Kurt Cobain quickly understood. His hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” wasn’t even a year old when he decided he had to ridicule the grunge anthem, fearing he would appear ridiculous himself if he continued to remain serious in his delivery of the song. By the time his parents joined in the chorus with “Here we are now, entertain us,” the Nirvana singer no longer wanted to be the “voice of a youth generation.” Live, he sang the Boston hit “More Than A Feeling” over the “Smells” chords and played terribly crooked solos that started the “Shredded” trend on YouTube thirty years ago – fake videos that show bands at supposedly unsuccessful concerts – anticipated.
In this respect, this deluxe edition, especially through the included “Live In Amsterdam” Blu-ray, shows a furor that is still free of cynicism. At the November gig at Paradiso, Cobain still believed he was only playing his song for a small community, even though the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was already climbing the global rankings. In November 1991, “Nevermind” was still far from number one on the Billboard charts. The Nirvana stage was bare, there was no decoration of female statues with open torsos and wings like later at the “In Utero” concert tour. No Cobain, who had himself pushed onto the stage in a wheelchair like a showman, and no second guitarist Pat Smear, who was supposed to do some of the work for him. Boston and “More than a Feeling” were still a long way away.
For archive diggers, the “20th Anniversary” set released in 2011 is more worthwhile because it contains the demos for the twelve “Nevermind” songs, all of which are now in the hallowed halls of alternative rock. This set, in turn, contains four concerts, the most recent of which dates from February 1992. There is nothing wrong with hearing “Breed” in four identical versions, from Tokyo, Del Mar, Melbourne and Amsterdam. And a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” that is still played as it appeared on the record. (Universal)