In Utero

33⅓ Main Series #34

by Gillian G. Gaar

Though Nevermind was Nirvana s most commercially successful album, and the record that broke them — and the grunge phenomenon — internationally, In Utero has increasingly become regarded as the band s best album, both by the critics and the band members themselves. Instead of sticking to the grunge pop formula that made Nevermind so palatable to the mainstream, Nirvana chose instead to challenge their audience, producing an album that the bands creative force, Kurt Cobain, said truly matched his vision of what he had always wanted his band to sound like.Here the full story behind the creation of In Utero is told for the first time.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, The United States Of America, Biography, Pop Culture, Music Biography

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2006

About the author

I write regularly about music, entertainment, and travel. I enjoy taking pictures for my articles and books as well. My very first book was "She's A Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll," first published in 1992, and updated in 2002; Yoko Ono wrote the book's preface, and it still gives me a thrill to see her name on the cover. Other areas of expertise include Nirvana, the Beatles, and Elvis, all of whom I've written books about. I've also written for a variety of publications around the world, including Mojo, Rolling Stone, Goldmine (where I had regular Beatles and Elvis columns), and many others. I was also a senior editor at legendary Seattle music publication "The Rocket."

Reviews

[Imogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In high school I was at the mall one time and this girl was like, 'hey, you look like Kurt Cobain, do you want to date?' And I wasn't into her so I wouldn't give her my phone number and she was like, why not, and I said it was because I lived in a cave, which Mambo and Jofus thought was the funniest shit in the world for years and years afterward. But anyway, I was right not to like her- later she got my phone number somehow and we had *one* conversation during which she told me that Kurt Cobain was speaking directly to her in his lyrics. It was the nineties, so that wasn't 100% out of left field, but y'know. I was right not to be excited about boning her.

Anyway, I tell you that story to give you some context when I tell you, less than a year ago, I wrote a zine about how much I *get* Kurt Cobain. Because here's the thing: I get him. I think that he killed himself because he was trans and wanted to be a lady but he was the most famous rock star in the world so instead of transitioning he did a ton of heroin and shot himself in the face; I have a lot of evidence. I never printed copies of the zine I wrote, but if I ever do, I promise to tell you about it in a review of some unrelated book here on goodreads.

(By the way: I've been kicking the idea around of explicitly using my reviews on here as a blog, instead of just kind of pointing blogward with 'em. I'll let you know in the middle of a 40,000 word review of a Thomas Pynchon book or something.)

Anyway, yeah. I kind of have a thing for Kurt Cobain, but I feel self-conscious about it because so do a lot of shaggy-haired androgynous teenagers with guitars, and, since I used to be one of 'em [and honestly: still am, except old], I am trying to distance myself from them. But I read this. And it was nice. I don't really have anything to say about its execution; it's almost a hundred pages about the recording of In Utero, like it says on the tin. And I liked it because Nirvana reminds me of my band and Kurt Cobain reminds me of me before I transitioned (except famouser and more successful and actually writing and recording songs instead of just thinking about it a lot) and some other reasons, like that I like thinking about the nineties.

Haha, oh man. The nineties.

[Joe O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly dry facts & semi-interesting trivia, not much voice or insight. The 33 1/3 equivalent of a Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good times. Me and Nirvana. I loved 94.

[Gregisdead121 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read this as "In Utero " is one of the few albums I personally consider to be perfect. It might not be the Nirvana CD I own(that is "Bleach " as it made more sense for my angsty teenage self ) but it's their studio record I found the most potent. The fact it was originally titled " I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" is no fluke,there's a tonne of emotion here and with it overwhelming fear: of the future and consequences of the past. Despite his posturing and how surprising his suicide would eventually seem,"In Utero " has all the hallmarks of a suicide note. A capsule of a deeply troubled man getting everything he's always wanted and realizing the problem has never been the absence of those material validations but the parental wounds that have left a bottomless pit not even heroine could fill. It's title referencing the root of it all, a continuation of the "Nevermind's " coverart's philosophy. Kurt is that baby but now he's caught the money on the hook, now he's the wooden angel on this records desolate arid cover:barren, inanimate and alone.

Themes like those I've discussed are sorely missed on this 33⅓ edition. It fails to explore this masterpiece for it's thematic and contextual wealth, reading more like a Wikipedia biography stretched out for 122 pages. Which is to say I was dissapointed. Would I recommend this to those interested in Nirvana? Not really. Most of what's here is already recounted on Wikipedia and how it's presented here isn't made more compelling by its authors voice or perfective (of which you get none ).

