Ten from the vaults: the unseen works of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana

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Sappy Home Demo

(Sound City) Sappy

The Nevermind album sessions were the longest Nirvana ever spent committed to the studio – they were determined to take their big shot on a major label. This didn’t mean the band were profligate; they maintained a frugal and efficient recording approach with only ‘Sappy’, ‘Verse Chorus Verse’ and ‘Old Age’ remaining unreleased a decade later. The latter two emerged in 2004 leaving ‘Sappy’ with a probably underserved status as a ‘holy grail’ for hardcore fans.

The song is certainly a curio, the song Nirvana recorded in studio more times than any other, the song Nirvana wasted a full studio session on in 1990, the song taking the longest to make it from first known demo in 1988 to an actual release during the lifetime of Nirvana – on a compilation in late 1993. The interest partially stems from this visible fascination Cobain had with the song – he simply couldn’t let it go. It comes also from the ability to see Nirvana evolving across their various eras. The spectral home demo of 1988 is intriguing for its similarities to the first take of the song ‘Polly’ recorded around the same time. A distortion heavy version followed in January 1990, very much akin to songs of the era such as ‘Dive’ with Cobain never relinquishing the all-guns-blazing Sub Pop sound.

By April 1990 the first inklings of the dynamic quiet/loud approach later showcased on Nevermind had emerged, yet the take of ‘Sappy’ followed a different trajectory with the volume held down for the entire first half of the song until, finally, after a throat-clearing solo, a louder, looser second half proceeds to close. The final version laid down at Pachyderm Recording in February 1993 was a more balanced affair with the In Utero album’s parched, live-sounding tone to the fore. The expectation is, therefore, that this one remaining Nevermind track might prove to be the last unheard reminder of Nirvana’s breakthrough sound…Unless the rumored ‘Song in D’ exists and is something more than a variation on ‘All Apologies’.