Nirvana: The Middle Years, by Ryan Boudinot
In 1994, burned out from touring to support In Utero, Kurt, Krist, and Dave retreated to their homes for a much-needed period of rest and reflection. The overdose in Rome was a wakeup call for Cobain, who checked himself into the Betty Ford Center to "kick this fucking monkey for good," as he confided to Michael Stipe at the time. Meanwhile Novoselic and Grohl used their downtime to recalibrate themselves musically and spiritually, with Novoselic embracing a daily meditation and yoga practice, and Grohl spending days at Robert Lang Studio in Shoreline, WA, laying down tracks "just for shits and giggles."
Kurt emerged from rehab in the winter of 1995, clutching a copy of the novel Infinite Jest to his chest, and looking cheerful. When asked by journalist Charles Cross whether he had written any songs while kicking heroin, Kurt pointedly did not answer and simply smiled as if he had a secret the rest of the world would know in due time. In truth, Kurt had been writing songs constantly since his return from Rome, though he kept them hidden in a small metal box.
In March 1996, Cobain called several members of the extended Nirvana family to his home in Seattle, as well as Stipe, producer Rick Rubin, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, and Pixies/Breeders bassist/singer Kim Deal. Over a long weekend, Cobain outlined his vision for the next phase of Nirvana's development, a period of daring experimentation, what Novoselic would call the "White Album years."
The resulting sessions, held in secret at Robert Lang Studio over the course of several months, were fraught with tension. Cobain was difficult to work with; he argued endlessly about which songs should be released and how they should sound. Dave recorded drums on all but two tracks ("Lake Washington" and "Blue Lake"), but also played every instrument except piano on what would become the album's breakout hit, "Melanin."
Krist Novoselic, meanwhile, was deeply troubled by the direction of the album. Cobain had long been fascinated with Icelandic band Gus Gus and decided to move production of the album to Reykjavik in September, 1996. Krist felt the increasing use of sythesizers was betraying Nirvana's punk roots, and was heard to remark to bandmate Pat Smear "I didn't sign up to be in Kraftwerk."
Despite these tensions, or perhaps because of them, the resulting double album, released in April, 1997 took critics and fans by surprise. "I never thought I'd be in a position to say this," remarked one reviewer, "but Nirvana's new album is so much better than In Utero it isn't even funny." The album, titled, ????, was a huge hit in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, going triple platinum within three months of its release.
The band's long-awaited world tour followed immediately on the heels of this triumph. Cobain had been reluctant to play live again so soon after his last bout with heroin addiction, but pressure from Rubin and Novoselic convinced him that touring would help keep him clean for good (though he did relapse briefly during an Australian leg). The resulting tour saw Nirvana playing mostly new material alongside fan favorites like "About A Girl," "Sliver," and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Greil Marcus, writing in Rolling Stone, observed "Cobain sings with a new kind of abandon and power; it's something like joy."
Highlights of ???? included six tracks written by Grohl, including "Big Me," ????'s lead single, which would later be covered by Michael Stipe and R.E.M., as well as two instrumental tracks written by Novoselic ("Reykjavik" and "Roses"), a cover of the Pixies song "Debaser" (featuring Kim Deal on bass), and Cobain's own haunting ballad to his daughter Frances Bean, "Lake Washington."
The album ???? came to be regarded as Nirvana's answer to REM's Automatic for the People or the Rolling Stones' Exile On Mainstreet. Buoyed by critical and popular acclaim, drug-free, and guided by Novoselic's spirituality and Grohl's growing somgwriting status as McCartney to Cobain's Lennon, the band released three albums in short succession between 1998 and 2000, including The Wolf Variations (1998), The Eternal Champion (1999), and You Know Who You Are (2000).
In early 2001, Cobain became increasingly reclusive. Rumors that he was planning a new solo album or forming an all-star band to be called the New Breed were quickly squashed by Novoselic and Grohl, who insisted they had no idea what their erstwhile leader was up to. In fact, Cobain had been secretly working on another double album for over two years with Rubin as producer; sessions began in 1998 at Robert Lang Studio but soon moved overseas after Cobain came down with bronchitis and started coughing blood into his microphone. The project continued sporadically until late 2000 when it once again ground to a halt due to medical issues (this time relating to Kurt's stomach).
The resulting recordings proved difficult both technically and emotionally for those involved: "Kurt really went off the deep end during these sessions," recalled engineer Eddie Kramer later told Rolling Stone reporter David Fricke . "It would take him days just figuring out how one chord fit against another." When Michael Stipe joined the sessions, Cobain's problems seemed to immediately disappear. "Michael was a godsend," Rubin said. "He's very good at putting people in the right mood, and I think he just wanted to be there for Kurt."
In 2001, Nirvana took a much-needed hiatus, with each member exploring side projects. Grohl briefly joined The Flaming Lips, while Novoselic teamed up with Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell to relaunch Lollapalooza.
Kurt himself had plans to move into acting, appearing in several films over the next few years. The most notable of these was Heart-Shaped Box (2002), directed by Anton Corbijn and based on a short story written by Cobain. In it he played an aging rock star who kidnaps a young girl while under siege from stalker fans; critics praised both Cobain's performance and Corbijn's direction.
Meanwhile Nirvana continued recording sporadically at Robert Lang Studio with Kramer engineering between other projects for Rubin's American Recordings label ("It has always been Kurt calling me," says Kramer). By 2002 they were done tracking basic tracks but hadn't yet started overdubs when Cobain became ill again after eating Mexican food contaminated with salmonella bacteria - what Novoselic would later call "a blessing in disguise." The resulting delay gave Rubin time to recruit artists including Flea, Annie Clark (of St. Vincent), and Josh Homme of Queens Of the Stone Age for a series of overdubs on some unfinished tracks Cobain had been writing.