Incesticide

Incesticide
Compilation album by Nirvana
Released	December 14, 1992
Recorded	1988–1991
Genre	Grunge
Length	44:44
Label	DGC
Producer	Miti Adhikari, Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Dale Griffin, Butch Vig
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (A-) link Rolling Stone link
Nirvana chronology
Incesticide (1992) Nirvana (2002)

Incesticide is a compilation album by the American grunge band Nirvana. Incesticide consists of demos, outtakes, and radio broadcast recordings. At the time, all of the material on Incesticide was circulating within fan communities (albeit in lower quality). It was widely reported in the music press that the band wanted to offer fans a higher-quality alternative, but in the book Cobain Unseen, Charles R. Cross reveals that Kurt Cobain agreed to the release of this compilation because he was allowed complete control over the album's artwork. The album was released on December 14, 1992 in Europe, and December 15, 1992 in the U.S. Incesticide debuted at fifty-one and eventually reached number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200.

Release

Incesticide was released on December 14, 1992 in the United Kingdom, and on December 15, 1992 in the United States.^[1] The record label, Geffen, decided against heavily promoting the album, possibly to avoid a "Nirvana burnout" as the band had released Nevermind and four singles in the preceding fifteen months.^[2] Despite this lack of promotion and being a collection of old material, Incesticide debuted at number 51 in the Billboard 200 and sold 500,000 copies in two months.^[3]

Artwork and packaging

The cover art was painted by Cobain,^[4] who is credited as Kurdt Kobain in the liner notes.^[5] The rubber duck seen on the album's back cover also belonged to Cobain.

The first several pressings of the album contained liner notes written by Cobain. Versions of the album containing the liner notes by Cobain could be found at record stores as late as 1998. Initial copies in the US and Canada also contained a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker. ^[6]

Songs

Previously unreleased

Tracks 4, 8, 12, 13, 14, and 15 were officially unreleased at the time. The versions of "Been a Son" and "Aneurysm" as found on Incesticide differ from the versions released on the Blew EP and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single. The former song was culled from a September 1989 studio session, while the latter was culled from a January 1991 studio session.

Previously released

• "Dive" and "Sliver" were released on the "Sliver" single in 1990.
• "Stain" was released on the Blew EP in 1989.
• The three cover songs, "Turnaround" (Devo), "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun" (The Vaselines) were released on the Hormoaning EP in 1992.
• "Mexican Seafood" appeared on the 1989 Teriyaki Asthma Volume 1 compilation, and "Beeswax" appeared on the 1991 Kill Rock Stars compilation.
• "Downer" appears on all Geffen 1992 re-releases of Nirvana's debut album Bleach (1989).

Track listing

All songs written by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic except where noted.

1. "Dive" – 3:55
2. "Sliver" – 2:16
3. "Stain" – 2:41
4. "Been a Son" – 1:56
5. "Turnaround" (Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale) – 2:19
6. "Molly's Lips" (Eugene Kelly, Frances McKee) – 1:54
7. "Son of a Gun" (Eugene Kelly, Frances McKee) – 2:48
8. "(New Wave) Polly" (Cobain, Novoselic, Dave Grohl) – 1:48
9. "Beeswax" (Cobain) – 2:50
10. "Downer" – 1:44
11. "Mexican Seafood" (Cobain) – 1:55
12. "Hairspray Queen" (Cobain) – 4:14
13. "Aero Zeppelin" (Cobain) – 4:41
14. "Big Long Now" – 5:04
15. "Aneurysm" (Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl) – 4:36

Personnel

All sessions:

• Kurt Cobain – vocals, guitar
• Krist Novoselic – bass guitar

Seattle, WA: Reciprocal Recording Studios (January 23, 1988)
Nirvana's first studio demo tape.
Songs: "Beeswax", "Downer", "Mexican Seafood", "Hairspray Queen" and "Aero Zeppelin"

• Dale Crover – drums
• Jack Endino – producer, engineer

Seattle, WA: Reciprocal Recording Studios (December 1988 – January 1989)
The Bleach recording sessions.
Song: "Big Long Now"

• Chad Channing – drums
• Jack Endino – producer, engineer

Seattle, WA: Music Source Studios (September 1989)
The Blew EP recording sessions.
Song: "Stain"

• Chad Channing – drums
• Steve Fisk – producer

Madison, WI: Smart Studios (April 2, 1990 – April 6, 1990)
The sessions for the planned second Sub Pop album.
Song: "Dive"

• Chad Channing – drums
• Butch Vig – producer

Seattle, WA: Reciprocal Recording Studios (July 11, 1990)
The "Sliver" Sub Pop single session.
Song: "Sliver"

• Dan Peters – drums
• Jack Endino – producer, engineer

London, England: Maida Vale Studio 3 (October 21, 1990)
The 1990 session for John Peel.
Songs: "Turnaround", "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun"

• Dave Grohl – drums, vocals
• Dale Griffin – producer
• Mike Engles – engineer
• Fred Kay – engineer

London, England: Maida Vale Studio 4 (November 9, 1991)
The 1991 session for Mark Goodier.
Songs: "Been a Son", "(New Wave) Polly" and "Aneurysm"

• Dave Grohl – drums, vocals
• Miti Adhikari – producer
• John Taylor – engineer

Album charts

References

• Azerrad, Michael. Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday, 1994. ISBN 0-385-47199-8
• Cross, Charles. Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain. Hyperion, 2001. ISBN 0-7868-8402-9

External links

• Live Nirvana Companion to Official Releases - Incesticide