In Utero

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In Utero
Studio album by Nirvana

Publication
(s)

September 13, 1993

Label (s) Geffen

Format (s)

CD, LP

Genre (s)

Grunge , noise rock , alternative rock

Title (number)

13

running time

68 min 45 s

occupation

production

Steve Albini

Studio (s)

February 12-26, 1993, Pachyderm Studios

chronology
Incesticide
(1992)
In Utero MTV Unplugged in New York
(1994)
Single releases
August 30, 1993 Heart-Shaped Box
December 6, 1993 All Apologies / Rape Me
April 8, 1994 Pennyroyal Tea

In Utero ( Latin for "In the womb") is the third and final studio album by the US rock band Nirvana . It was released on September 13, 1993 and co-produced with Steve Albini .

success

During the recording in late 1992, the album had the working title I Hate Myself and I Want to Die , named after the song that was also created during the recording.

After its release on September 13, 1993, In Utero immediately rose to number one on the UK and US Billboard charts and had successful singles with Heart-Shaped Box and All Apologies / Rape Me . The third single Pennyroyal Tea , however, was withdrawn shortly after it was sold due to the unexpected suicide of the singer Cobain, so that only a few hundred copies came into circulation and are still coveted collectors' items today. However, there were problems with album sales with the department store chain Wal-Mart . This called for an edited version of the album. The song Rape Me was renamed Waif Me , the Cobain collage overleaf was retouched, and instead of babies and fetuses, Wal-Mart buyers saw frogs. The song All Apologies was freed from objectionable text sections in a Scott Litt remix.

In the fall, the band went on a sold-out world tour with Pat Smear on second guitar. Smear previously played with The Germs. As part of the tour, they also gave the MTV Unplugged concert in New York , which was later released as a live record , in which they reinterpreted many of their songs in an acoustic version.

production

Steve Albini, who had many years of experience in the US indie rock and punk scene , was chosen as the producer . In addition to his work as a producer, he was also a musician with the groups Rapeman and Big Black . The songs were recorded within two weeks.

style

With titles such as Scentless Apprentice , a lyrical setting of the novel Das Parfum by Patrick Süskind , or Milk It , Nirvana showed their aggressive, more experimental side and largely dispensed with the generally usual sequences of their songs. Sometimes the verse-chorus scheme is also modified or expanded. As on Nevermind , there was another hidden track on the album ( Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip ), which started 20 minutes after the end of All Apologies (at 24:00 minutes).

Cover and artwork

The album cover was designed by Kurt Cobain himself in collaboration with Robert Fisher. Cobain made various miniatures and colored plaster molds for the back cover.

The cover is decorated with a female figure with angel wings. It has a glass skin so that you can see veins, muscles and bones. The womb is filled with an intestine. The figure has spread its arms receptively.

The back shows a 3D collage colored pink by Cobain . Here fetuses and adult babies lie heaped in a pulp of flowers, bones and innards. Various symbols are lined up around the picture using a computer:

The booklet accompanying the album contains an anatomical drawing by the artist Alex Gray entitled Muscle System (Pregnant Woman) , this drawing depicts the body structure of a pregnant woman.

Track list

  1. Serve the Servants - 3:34
  2. Scentless Apprentice - 3:47
  3. Heart-Shaped Box - 4:39
  4. Rape Me - 2:49
  5. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle - 4:07
  6. Dumb - 2:29
  7. Very Ape - 1:55
  8. Milk It - 3:52
  9. Pennyroyal Tea - 3:36
  10. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter - 4:49
  11. tourette’s - 1:33
  12. All Apologies - 3:50; at midnight the song Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip - 7:33begins

The total duration is 1:08:45 hours, of which about 20:10 minutes are of silence between the end of All Apologies and the beginning of Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip .

Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip was recorded in Rio de Janeiro in January 1993 , all other songs in Minnesota in February 1993 .

Almost all of the titles were written by Kurt Cobain. Only the titles Scentless Apprentice and Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip were created as a work by the whole band. The latter came from a spontaneous jam.

Chart placements and singles

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
In Utero
  DE 14th 09/27/1993 (16 weeks)
  AT 8th 09/26/1993 (17 weeks)
  CH 16 09/26/1993 (12 weeks)
  UK 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 09/25/1993 (60 weeks)
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 10/09/1993 (94 weeks)
Singles
Heart-Shaped Box
  UK 5 09/11/1993 (5 weeks)
All Apologies / Rape Me
  UK 32 12/18/1993 (5 weeks)

In Utero entered the German charts at number 50 on September 27, 1993, two weeks later it reached the top position at number 14 and was in the top 100 for a total of 16 weeks. The album topped the charts in the United States, Great Britain and Sweden.