If you've read this far I would appreciate you check out my review of the actual album (spoiler: I gave it 100/100). I think it's really good! And unlike this book focuses more on the thematic intents and musicality of the record rather than the dry facts. If that intrests you please feel free to read it and tell me what you think:
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/g...

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has read countless books on the topic of Kurt Cobain & Nirvana, I was pleasently surprised by this little book. I learned a lot of new trivia and was given a more flushed out history of this album in particular that I haven't seen before.

I also give it major credit for not being bias towards anyone or any situation. It fully encompases the events leading up to the album and the recording process, while noting the tension within the band without pointing fingers too aggressively. It also works as a companion to With the Lights Out, as so many of those demos were considered for or ended up on In Utero. This album was a fight to bring back their grittier sound, rather than the more polished pop sounds of Nevermind, a fight the band ultimately won. The band worked hard for this record and it shows.

The rocky road to get it released is also exposed in this book. Along with the fight for the iconic artwork to remain as Cobain wanted it to be seen. Apparently it was too offensive for the big box stores (ha!). The stunning effort that went into the Heart-Shaped Box video is also covered, the director literally bringing Kurt and Krist's idea off the page. My favourite new fact being that they shot it in colour, edited to black & white and then hand painted for the technicolour effect the video is known for.

To say I like this album is an understatement - it's one of my favourite albums of all time! This is the third 33 1/3 book I've read and my definite favourite.

[Bobby Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better entries in the 33 & 1/3 series. Nirvana blew my damn mind open and introduced me to rock and roll when I was 13 in 1992. I've read a fair amount about them since then, but Gaar does an excellent job of telling a story, with new insights, that you thought you already knew.

[Jim Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've often wondered why In Utero was my least favorite Nirvana record, and Gillian Gaar has helped me figure that out with this microscopic look at the album's creation. First, Cobain was determined to make this a true "indie" record by using Big Black's Steve Albini to produce, then the band put two of their most dissonant songs up front making it a much harder album to penetrate. Still there are things of incredible beauty here--Heart Shaped Box, Dumb, Penny Royal Tea (I never noticed the "Anemic Royalty" line until Garr pointed it out), and All Apologies--Songs that stand up to anything on Bleach or Nevermind. Gillian points out the production was much, much sparser than Nevermind, with the band basically sounding like it did live. This improves some songs, but leaves others feeling skeletal (Heart Shaped Box and All Apologies both sound better because of Scott Litt's remixes). One final point, I was acquaintances with Kris Noveselic at this time, so it was fascinating for me to see what was going on behind the scenes with the band. I appreciate In Utero much more for reading this!

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative.

[Ettore Pasquini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much, much better than the Loveless book. This one is actually really well done and structured in a logical, chronological way. There's an introduction describing the atmosphere that lead to In Utero, a couple chapters on the demo sessions Nirvana did before the actual recording, song-by-song descriptions of the Albini sessions, and finally two chapters about the mixing and artwork process.

No gossiping, zero fanboy writing, just short and to-the-point facts. The style is terse and clean. Quotations are used regularly.

A good companion for this is the "With the lights out" collection of B-sides and demos. Apparently Gaar worked on that as well. It's cool because for example she explains how Scentless Apprentice was developed in the course of one jam session, from an embryonal idea by Dave Grohl. "With the lights out" contains the recording of that session. Thanks to this book, listening to it after reading the book gained a fuller meaning: you can see how little by little from a magma of noise a song emerges, like a sculpture from a block of rock. (Actually made me think of Michelangelo's Unfinished Slaves...) Anyway, it's pretty amazing yet also ordinary: after all these are just guys in a band despite all the media gossiping and whatnot.

For whoever cares about Steve Albini, there are some pretty funny/abrasive quotes from him too. Overall Albini praises the band, their new (heavier) musical direction, and their professionalism (down-to-earth, hard workers, on time, knowledgeable... which could be surprising to some) and throws shit at everyone else beside the musicians.

There's even a whole chapter dedicated to Sappy, this gem of a song recorded a bunch of times and played in several different arrangements from 1987 all the way to 1994, and never officially released. Apparently Cobain was never fully satisfied with it, and yet every single recording of it is just breathtaking.

