Nirvana Nevermind to be Re-Released on Vinyl

Nevermind, Nirvana

Nirvana's landmark albums Nevermind, In Utero and the much sought-after MTV Unplugged album will be re-released on 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl later this year. The news has been announced at the SXSW festival by Monti Olson, founder of the Original Recordings Group who are behind the re-issuing.

"Bernie Grubman remastered the recordings specifically for us," said Olson at the festival. "To our knowledge this is the first time Unplugged has ever come out on vinyl. They might have done a limited promotional thing but I doubt it." The albums will be made available through one-stops and on-line retailers, and indie-label Sub Pop is currently manufacturing Nirvana's debut album Bleach for a vinyl release. The fact that the albums haven't been available in vinyl format till date is remarkable to say the least, but the wait is over, especially since the vinyl market is on the rise again according to Olson. "We have some new accounts that are experimenting with vinyl, like Best Buy. I don't know how strong their initiative is, but they've allotted a little bit of floor space for vinyl. But the bulk of the vinyl in the retail space goes through independent stores - the Amoebas and the Waterloos of the world that have always been in the vinyl business. But what's happening is more and more people are coming in with a curiosity about buying record albums."

Nirvana, along with Soundgarden and Pearl Jam among others, were among the initiators of Grunge rock and have often been credited as one of the most influential bands in this genre. Founded the the late 80's, the band achieved critical acclaim with albums such as Bleach and Nevermind, and singles such as Lithium, Heart Shaped Box and angry teen-anthem Smells Like Teen Spirit. As the band grew immensely popular, front man Kurt Cobain's depression and drug abuse worsened, eventually committing suicide in April 1994. Nirvana's members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic went on to play in a variety of other bands such as Foo Fighters (Grohl) and Sweet 75 (Novoselic).

source: 365mag.com