Saluting Nevermind

Yet, more than just being a classic album, Nevermind spearheaded a revolution. Perhaps the last profound, grassroots musical revolution of our lifetimes.

That feat still stands in stark contrast to the top-down, press-led trends we have come to recognise in the two decades since. After all, this was not a band calculatedly hand-picked for success and thrust under the public's noses. As word of Nirvana's second album began to snowball it quickly became apparent that its initial modest pressing of 50,000 copies was not going to suffice. Few could have predicted that twenty years later, having been sold a further 30 million times (and copied innumerable others), it would nestle in amongst – often above – the works of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones and Queen in the “Greatest Album...” lists of even the most dad-friendly present-day rock publications.

Countless yards of copy have been devoted to the genesis of Nevermind and the enormous impact it had on the musical landscape then and since. Few albums in history have had more hyperbole lavished upon them and the effect can often be one of admiration-fatigue. It's easy to resent those lists when they wheel out Nevermind yet again – even if only because it was arguably no better than the albums that same band released either side of it – and every time Cobain appears on the cover of dusty rags like Mojo, you could be forgiven for feeling it detracts from the raw, self-destructive punk energy that flowed through the man, his band and the record in question. So, without getting too carried away in a haze of nostalgia or pining for simpler times, let's briefly remind ourselves of some of the reasons Nevermind means so much to so many.

Nevermind represented a watershed in popular culture. As the 80s faded, taking with them the self-centred yuppie explosion and right-wing dominance of the Thatcher/Reagan era, Nirvana stood as a viable candidate in opposition to the superficial hair-metal and commodification of rock music that, in many ways, mirrored the politics and social values of that departed era. The band's pervasive sense of social conscience likewise ran along parallel lines to the growing support for gay rights and feminism of the early 90s. Like Dylan before them, Nirvana were very much in tune with the social undercurrents of their time and, thanks in no small way to Cobain personally, immediately marked themselves out as more than just a pop group.

Musically, Nevermind's impact was no less significant. Fundamentally it embraced simplicity. This album gelled punk fury, pop sensibilities and heavy rock power like few, if any, had done before. The arrangements were simple, the dynamics substantial and the writing succinct and catchy. Everything a good pop album should be. Yet Nirvana commanded a sneering punk cynicism not witnessed since The Sex Pistols, as well as near-bullet-proof credibility thanks to their regular refusal to “play the game”. They were hugely successful, despite rocking the boat at almost every opportunity (just ask Jonathan Ross) and as such became the popular figureheads for youthful rebellion.

Again it doesn't bear repeating just how massive the repercussions of flagship anthem Smells Like Teen Spirit were at their time, especially for MTV. Quite apart from the musical bombshell of that tune, Nevermind was packed with sheer excellence. As the famous singles, including Come As you Are and Lithium, were played into submission and dust gathered on the works of contemporaries, the lesser known tracks on Nevermind (such as the joyous On A Plain, the perfectly formed Lounge Act or the melodically rich Drain You) invited further investigation. It is an album shorn of any fat and blessed with depth which in turn have ensured longevity.

It's also worth noting that Nevermind is a record peppered with good humour: one that doesn't take itself overly seriously. Despite its reputation as something of a party-pooper for those who were then revelling in the juvenile hedonism of Motley Crue and Poison, there are overdubs of rubber ducks squeaking away alongside deodorant cans. Their infamous appearance on Top Of The Pops, mocking the show's policy of miming on live television, underlined the group's playful nature.

Lastly, Nevermind was an adventurous record, unafraid to take chances. It found favour with the musical avante-garde and kept the group bracketed with the likes of the uber-hip Sonic Youth thanks to its edginess and the band's insistence on maintaining their raw, feral side on Territorial Pissings, Stay Away and brilliantly hideous secret song Endless, Nameless. Numerous uncouth recording methods also helped produced the sounds we now take for granted, including plugging electric guitars directly into the desk and abandoning the sterile studio environment in favour of a couch and a battered old acoustic guitar on introspective closing number Something In The Way.

Though all of these make for considerable arguments to account for Nevermind's greatness there is perhaps one further factor that explains why it is the record, above all the other great releases of its era, that endures at the top of all those surveys. Though it ultimately led Cobain to resent his creation, it was Nevermind's commercial success that allowed it to reach so many people. In an era before the internet, it meant that even the smallest record stores in the smallest towns finally had something of substance on sale. All those folks thrashing out power chords and distorted riffs now had a flag to rally behind. This was something widely available that awkward teenagers with self-confidence issues and chin-stroking 30-somethings alike could agree on.

Nirvana – and Nevermind in particular – blew open the doors of of possibility for almost everyone. You didn't have to shred like Slayer, shriek like Steve Tyler or loll about in a tracksuit like Shaun Ryder and, at last, your limited technical ability didn't have to consign you to a lifetime of noble obscurity. As a result, a lot of people, whether they realise it or not, owe it a huge debt of thanks.