Various Artists: Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana’s Nevermind
After what seems like a solid two months of Nirvana talk and tributes, Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana’s Nevermind feels like its coming in kind of late to the game. Of course being the last tribute released, its hard not to compare the album with the other prominent tribute released: Spin’s Newermind.
On face value, Spin looks to have the upper hand band wise. Spin’s tribute includes contributions from high profile acts like Meat Puppets, Titus Andronicus, Surfer Blood, and Jeff the Brotherhood. The biggest names on Come As You Are are mallcore bands like Story of the Year, Hawthorne Heights, and Anthony Raneri of Bayside fame. The tribute does get some indie cred from the inclusion of bands like Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s and The Dutch Masters, a spin off of The Dandy Warhols.
The truth is for Nirvana fans though, the Spin tribute is a little insufferable. Having to sit through ultra-artsy version of “Endless Nameless” by EMA or “Come As You Are” by Midnight Juggernauts is only seen as a good time by Williamsburg hipster (who are not the main Nirvana demographic). Although the artists on Come As You Are might take a more traditional approach to their covers, they are surely more pleasing to the Seattle faithful.
Finger Eleven‘s acoustic cover of “Polly” is haunting with its fleeting steel guitars and stripped down approach. Will Dailey‘s piano rock cover of “Territorial Pissings” is a revelation.
While I’m not ready to crown Come As You Are king of the Nirvana tributes, there is a lot to like about the album. It shows off some solid covers of familiar tunes and ends up being a very listenable tribute album.
Rating: 7.2/10
MP3: Will Dailey “Territorial Pissings”
Buy: iTunes or Insound!
Various Artists: Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana’s Nevermind
