretty hot 60's-esque tremolo fuzz guitar in the background. A cool take on this song, and unrecognizable as Nirvana.
11 Telekinesis: "On a Plain"
Back to the rock. Seattle's own Telekinesis take on their (his) hometown heroes (presumably) on a relatively straight-forward cover. But apparently this was a last minute fill-in for the original artists, Wavves, who apparently went AWOL. Or collapsed in fear of trying to measure up to Nirvana.
12 JEFF the Brotherhood: "Something in the Way"
The Nashville duo made up of actual brothers - neither named Jeff - put a pretty grunge spin on this decidedly non-grunge song. Rumor has it that Kurt Cobain wanted to get more into acoustic music as Nirvana went on, so there's a touch of irony that this song kinda works better with some sludgy distortion. Save for the vocals, it sounds like pre-Badmotorfinger Soundgarden.
13 EMA: "Endless, Nameless"
Surely the only recorded cover of this song in history, EMA does it justice, but not by much. Recording riffs, noise and screams is easy, but the spirit of the track is missing. "Endless, Nameless" was Nirvana trying to stay connected with their roots in the midst of the dozen more pop-tinged songs that came before it. While I'm sure EMA tried to recapture that sentiment, it's difficult without being more familiar with their regular material. Oh well.
Whatever. (Nevermind).
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