Anyway... a must-read for anyone interested in how rock music is (was?) recorded and released.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

It felt like I was reading the liner notes to the Nirvana box-set that came out in 2001. Maybe that's what this series (the 33⅓ series) is like, but it didn't have much sizzle or insight. (To be fair, that may be what's expected when only a third of the members of the band [or, 33⅓%{!}:] are interviewed for the book, & the songwriter took whatever insights there could have been with him with his suicide.)

[Petty Lisbon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I'm not the biggest Nirvana fan but it still gave me some new insight and appreciation for an album where I only like the poppier moments. It's more objective than I'm used to for Nirvana fans.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights into an historically troubled 3rd album!

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some ways this is what 33 1/3 sceptics imagine the collection boils down to: lengthy journalistic pieces that take ten, twenty times as long to say their piece as a good review would have done.

Basically, we have soup-to-nuts on the recording of the album without a glimmer of backstory, front story, context or even revelatory tales. Unreleased tracks are discussed (unreleased until the catch-all box set), people have opinions on the band's work ethic, the whole thing becomes a blur in the way that probably not even the band would recognise. After all, they were out searching in the downtime for their own kicks, or suffering from their own issues, depending. There is no background to the writing of the songs. No words from the main creator - for obvious reasons - but precious little from the rest of the band, either. There is a thankful shortage of hyperbole, but this, after so many pages, is essentially forgotten.

Nirvana, like Hendrix, was a glorious but tragic Northwestern explosion of talent. Unlike Hendrix, who arrived as a readymade rock god, Nirvana trudged manfully through the indie fields and showed us their scribbles and notes. Bleach was no instant classic, just another contender in a crowded indie world. I saw Nirvana play live on 5 February 1992 in Canberra and got a boot in the head from a stage diver. It was still an amazing gig, played in a venue that was way too small for them, being the number one band in the world at that moment. There was a sense that somehow, one day in late 1991, everyone suddenly got allergic on the spot to big hair and peroxide and angular guitars and wanted what these guys were offering. Then they had to follow this supernova album with another, while opinions and advice rained down on them from both the demanding profit-minded record industry types and the even-more-demanding indie purists.

The album they eventually made, In Utero, was a great piece of work, better than anyone really expected it to be, with perhaps a little too much latitude to the desire to goof around here and there in a punky style, but certainly sharp and coruscating and memorably melodic in turns.

This story could be quite the nail-biter, even when told in retrospect, but unfortunately gets rendered instead as a session-list snoozefest that even misses the opportunity to squeeze some drama out of the Steve Albini episode, where everyone involved had to be more-principled-than-thou then come up with a suitable exit story.

The real story of the album and what it finally led to is undeniably tragic. This was a time when a fragile soul grappled with the lion of fame he had perhaps unwisely chosen to engage with. He rose and fell and rose and baulked and demurred and fell. He was unsure quite what to do. But on the other hand he also was utterly sure: he had a voice and a style and people from all corners wanted to hear it. He was so natural that he really didn't need to listen for a second to the indie pharisees, but those were the strictures and straitjackets of the time. (If you think this is hyperbole, just listen to Jeff Buckley talking about what he wanted to do with his music post-Grace, when he had achieved such a multifaceted style but didn't trust it.)

While now it feels faintly ridiculous that these people harboured any of these doubts, a little further down the line it will be utterly inexplicable: "you mean, you had a God-given talent for raw diamond poetic hooks - hits all of them even when difficult and gritty - and you wrung your hands so publicly about being 'allowed' by the original fans or whoever to stick a few punky studio jams in between them?"

But cred was cred. And unfortunately, dead was dead. I am at least thankful that this book led me relive the album with a suitable sense of depth, which is I guess what the folk at Continuum had in mind when they came up with this format.

But it could have been so much better.

[Nate]

Nirvana was my favorite band in junior high and high school. I obsessively pored everything they’d done, listening to all their albums and reading every interview I could find (I started listening to them in 2003). When With the Lights Out was released, I immediately bought it from Wal Mart and listened to it constantly for months afterwards. Though I wouldn’t call Nirvana my favorite band anymore, I still listen to In Utero regularly. It’s an amazing record that still sounds vital all these years later. But, as this book makes clear, the making of In Utero wasn’t nearly as exciting as the music.

