Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Nevermind was never meant to change the world, but you can never predict when the zeitgeist will hit, and Nirvana's second album turned out to be the place where alternative rock crashed into the mainstream. This wasn't entirely an accident, either, since Nirvana did sign with a major label, and they did release a record with a shiny surface, no matter how humongous the guitars sounded. And, yes, Nevermind is probably a little shinier than it should be, positively glistening with echo and fuzz-box distortion, especially when compared with the black-and-white murk of Bleach. This doesn't discount the record, since it's not only much harder than any mainstream rock of 1991, its character isn't on the surface, it's in the exhilaratingly raw music and haunting songs. Kurt Cobain's personal problems and subsequent suicide naturally deepens the dark undercurrents, but no matter how much anguish there is on Nevermind, it's bracing because he exorcises those demons through his evocative wordplay and mangled screams -- and because the band has a tremendous, unbridled power that transcends the pain, turning into pure catharsis. And, that's as key to the record's success as Cobain's songwriting, since Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl help turn this into music that is gripping, powerful, and even fun (and, really, there's no other way to characterize "Territorial Pissings" or the surging "Breed"). In retrospect, Nevermind may seem a little too unassuming for its mythic status -- it's simply a great modern punk record -- but even though it may no longer seem life-changing, it is certainly life-affirming, which may just be better.

Douglas Wolk, Amazon.com

If Nevermind's sound is familiar now, it's only because thousands of rock records that followed it were trying very hard to cop its style. It tears out of the speakers like a cannonball, from the punk-turbo-charged riff of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" onward, magnifying and distilling the wounded rage of 15 years of the rock underground into a single impassioned roar. Few albums have occupied the cultural consciousness like this one; of its 12 songs, roughly 10 are now standards. The record's historical weight can make it hard to hear now with fresh ears, but the monumental urgency of Kurt Cobain's screams is still shocking.

Bill Wyman, Barnes & Noble

In retrospect, the title alone told the story. "Nevermind" -- a statement of generational ennui, a tip of the hat to the Sex Pistols (whose only full-length record, of course, was NEVERMIND THE BOLLOCKS), and, finally, the premonition of one tired star's good-bye. The epochal "Smells Like Teen Spirit" begins the record, starting with a low-volume guitar change-up, revving up into a high-volume one, and, after demonstrating that the group's musical heritage had as much to do with Blue Öyster Cult as it did with the Pixies, ending with a famous "No!": "A denial/A denial/A DENIAL!" Released in 1991, NEVERMIND unintentionally changed a generation and turned the record industry upside down, leaving the entrenched corporate labels to contend with platinum acts emerging from previously ignored independents. Nirvana didn't care. The band showed that it could play grunge heavier than anyone, including Seattle buddies Soundgarden, and also disarmed the skeptical with a rare control of dynamics ("Drain You," "On a Plain") and radio-friendly hit after radio-friendly hit ("In Bloom," "Breed," "Lithium").

Bob Gulla, CDNOW

There was a house fire in the local news recently. It seemed that someone left the gas stove on in the kitchen without realizing then returned to light a cigarette, and well … So much gas had accumulated and so huge was the explosion that when the fire department went in to sort things out there wasn't much left of the stove, the kitchen, or the house.In a way, that incident reminded me of the explosive impact Nirvana's Nevermind album made when it came out in September of 1991. For years the national music scene had floundered badly, desperately in need of something fresh to give it new life. The gas in the music industry's kitchen had been left on for too long; music types were spinning their wheels in search of "the next big thing."
At the time, Nirvana was simply a scruffy threesome of energetic punks, guys who never considered fame a career option. They simply wanted to make the kind of music that would keep them happy and out of trouble. Their first album, 1989's Bleach, exhibited promise and considerable bluster, but no more than the nascent grooves of several other indie bands in Seattle at the time -- Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone.
But when Nevermind came out two years later, this time on a major label, it inadvertently lighted the match that blew up everything around it. It was the perfect embodiment of punk attitude, classic rock, and pop melody -- the combination of which had never been embraced, or heard, before. With the strength of a major label marketing team, the album exploded onto the scene, led by "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the '90s best rock song bar none, and supported by inflammatory tracks like "Come as You Are," "Lithium," and "In Bloom."
Everyone smelled the gas at the time, but no one ever saw the explosion coming. Indeed, there were many casualties in the wake of Nevermind. But after Nirvana landed on the international rock scene and burst through the flaming music-industry door, there would also be many heroes.

