Nirvana...In Utero..."Steve Albini mix": the definitive thread.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Stefano G., Oct 15, 2017.

  1. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    Context is everything with quotes and it sounds to me like he was saying the opposite to what you think he was saying. Like if someone had said 'It really ruined Aretha's career signing to Atlantic', i.e. you are being ironic to make your point.
     
  2. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Finally got around to picking up the 2013 remix on 2x45...very surprised, was not expecting it to be this different.

    I grew up with the normal release and also have the 20th 3xLP (which is excellent sound quality for sure). But until I heard the Albini mix I had no idea In Utero actually sounded like Nirvana.

    Recommended.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2017
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  3. Eobard Thawne

    Eobard Thawne Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Didn't Steve say the album IS his mix w/ the exception of the 2 songs remixed (for single release)?
     
  4. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Yup.
     
  5. Kerm

    Kerm Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I primarily lurk here to find find information and opinion on various pressings, but I feel compelled to try to clarify this confusion. The 2013 package can, indeed, be confusing but I think part of the problem would be that nobody is explaining what the 2013 remix actually is.

    The original mix of the record was Albini’s, except for “Heart Shaped Box” and “All Apologies,” which we’re remixed with Scott Litt. With Litt, they also remixed “Pennyroyal Tea,” but this version was not used except on the censored WalMart version. The sound of Albini’s mix was definitely altered in mastering, with emphasis on the vocals and bass in particular. None of this is in dispute and all parties have said the same thing in interviews.

    The 2013 package contains many things.

    • A remaster of the original released mix as described above.

    • The two original Albini mixes that were left off the record.

    • A 2013 Remix (not Albini’s original mix!) created for the 20th anniversary, to feature different arrangements and bits of recordings that were never used at the time. I seem to remember this described as an exploration of the roads not taken. It was commissioned by Krist, and featured input from the band. This is the version released separately on vinyl with a black cover. But nothing about this is what any of the parties intended the record to be 25 years ago. Personally, I find it a bit of a pointless cash grab. But whether somebody prefers it or not, it should never be confused with that people refer to as Albini’s original mix- which was already released in 1994, save those two tracks.
     
  6. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Well done!

    For CD 1 of the 2013 set, I still wish they had put the Litt remixes at the end and put the Albini mixes of those songs in their place.
     
  7. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Which is why its worth pointing out that the 2013 Albini mix is such a different sounding beast, and not solely confined to the 2 or 3 tracks that were not mixed by Albini on the original release.
     
  8. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    In an interview, Albini clearly stated that the sound of In Utero (CD 01) on the 2013 was the best he could envision it sounding.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 14, 2018
  9. James Bennett

    James Bennett Forum Resident

    This is all correct.
     
  10. Vinyl Fan 1973

    Vinyl Fan 1973 "They're like soup, they're like....nothing bad"

    2015? Do you mean CD 1 of the 2013 set?
     
  11. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Good catch. I meant 2013, of course. I reported my post asked that it be changed to 2013.
     
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  12. Kerm

    Kerm Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    But if you’re referring to the missing cello in “Dumb”, you are referring to the alternate mix created in 2013. That mix was never the intention.

    If you’re referring to the 2013 remaster, indeed the cello is there. (As it should be.)
     
  13. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I was referring to your statement, that something drastic was done in the mastering stage to make it a very different album than the 2013 Albini mix (not the remaster). How much the Albini mix represents the original vision, I'm not sure we'll ever know. But I vastly prefer it and think it was closer to Cobain's vision than what we got, given his anti-commercial statements. For some reason there's a lot of confusion on the subject.
     
  14. Vinyl Fan 1973

    Vinyl Fan 1973 "They're like soup, they're like....nothing bad"

    I much prefer my 45RPM 2013 mix vinyl to the original album.
     
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  15. Cokelike-

    Cokelike- Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, Oh
    Something drastic was done in the mastering stage to make it a very different album than the 2013 mix? The mix that didn't exist yet? This makes no sense. Unless you think the 2013 mix is supposed to be a recreation of what the album was supposed to sound like. In which case you are mistaken. The 2013 mix stands alone from all as just a different mix highlighting different elements and some unused things (for example different solos, etc.)

    Cobain signed off on all.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2018
  16. Kerm

    Kerm Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I tend to think Kurt Cobain was an adult who made the record he wanted to make. I personally don’t happen to think the difference between the original release and remaster is enough to make it a fundamentally different record. It’s not a pop record, but either way it was definitely commercial and loaded with hooks. Every other song was basically radio ready for the time, any way you slice it.
     
  17. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I'm just saying that In Utero was perhaps one of the first warning shots in the Loudness War, and here we have a "corrective" version released, and no one wants to address that it seems.
    Also, Cobain was so happy with it and the record industry, he was planning on quitting, and did, one way or another.
     
  18. James Bennett

    James Bennett Forum Resident

    The mastering of In Utero made him do it? :sigh:
     
  19. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    No, but he was quoted as saying he hated Nevermind because it sounded like Motley Crue. Which version of In Utero do you think he would have preferred given that statement?
    And maybe, just maybe he was dissatisfied with his position as a rock star in part because of the limited creative freedom that it entailed.
     
  20. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    He would have preferred the actual, original, officially released CD version, because that's the one he wanted, signed-off on, and described as perfect. Albini himself states he believed this in the lengthy interview posted earlier.

    I'm sort of scanning this thread and it seems you make the assertion that the new 2013 remix is more authoritative/corrective to what Cobain "actually intended"? I find that hard to believe because:
    1) Kurt Cobain tragically passed away in 1994, and the new mix was made in 2013, 19 years later.
    2) Albini, Krist & Dave have already expressed their own intent of the remix as just interesting bonus content, not meant to replace the album at all. In the aforementioned interview, Albini himself states it was meant to showcase alternate mixing choices they could have made, but didn't.

    You can enjoy it more. But it's not what Cobain originally wanted.
     
  21. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    So the album was not one of the first shots in the loudness wars? And as we all know, that was a good thing...
    As to what the 2013 mix actually represents is clouded in heresay (mine included) and comments second-hand and otherwise questionable self-interested parties. Albini and company make money for every copy that is sold. Not to mention the record company. So we're left to put the pieces together ourselves. "Radio-Friendly Unit Shifter" apparently was Cobain's embrace of the music industry. I did not know that.
    Also, Litt's contributions seemed so minimal, anyway. The real dig was in the mastering choices/changes, which direct comparison bears out.
    Again, so much interest in the loudness wars on this forum. And here is perhaps one of the few examples of a revisionist version being released, of a popular and revered album no less, and hardly a word on here about it. Perhaps due to the confusion as to what and who and where, etc... is represented by the Albini mix.
     
  22. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Can you explain what you mean by this?
     
  23. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    DR9 and it was all downhill from there.
    Albini was also known for his dynamic recordings.
     
  24. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    OK, so he must have been pissed that Ludwig mastered it with so much compression?
     
  25. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Well, the original CD release of In Utero was a DR9, which imo is totally fine for a rock album. This isn't Mahler, this was a punk-influenced alt-rock/grunge band. It should be loud and rock hard.

    To put it into context, similar albums that came out at about the same time scored:
    Stone Temple Pilot's Core was a DR9
    Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream was a DR10
    Pearl Jam's Vs was a DR9
    Soundgarden's Superunknown was a DR10
    Flaming Lips' Transmissions From The Satellite Heart was a DR10

    Compare that to Oasis' What's The Story Morning Glory two years later, which was a DR5.
     
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