On August 30, 1993, the first single Heart-Shaped Box was released, which reached number 5 in the British charts. The second release All Apologies / Rape Me was released on December 6, 1993 and ranked 32nd in the British charts. On April 8, 1994, Pennyroyal Tea was the third single released. Since Kurt Cobain was found dead that day, the song was quickly taken off the market.

Sales figures and awards

Utero earned five platinum records for more than five million units sold in the United States in 1996 . Worldwide sales are over 15 million.

Country / Region Award Sales
Awards for music sales
(country / region, Award, Sales)
Argentina (CAPIF) Argentina (CAPIF) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 60,000
Australia (ARIA) Australia (ARIA) Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum 140,000
Brazil (PMB) Brazil (PMB) Gold record icon.svg gold 100,000
Germany (BVMI) Germany (BVMI) Gold record icon.svg gold 250,000
France (SNEP) France (SNEP) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 300,000
Italy (FIMI) Italy (FIMI) Gold record icon.svg gold 25,000
Japan (RIAJ) Japan (RIAJ) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 200,000
Canada (MC) Canada (MC) Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum 600,000
Mexico (AMPROFON) Mexico (AMPROFON) Gold record icon.svg gold 100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ) New Zealand (RMNZ) Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum 45,000
Norway (IFPI) Norway (IFPI) Gold record icon.svg gold 20,000
Austria (IFPI) Austria (IFPI) Gold record icon.svg gold 25,000
Poland (ZPAV) Poland (ZPAV) Gold record icon.svg gold 50,000
Sweden (IFPI) Sweden (IFPI) Gold record icon.svg gold 50,000
Spain (Promusicae) Spain (Promusicae) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 100,000
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) Platinum record icon.svg 5 × platinum 5,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI) United Kingdom (BPI) Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum 600,000
All in all Gold record icon.svg8 × gold
Platinum record icon.svg22 × platinum
7,055,000

Main article: Nirvana / Awards for Music Sales

Individual evidence

  1. Release date
  2. Kurt Cobain: Reluctant grunge rock star. ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On: wasistwas.de. Retrieved February 22, 2013  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wasistwas.de
  3. Nirvana in the UK charts
  4. Nirvana in the US album charts
  5. Marc Hogan: Meet Kurt Cobain's Siberian Subway Soundalike. On: spin.com (English), September 6, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2013
  6. In Utero on walmart.com (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013
  7. Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town. On: pbs.org (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013
  8. All Apologies on discogs.com (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013
  9. Pat Smear on hagstromguitars.eu (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013
  10. MTV Unplugged on bbc.co.uk (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013
  11. Steve Albini on allmusic.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  12. ^ New York - Anti-Rape Man. On: vice.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  13. Steve Albini on avclub.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  14. a b Rolling Stone's 100 best albums of the 1990s. On: rollingstone.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  15. Scentless Apprentice on livenirvana.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  16. a b c In Utero on discogs.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  17. ↑ Contributors to In Utero on allmusic.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  18. ^ Adrian Gallo: View Kurt Cobain's Lost 'In Utero' - Era Art Pieces. ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. At: rockcellarmagazine.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rockcellarmagazine.com
  19. a b Abdullah Saeed: Meaning of In Utero Album Art. On: ehow.com (English). Retrieved February 23, 2013
  20. Nirvana's 'In Utero' Studio Set to Reopen. On: rollingstone.com, February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013
  21. Gillian G. Gaar: Nirvana's In Utero. Continuum International Publishing Group, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-826-41776-3 , p. 23
  22. Chart positions: DE AT CH UK US
  23. Chart tracking In Utero on officialcharts.de
  24. International chart tracking In Utero
  25. US: 5x platinum
  26. Worldwide sales in Utero on nme.com
  27. ^ Gary Trust: Ask Billboard: Rihanna's (Quirky) Record in the Hot 100's Top 10 with 'Needed Me'. In: Billboard. September 18, 2016, accessed September 18, 2016 .
  28. ^ Nirvana in the Grammy Awards database. On: grammy.com (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013
  29. 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. On: rollingstone.com (English). Retrieved February 22, 2013