Throughout the Seattle-based grunge rock band's seven-year career, Nirvana managed to produce three amazing albums before lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. Their second, Nevermind, went platinum after only two months, with more than 30 million records sold worldwide. SPIN selected it as the greatest album of the 1990s and the fourth greatest album of the past 25 years, commenting "No album in the history of modern rock has had such a decisive influence." Even the album cover, a naked baby boy immersed in a pool, caused a buzz across the nation.
This September marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's seminal album and in honor of the occasion, SPIN Magazine shows its appreciation by releasing a free covers album titled Newermind and featuring an array of artists paying tribute to the influential LP, from Meat Puppets ("Smells Like Teen Spirit") to Surfer Blood ("Territorial Pissings") to Titus Andronicus ("Breed").
But SPIN isn't the only one dishing out some Nirvana goodies. The band's record label, Universal, has something in store as well to celebrate the milestone anniversary: a re-issue packed into a 4-CD/1-DVD package with bonuses. These include rarities, B-sides, and unreleased recordings as well as select BBC radio appearances and an unreleased concert that's featured in its entirety on DVD. The re-issue hits stores September 19. [More after the jump, including info on how to get the free download and complete band and track listing.]
This article appears in Jul 21-27, 2011.