UMC Vinyl & CDs

Review: It's hard to underestimate the impact of Nirvana's second studio album, Nevermind, when it first hit stores 30 years ago. A more polished - but still beautifully scuzzy - set than its predecessor, the album turned the Seattle band into worldwide stars and made grunge indie-rock's most talked about sub-genre. This 30th anniversary edition presents the original album in freshly remastered form. As a result, classics such as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Come as You Are' and 'Drain You' sound fresher and heavier than ever. This time round, there's also a second bonus disc made up of live recordings of Nirvana in action in Tokyo, Melbourne, Amsterdam and California during 1991 and '92.

Review: 30 years on, the power of Nevermind has never dulled. Of course it's the most commercially appealing of Nirvana's albums, but it's no less daring for it no matter how many times you've heard it. Well, how to toast an album as world-changing as this one? By going all out on the lavish vinyl edition of course, which in this case means a mammoth eight-disc 180gm vinyl edition with a 40-page hardback book. If you want an altar at which to worship one of the definitive moments in popular music, this authoritative release is surely all the plinth you need.