Nirvana – Nirvana
*****
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter was how Kurt Cobain cynically monikered himself and the music scene around him on one of the most un-radio friendly tracks on Nirvana’s final album In Utero.  It may also be how some of the band’s more hardcore fans view this eponymous compilation.  For the rest of us, however, Nirvana the album is an excellent collection, capturing most of the best work of one of the most talented and troubled songwriters of any musical generation.
Nirvana begins with the last song Kurt, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl ever recorded together, You Know You’re Right, which is surprisingly grunge-y bearing in mind that the band had recently recorded a highly successful Unplugged TV special with their leader speaking of his wish to break free from the quiet-loud song dynamic.  Despite this YKYR is excellent.  It is followed by the Beatle-y grunge of About A Girl plus two songs recorded before the band were famous but not widely released till they were massive via the Incesticide LP.  Of these two relative obscurities, Been A Son is a particular highlight though the songs that follow are anything but obscure…
Generation-defining is a description sometimes used too lightly though it is a suitable adjective for the 11 remaining tracks on the Nirvana LP.  The four songs apiece from Nevermind and In Utero plus three from the Unplugged album contain several such moments with the ultimate accolade inevitably going to Smells Like Teen Spirit.  Further highlights among these selections include Dumb, the band’s brilliant live reading of David Bowie’s Man Who Sold The World and Lithium with its early Joe Jackson-esque verse giving way to a full-on grunge chorus and bridge section.
It’s fair to say that the tracks chosen for Nirvana are largely among the most accessible of the band’s output and, though the noise purists may complain, the rest of us will delight in such an excellent compilation.  Radio Friendly Unit Shifter then?  Well I guess you could say it is…
Released:  2002
Acquired by me:  Early 2010 – Borrowed (Library)