Maybe it’s because I already knew most of the story that I found this book very dull. Gaar does her damndest to flesh out every detail, but at the end of the day there was nothing remarkable about the process of making the album. Nirvana recorded demos several months before hiring Steve Albini to record, there was a minor hiccup about mastering, and the album was released. That’s it. There’s no hidden story or band drama. I’m not saying this album isn’t significant, but it doesn’t need a 100-page book because it was just another album for Nirvana, even if they intentionally approached it differently than Nevermind. And most of the information here is available in other books about the band.

I did find some bits interesting, like how the “Heart-Shaped Box” video came about and Albini’s comments about the album’s final presentation. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you don’t know anything about In Utero. You’re better off listening to the album anyway.

[degelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this will be the capstone on my investing in books from the 33 1/3 series. This wasn't the worst one I've read but it was surprisingly straightforward and dry considering the wealth of material about the making of this album and all of the circumstances surrounding and influencing it. I think the expectations of something more are on me, however. Gaar writes about the making of the album in a chronological fashion and faithfully narrates how and when the songs were recorded. That's the essence of this series, right? I wanted more than that, but it's okay. There is so much out there for me to read.

Although this isn't Gaar's fault I had to clench my teeth while reading really long quotes from Steve Albini. Ever since I found out about his enthusiastic admiration of hardcore child pornography, dealing with him is like chewing tin foil. In this case I doubt Gaar or the members of Nirvana were aware of this, so here he is taking center stage for a few chapters. I couldn't wait to get past them and move on.

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars!

Oh I remember rushing home from school to buy this album the day it came out. When putting it on years later, after not hearing it in some time, I was struck by how dark and depressing it came across. I was obsessed with Nirvana when this came out, in the way only a teenager can be, I had a ticket to see them live in early 94, but obviously that never happened due to other more serious issues, which I was a bit gutted about.

I think “In Utero” has some strong and memorable moments, with some great songs, but I think ultimately this is the runt of the Nirvana studio album litter, the production is just too rough and muddy and too many tracks sound weak and forgettable to be anywhere near classic album status.

As for this book, this was alright, it was interesting to learn about some of the deeper and more obscure background aspects, like some of the technical aspects in shooting the only promo video for the album, this was an enjoyable read and it’s worth the short time, but on the other hand there was nothing to get overly excited about.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows that “Nevermind” is the album that made Nirvana into NIRVANA, but “In Utero” was always my favorite album by the Aberdeen trio. Darker, weirder, and rawer, as an angsty teen, it spoke to me more personally. This examination by the 33 1/3 series of record retrospectives isn’t quite the deep dive that I had hoped for but it’s still got plenty of interesting tidbits and quotes about the making of the grunge classic. Gillian G. Gar’s writing is a little dry in spots but it’s a very quick read so that’s an element that can be easily overlooked. By the last page, I had an even greater appreciation for “In Utero” and I was left pondering, not for the first time, what bizarre, beautiful music Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl would’ve gone on to make together if it wasn’t for... you know.

[Marcos Alarcon Olivos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es el cuarto libro que leo de la magnífica serie de Bloomsbury 33 1/3 sobre álbumes musicales. El dedicado al In Utero es una crónica detallada de la concepción y producción del último disco en estudio de Nirvana, una especie de biografía del mismo, aunque la autora no puede desprenderse de una prosa académica. Para el invierno gringo del 93, la banda estaba en el momento más alto de su carrera pero con la presión de demostrar que era una agrupación seria que podía transcender el éxito y sonido pop del Nevermind. A nivel personal, significó también los deseos de Cobain de consolidarse como artista luego de toda la resaca mediática y acoso personal de la prensa. El libro muestra que la música final era el resultado de un genio creativo innegable acompañado de esfuerzo, trabajo y dedicación que Cobain, Novoselic y Ghrol ponían en su música en todos los niveles.