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar); Chris Novoselic (vocals, bass); David Grohl (vocals, drums).
Additional personnel: Kirk Canning (cello). Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, California.

A few years after the matter, even the album cover appears vaguely symbolic: an innocent babe, braving the hazards, lunging for the seductive prize at the end of a hook. Few would've given good odds that the youngster would actually be able to snatch the green, swim back to shore, and laugh triumphantly in the fisherman's face; and history has made fools of those who thought it couldn't be done. NEVERMIND not only gave Nirvana the prize the band had reached out for, it included some epic consequences in the bargain--raising the Seattle grunge trio to the status of Godhead, and forever changing the face of the pop music market.
As ground-breaking albums go, NEVERMIND seemed expressly designed for a post-modern existence. The punk energy and aesthetic ("Territorial Pissings," "Drain You") were its lifeblood; melody, harmony and structure ("Something In The Way," "Come As You Are") were its selling points; the roaring guitars and sub-conscious intellect ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," "In Bloom") were its heart and soul. Nobody had come up with an album like NEVERMIND before, because no one could conceive of an album like it--not since Husker Du had broken up, anyway.
But the place where NEVERMIND struck the most firmly and personally was in the gut. Cobain's throaty roar, mumbled speech, fumbled appearance all confirmed that he was of us, with us, and for us; his gift for combining melodies with acerbic insights showed that he was unlike us. "Here we are now, entertain us" may have come and gone as a catch-phrase, but as an insight into a generation's bitterly restless tide, it ranks right up there with "I can't get no satisfaction."

CMJ New Music Report, issue 254, September 27, 1991

If there's a band that will single-handedly destroy the barriers between meki, alternative and commercial radio, Aberdeen, Washington's Nirvana is it. Those who were on board for Bleach, their scalding `89 Sub Pop debut, will know the devastating potential encrusted in those grooves, will know about the death-defying bidding war over this scuzzy trio, and will also probably know that they're worth every penny. Yeah, they've gotten a new, better drummer and a major label recording budget (not to mention the almighty Andy Wallace-he of Slayer fame -to mix), but what makes Nirvana so special is their ability to deliver completely irresistible hooks without toning down their bruising guitar crunch or Kurt Cobain' s sandpaper vocals a jot -in other words, they'll sell a lot of records but still remain more politically correct than virtually any other band that's made the indie-major jump. A rocket-blast advancement from their debut, Nevermind upgrades songs we've heard onstage for years, igniting them past even their most frenzied and flailing live incarnations. The songs have an eyeblink more verve and flash (out of 12, three pass 3:30), the melodies lurching, hopped-up and intoxicated with speed, Cobain's vocals all scratch and strain, those guitars hungrily crammed into every gop. Anyone seeking the NEXT BIG THING, look no further. Plug "Territorial Pissings," "In Bloom," "Breed," "On A Plain," "Stay Away" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which does.

