Milk It (In Utero - Nirvana)

Member Name: obscuredbykep

Product:	In Utero - Nirvana
Date:	02/02/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Album

Disadvantages: Not their Best

In Utero had the working title: I Hate Myself And I Want to Die. Released - September 21st 1993!
------------------------------------------------- ------------------
In Utero starts off with Serve The Servants. This is a average paced song with some super guitaring. Serve The Servants is not "drony and miserable" and is very fresh - I am sure that this song having been released today would make it to no. 1 on Sunday! It has a chorus that finds a slot in your memory -

Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants -
That legendary divorce is such a bore
Serve The Servants is defiantly one of the best tracks on the album and in it's own right should encourage you to buy the album!

Track Two is Scentless Apprentice (originally Chuck Chuck Fo Fuck) and from the "up-lifting" beats of Serve The Servants we go to the mildly depressing - again this song has some great guitaring from Kurt. The chorus is yelled with great effect -
Go Away - Get Away, Get Away - Get A-Way

This was written by all three members and again is another reason to buy!
From the opening light guitaring of Track Three you would recognize what it is: Heart Shaped Box!

Heart Shaped Box is a slower paced song than the previous tracks; that is until the chorus when it build up the speed. This is by sure one of Nirvana's best songs.
Hey
Wait
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hate
Haight
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice

"They played Heart Shaped Box at soundcheck in Sao Paulo, and even then the vibe around the band was, 'This is going to be our new single.'." - Craig Montgomery
I am sure that Heart Shaped Box needs no more explanation other than I think it is the best track on In Utero!

Track Four begins with the few guitar strokes and then Kurt - Rape me, Rape me my Friend.
Rape Me is another slow starter until the chorus.

Not much can be said other than great. The guitaring is super! Yet this is not the strongest track!
Track 5 starts off with some great guitar chords and then when Kurt's voice and Dave's drumming comes in you know it is gonna be great. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle (long title!!) is absolutely superb! This has the best guitaring from the whole album! This is the essential track! The chorus is so memorable:

I Miss the Comfort in Being Sad
The vocals from Kurt are inspirational - truly great stuff. This is another great reason to buy In Utero!

The faint symbol crash opening, the immediate vocals and generally a great track. Track Six is Dumb and is in my top 10 Nirvana songs. The average paced vocals and faint drumming - along with some subtle guitaring make Dumb purely great. Seriously a super song. The lyrics are great and yet again the memorable repetition of a single line or two:
Think I'm Just Happy and Have a Hangover!

Another reason to get In Utero.
Now we get paced - Very Ape starts of with a great beat - and whilst typing and listening to it my fingers hit the keys along with the beat. Track 7 is super. A head-banging yet quiet song. The opening of the few chords repeated over the whole song is pace in itself.

Guitaring in this song is super - the main heard low pitched guitar sounding overdriven and the higher pitched adding background and great effect.
Out of the ground
Into the sky
Out of the sky
Into the dirt

A great chorus. Very Ape is great and the abrupt and sudden ending is great.
On to track 8, the pace has slowed down, the drumming being the main cause of this feel. Milk It (originally Perky New Wave)is a slow song. With Kurt just faintly singing - sounds like he's just got up.

As most of these tracks - the opening is deceptive by the time you arrive at the chorus - it speeds up and loudens. -
Doll Steak - Test Meat

Look on the bright side is suicide
Lost eyesight I'm on your side
Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing
Lack of iron and/or sleeping
Protector of the kennel
Ecto-plasma
Ecto-skeletal
Obituary birthday
Your scent is still here in my place of recovery
This song has a quiet and great guitar solo.

Yet again - Track 8 provides another reason to get In Utero!
Track 9 starts straight in with Kurt - and his guitar. Pennyroyal Tea does as Heart-Shaped Box did - starts slow and soft and builds up in to the great chorus:

Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal tea
I'm anaemic royalty
Pennyroyal Tea like Heart Shaped Box remains one of Nirvana's greatest. Yet another reason for In Utero.

Track 10 is fast from the beginning, the opening guitar chords sounding like a Bee flying.
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter is a slightly faster song, and extremely addictive - catchy. The beat is uplifting and Kurt sounds great.

I love you for what I am not
I do not want what I have got
A blanket acne'ed with cigarette burns
Speak at once while taking turns
Second-rate third degree burns
What is wrong with me
What is what I need
What do I think I think
Another reason for the purchase!!

OK - Track 11 is Tourette's - Moderate Rock is probably the only really clear words. This has some great music behind it - but is Kurt screaming (not loudly- but sounds like a tired harsh voice - know what I mean?) words. Tourette's has no lyrics printed on the Inlay.
But, if you read the suggested lyrics then the words do become recognisable:

"...Moderate Rock..." May day, every day,
my day Could've had a heart attack,
my heart We don't know anything, my heart.
We all want something fair, my
heart. Hey! Hey! Heyyyyyyy! Heyyyyy! Heyyyyy!
Out of town, out of sight (fire),
is my heart. Queen of lies, today,
my heart One more on the phone, my heart One
more at the door of my heart. Hey! Hey! Heyyyyyyyyyyy!
Mean heart, cold heart,cold heart, cold heart
Cold heart, cold heart, cold heart, cold heart --
uhhhhhhh!
You may have guessed what's next-

This is a great reason to get the album and despite the lack of obviously clear words it is great!
Finally? Track 12 is All Apologies the opening guitar suggests a great song and it doesn't let you down. All Apologies is a great song. It has a moderate pace - this version is better than the Greatest Hits/ Unplugged version. This is a song that you might be able to relax to with the subtle drums and fair guitaring.

You may have noticed the ? at the end of the finally - well All Apologies ends 3:58min into the song - which lasts 31:32min. After 20:01min we hear some gut airing - a not so hidden track. Whereas on Nevermind, Endless Nameless was not named -Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Through The Strip is, and is classed as track 13 when actually it is 23:59min into track 12!
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Through The Strip starts of as though it may be quite quick and up-lifting, with the high guitaring and mainly cymbal drumming. But when we hear Kurt you know it isn't. He nearly just talks, and softly. Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Through The Strip is another good reason to buy the album, but if it is one of your favourites, then it would be better to get With The Lights Out - since that has it as a track in it's own. On the whole Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Through The Strip is great and the slowness of it is effective.

Full Track Listing:
1. Serve The Servants (3:36)
2. Scentless Apprentice (3:47)
3. Heart Shaped Box (4:41)
4. Rape Me (2:49)
5. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle (4:09)
6. Dumb (2:32)
7. Very Ape (1:55)
8. Milk It (3:54)
9. Pennyroyal Tea (3:37)
10. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter (4:51)
11. Tourette's (1:35)
12. All Apologies(3:39) + Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Through The Strip (starting at: 23:59) (7:33)

Total: 69:03
------------------------------------------------- ------------------
On the whole I would say In Utero is a superb album with some of Nirvana's best songs. I prefer Nevermind but some of these tracks surpass some of those from Nevermind.

The Inlay with the CD is a fold-out one made of 7 sections each the size of a CD sleeve. It contains the lyrics and some pictures as well as the general information you get on all CD's like the members, Recorder, Mixer ect. On the other side of this is The front cover and more pictures of Nirvana, I like the one with Kurt's pink hair!
I recommend you buy this album at your next opportunity.

Summary: In Utero is a must have album, vastly different from Nevermind.