Performer Notes
- INCESTICIDE is a compilation of material recorded for the John Peel Sessions, rare singles from Nirvana's tenure with Sub Pop, and previously-unreleased tracks.
- Nirvana: Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar); Chris Novoselic (vocals, bass); David Grohl (vocals, drums).
- Producers include: Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Miti Adhikari, Dale Griffin.
- Engineers include: M. Engles, F. Kay, John Taylor.
- Includes liner notes by Kurt Cobain.
- All songs written by members of Nirvana except "Turnaround" (Mark Mothersbaugh/Gerald V. Casale), "Molly's Lips" and "Son Of A Gun" (Eugene Kelly/Francis McKee).
- More than just a b-sides collection, INCESTICIDE culls together Nirvana's work before and around their now-legendary albums. Released between the groundbreaking NEVERMIND and the artsier IN UTERO, the rarities and outtakes which make up this album shed new light on Nirvana's oeuvre, filling in the gaps between official releases and providing fans with a wider variety of recordings from different sources.
- Highlights include three covers, taken from John Peel sessions: a Devo tune ("Turnaround") and two songs by Scotland's The Vaselines, whose purposefully vapid pop magic is given the force of a juggernaut, with the minimal production that best showcases the Nirvana's aggressive grace. The famous quasi-live recording conditions of the BBC sessions provide another standout, the surging, desperate "Aneurysm," which remains one of Nirvana's finest recorded moments.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (1/21/93, p.48) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Nirvana was a great band before NEVERMIND topped the charts. INCESTICIDE is a reminder of that..."
Spin (3/93, p.22) - "...The stellar collection of old and new, borrowed and blue will thrill Nirvana fans that don't already own this stuff on bootleg..."
Entertainment Weekly (12/18/92, p.58) - "...you can tell a great band by its junk. And by those standards, Nirvana remains a great band..." - Rating: B
Q (1/93, p.100) - 3 Stars - Good - "...short, melody-driven songs which belt past with brisk, uncomplicated glee....a fascinating insight into what makes the band tick....a must for fans..."
Alternative Press (3/93, p.54) - "...In that it takes the edge off an increasingly surreal collectors' market, INCESTICIDE blazes with an uncommon passion, and is a laudable effort to boot..."
Musician (1/93, p.89) - "...With INCESTICIDE Cobain has called up the ghost of the old, pre-famous Nirvana and asked it to go out and face the world when he cannot..."
NME (Magazine) (12/12/93, p.29) - "...Between the recording of BLEACH in 1988 and NEVERMIND in 1991, a helluva lot happened and here, thanks to the inclusion of the 1990 Peel covers session, a few mysteries about their metamorphosis in style are laid out for a proper look...."