Nirvana do here what Sonic Youth did so emphatically with 'Goo' last year - making the move from cult indie to major label with not as much as a hiccup. In fact, just as the Sonics impressed and outstripped the sceptics' expectations, Nirvana have made an LP which is not only better than anything they've done before, it'll stand up as a new reference point for the future post-hardcore generation.
For starters, this makes a refreshing change from the recent crop of groups - both British and American - who've used the Dinosaur Jr/Husker Du sound as their base starting point. Nirvana's rawk, instead, draws upon their roots in Sub Pop grunge, but also takes in chunks of heavy '70s bass/guitars and ideology.
Normally, this would spell the sort of appalling disaster you'd usually associate with ITV's autumn schedules, but Nirvana, in their defence, have attacked rock and changed the format. This is monstrous in the sense of a good drama series, rather than a cheap US thriller. While various American grunge bands seem content to slosh around in their respective hardcore genres - albeit with some success and lucidity - Nirvana have opted out of the underground without wimping out of the creative process.
'Nevermind' is a record for people who'd like to like Metallica, but can't stomach their lack of melody; while on the other hand it takes some of the Pixies' nous with tunes, and gives the idea new muscle. A shock to the system. Tracks like the excellent 'In Bloom' and best of the lot, 'Come As You Are', show a dexterity that combines both a tension and a laid-back vibe that work off each other to produce some cool, constructed twists and turns.
'Come As You Are' has something eerie about it, while opening track (and forthcoming single) 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' has a 'Goo'ey feeling inherent in its lurching structure. At other times, the threesome lean into thrashier territory with the berserk 'Territorial Pissings' and screaming-pop of 'Breed'.
This is the natural progression from their debut LP 'Bleach', exploring different avenues. They are less specific lyrically than SY, sometimes annoyingly so, but yet they still produce these vivid moods with 'Drain You', 'Polly' and the closing, quieter 'Something In The Way'.
'Nevermind' is the big American alternative record of the autumn. But better still, it'll last well into next year.

Sam King, Q Magazine

Three years after the release of their debut, Bleach, Seattle's Nirvana return and in one fell swoop the trio have created precisely the sort of record their former label, Sub Pop, has strived for with bands like Mudhoney and Tad since its inception in 1986. Like Bleach, it is a guitar-heavy blend of bubblegum punk, full of the flavour of the Pacific Northwest (home of Twin Peaks and Ted Bundy). All the songs, from the fiery Smells Like Teen Spirit to the smiling Drain You, reflect singer/guitarist Kurdt Kobain's skilful intermingling of Stooges-style brute yobbism (grinding guitars and yelping vocals), American punk and late-'70s art rock of the sort that Talking Heads pioneered so successfully. The whole thing is brought together by Kobain's distinctive voice, which has the same whiskey'n'fags sound as Tom Waits and carries all the pain, hurt and misery of long-time loser in love, Joe Cocker.

Ira Robbins, Rolling Stone,  issue 618, november 28, 1991

Despite the hand-wringing the fanzines do each time an indie-rock hero signs a major-label deal, righteous postpunk stars from Hüsker Dü to Soundgarden have joined the corporate world without debasing their music. More often than not, ambitious left-of-the-dial bands gallantly cling to their principles as they plunge into the depths of commercial failure. Integrity is a heavy burden for those trying to scale the charts.
Led by singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain, Nirvana is the latest underground bonus baby to test mainstream tolerance for alternative music. Given the small corner of public taste that nonmetal guitar rock now commands, the Washington State trio's version of the truth is probably as credible as anyone's. A dynamic mix of sizzling power chords, manic energy and sonic restraint, Nirvana erects sturdy melodic structures – sing-along hard rock as defined by groups like the Replacements, Pixies and Sonic Youth – but then attacks them with frenzied screaming and guitar havoc. When Cobain revs into high punk gear, shifting his versatile voice from quiet caress to raw-throated fury, the decisive control of bassist Chris Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl is all that keeps the songs from chaos. If Nirvana isn't onto anything altogether new, Nevermind does possess the songs, character and confident spirit to be much more than a reformulation of college radio's high-octane hits.
Nirvana's undistinguished 1989 debut, Bleach, relied on warmed-over Seventies metal riffs, but the thrashing Nevermind boasts an adrenalized pop heart and incomparably superior material, captured with roaring clarity by coproducer Butch Vig. Cued in with occasional (and presumably intentional) tape errors, most of the songs – like "On a Plain," "Come as You Are" and "Territorial Pissings" – exemplify the band's skill at inscribing subtlety onto dense, noisy rock. At the album's stylistic extremes, "Something in the Way" floats a translucent cloud of acoustic guitar and cello, while "Breed" and "Stay Away" race flat-out, the latter ending in an awesome meltdown rumble.
Too often, underground bands squander their spunk on records they're not ready to make, then burn out their energy and inspiration with uphill touring. Nevermind finds Nirvana at the crossroads – scrappy garageland warriors setting their sights on a land of giants.

© Frank Steven Groen