[Jack Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fine. It's interesting, because "In Utero" is interesting. But its self-purported "lack of sensationalism" means that Nirvana's raw, intense, alive record-- seriously one of the most emotionally ragged things I've ever listened to-- feels somewhat short-changed. I'm not asking for chapter-length expositions of Kurt's lyrics-- the "Daydream Nation" volume attempts that, and it's sort of embarrassing-- but when the greatest insights about "In Utero"-- frickin' "IN UTERO"-- are that it's "beautiful" (Krist Novoselic) or "Cobain spells success s-u-c-k-s-e-g-g-s" (some Rolling Stone hack)... I mean, we're not talking about Quincy Jones' "The Dude," here. We're talking about

DOLL

STEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKK

TEST


MAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEETYAATATTTASGASDGdfhdfgn

[Ugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough history of the genesis, recording and release of the album. Early chapters on the recording of several demos are close to being of interest only to completists, but the book comes into its stride from the chapter on the actual recording onwards. Gaar secured an impressive degree of access, interviewing Novoselic, Anton Corbijn (who directed the Heart-Shaped Box video) and, perhaps most impressively, Steve Albini. What struck me most about the book is how objective it felt: the reader gets no sense whatsoever of Gaar herself. So if you're looking for a straight-up history of the album, this will see you right. If you want something more personal, this ain't it.

[sam maurin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Totally recommend to any Nirvana fanatic to give this a read through, then hear out the OG Albini mix. Ear opening. Like, for real. Great example of how production can seriously make or break an album and it really is all in the little things. Giving this a 4 because while I thought the sequencing of events was well-structured, the delivery felt dry—bit like reading a Wiki page. For for a story as rich as the making of In Utero, that shouldn't be hard to avoid.

P.S. Thank God they listened to Krist about that shrill on Heart-Shaped Box. But on the other hand, thank godddd we can still listen to Albini’s All Apologies—because damn, that would’ve been a real loss.

[Ted Gurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched process book about the making and production of In Utero. This was a bit different than other books in the 33 1/3 series. I read the series to get the writer's perspective on why an album is important. It has taken me on an expansive listening journey to music I hadn't thought about in a while and to new artists.

Gaar focused on the making of "In Utero" and and accomplished his goal. While I got a feeling of what the band wanted to do with this record, I missed - the why should I listen and why is this important to listen to.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting and in-depth look at the recording, writing, art direction and release of In Utero. The stuff about initial recordings was tedious but after that it picked up and I loved reading Gaar’s analysis of each song on the record and learning about how everything came together, especially Kurt’s contributions to the art direction of the album. Cool stuff for sure. Gonna buy so many more 33 1/3 books.

[Aris Setyawan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I expected before. But, still worth reading. The book contains a lot of trivia here and there, and facts here and there, but that's it. Nothing More. I compare it with another 33 1/3 book like "Radiohead Kid A" or "Jeff Buckley Grace", both have a better insight and analysis. Meanwhile "In Utero" seems to lack it. But as I said, still worth reading if you want to know a lot of interesting trivia and facts about Nirvana.

[Ryan Novak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of the 33 1/3 series of books. Gillian G. Gaar’s is everything a 33 1/3 book should be. She takes on a journey of the album’s creation, starting with where the band was at in the wake of Nevermind’s massive success and on through the writing, recording, mixing, and eventual marketing of the album. She expertly crafts a narrative surrounding the album and shows why she chose to write it it over Nevermind.

[Sam Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an informative, albeit slightly dry, account of the production of In Utero. I’d say it was a slight disappointment compared to others I’ve read in the 33 1/3 series and would have benefited from more about what was happening outside of the studio at the time, such as Kurt Cobains relationship with the media. I enjoyed the parts about the albums lyrical themes, album art, video direction. I’d probably give 2.5 stars if that was an option

[Christina Cola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I'm a big fan of the 33 1/3 series in general so I knew I had to snag the book about In Utero since it's my favorite Nirvana album. The fact that it was also their last meant that it always had some kind of Erie vibe around it which I also liked. It's a great read as far as all the production and controversy that surrounded the much anticipated follow up to Nevermind.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't understand why so much of this book is about the recordings the band made between Nevermind and In Utero. Probably about 1/3 of the book. And then we don't get a lot of specific information about the recording of In Utero. But it was still an enjoyable read that I would recommend to any Nirvana fans.

[AL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interesting in a researchy type of way, but not a whole lot of narrative bits. It reads like a history book and if you know what you’re looking for, it’s solid. If you want Nirvana biography this won’t be it. If you’re a music or sound junkie, it explains a lot of what you hear and you can parce it out and truly understand In Utero on many levels with this book but that’s about it.

[Max Banceu]

I’ve seen these 33 1/3 books floating around for a while but haven’t given one a read until now. I liked it, but I don’t think I’d ever read one of these about an album I didn’t already really love. It reads a lot like a report, well researched but doesn’t have much of a thesis. There’s some interesting interview content though, especially from Krist Novoselic and Steve Albini.