The Classic Albums DVD series follows a very tight form: 75 minutes of interviews from real insiders and band members, including plenty of information about how the LP was actually recorded. A producer or band member sits behind the board and isolates different tracks to show how the songs got put together.
Classic Albums—Nevermind comes in at a lean 49 minutes, and the missing 30 minutes found on other discs in the series is sorely missed. There are extras on the disc revolving around subjects such as the album cover art and Dave Grohl joining the band. Taken into account with the documentary itself, it compares well in terms of bang for buck with its sibling documentaries in the series.
The documentary provides some high level Nirvana history, leading up to their recording of Nevermind. Their time with Subpop, and the subsequent move to DGC are chronicled as well. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl provide the best insight during their interviews. Comments from multiple rock journalists provide a cultural sense of what Nevermind meant to the pop music landscape at the time and today.
The more annoying portions of the disc come courtesy of Nirvana producer Butch Vig, who isn't afraid to tell you how he captured some of the priceless moments, even when Nirvana didn't realize they were caught up in his tornado of genius. Butch also likes to tell the viewer painfully obvious things like, "This is grungy" regarding "Drain You" and "It's very mournful and quiet" when describing "Something in the Way". I could have done without about half of Butch Vig in this documentary. His banter takes away from listening to the track isolations.
The disc includes a good deal of live footage that I had never seen before. Despite the inclusion of music journalists on the disc, the documentary lacks an authenticity in terms of showing how the band rewrote music history, and the effect they had on the industry. Practically no footage of Cobain talking about the making of the album exists. Did he not give a single interview during the time that could have been included? Since Cobain was largely the force behind the band, it would seem that any first hand acocunts would be included.
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