Nevermind Turns 35: How Nirvana’s Second Album Changed Music

On September 24, 1991, Nevermind came out — the second studio album by the American band Nirvana and its first release on a major label, DGC. It was also the group's first recording with drummer Dave Grohl.

Butch Vig produced it: the sound came out noticeably smoother and more radio-friendly than on the band's earlier work. The album was recorded in May and June 1991 at Sound City studios in California and Smart Studios in Wisconsin, with some of the songs and arrangements chosen back during the demo sessions.

The lyrics and music were written mainly by frontman Kurt Cobain. Critics note that Nevermind fused pop melodies with noisy guitars and sharp shifts in volume: quiet verses give way to loud choruses.

The success was unexpected for the label and for the band alike. The album debuted at only No. 144 on the Billboard 200, but by January 1992 it had climbed to No. 1, pushing aside Michael Jackson's Dangerous. The lead single, Smells Like Teen Spirit, released on September 10, 1991, made the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

More than 30 million copies have been sold. Later, the band members were lukewarm about the sound: Cobain said the album was closer to a Mötley Crüe record than to punk. But it was Nevermind that brought grunge and alternative rock into the mainstream and sped up the decline of glam metal.

In 2004, the U.S. Library of Congress added the record to the National Recording Registry, and in 2024 the RIAA certified it 13-times platinum.

Translation editor: Ловушкин А.