Getty Images/Michel Linssen/Redferns.
We knew that Nirvana were not averse to the odd cover or two. After all, their very first single “Love Buzz”, was a cover of a tune by Dutch outfit Shocking Blue, the group best know for the original version of “Venus”, and three of the highlights of their MTV Unplugged set were versions of Leadbelly’s version of the traditional folk tune “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”, David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World” and “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam” by Scottish indie band The Vaselines.
What we didn’t realise though, until we stumbled across Nirvana’s cover of the Cars “Just What I Needed” while researching a recent piece on the Cars, was just how prone to Nirvana were to throwing in the odd cover at some point in their live show. It is something that Dave Grohl continues to do with the Foo Fighters. Sometimes these covers were strictly one-off; sometimes, like with The Vaselines cover, they could be semi-permanent additions to their set. Let’s have a listen to a few of them...
“Do You Love Me?” (by Kiss)
This one has a strong local connection, as it was recorded specifically for a 1990 Australian Kiss tribute album called Hard To Believe which also featured the Hard-Ons, All, the Melvins and others. The original appeared on the great Kiss album Destroyer. It’s the great lost Kiss pop tune and Nirvana nailed it!
“My Sharona” (by the Knack)
Though they were loathed by enough people in the biz for a well-publicised “Nuke the Knack” campaign to make worldwide news, the kids loved “My Sharona”, and for many, the Knack were a first glimpse of anything vaguely ‘New wave’ in 1979. It seems to have appeared in Nirvana’s set quite a few times in ’94…
“Should I Stay Or Should I go” (by the Clash)
Live in Brazil in ’93. Kurt on drums apparently. Ummm… not their finest moment. Other covers from this show, including “Kids In America” and even Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny", are similarly ramshackle.
“Bad Moon Rising” (by Creedence Clearwater Revival)
From 1988 and what was apparently their first show as Nirvana. Pretty good actually! Sonic Youth took inspiration from this tune as well, naming their second album after it.
“The Immigrant Song” (Led Zeppelin)
Also from 1988. Kurt doesn’t even try to emulate Robert Plant’s Viking bellows, but they sure make the riff work for them. Grunge started off basically a bunch of young punk kids playing metal and hard rock, and this is a perfect example of that style.
Now check out our ILYOS Spotify playlist of Kurt's Picks - his favourite tracks (including the original versions of the above, and more!)...
- Dave Laing
