Nirvana helped me cut my teeth on guitar.

I see it as simplistic, great sounding music - and that's what every beginner wants, to be able to strum a few chords and make it sound like something. That keeps the bug biting.

While i've since moved away from a grunge style of playing i still appreciate the passion and sound created and portrayed by a few simple chords and a little distortion.

I never got into it. While I can appreciate artists who have simplicity (AC/DC!) or songwriting ability (Cohen, Dylan, Waters, Simon), I prefer my guitars in tune. ? I realise he was quite an influence for many and I'll give him that.

I have to agree with Alan.... Great that he got a legion of guitarists started, but I also think that he was responsible for the lack of guitar solos on later bands towards the mid to late 90's and early 00' [ Mostly American bands ]. Europe was tuned into bands like Dream Theatre and over this same period of time, the European bands all had solos.... just my own observation..

All depends what you're after - if it's traditional "80's" solos then "no", wrong guy/band.
However, from a song-writing perspective, all the tried and trusted cliche's"

Solos: Very Beatles/60's mentality - compare The Beatles "And I Love Her" to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - similar concept ?
Being a fan I am biased, but I must say - always loved a powerful trio - Grohl is 1 of my fave "hard-hitter" rock drummers and I still think to this day Novacelic is a really under-appreciated, solid melodic bassist - the track "Lithium" easily proves that point.

VV

Nirvana's music was/is infectious...

It always gets the foot tapping..

12 years later and i still find the music they played infectious!

I have heard that Kurt Cobain played all the lead parts on Nirvana's records. But the other guitarist wanted to take credit for it. wonder if its true?

Kurt Codain wasn’t the best guitarist or vocalist in the world but he started a whole new revolution for music

As is normally the case Kurt didn't revolutionise so much as find a way of selling the grunge sound Personally thought man for man Pearl jam rocked harder - good lyricist decent vocalist wrote the crap outta some melodies more than able guitarist for the purposes of their sound but definitley no top 20 guitarist ever as Rolling stone would have us believe..

As is normally the case Kurt didn't revolutionise so much as find a way of selling the grunge sound

- "Grunge" didn't exist until the record companies needed a
commercial term to label all the bands coming out of Seattle in
late 80's/early 90's to sell units in CD shops (much like the "Brit"
or "Mod" sounds in the 60's - didn't need a name until it caught
on and A&R men needed to make money !) -
Kurt always described (themselves) as catchy pop-infused
hard rock/punk band.


Personally thought man for man Pearl jam rocked harder - good lyricist decent vocalist wrote the crap outta some melodies more than able guitarist for the purposes of their sound but definitley no top 20 guitarist ever as Rolling stone would have us believe..

PJ 2 me sound like classic rock with Hendrix solos w/a dirgy singer - far more rock than "grunge" - Nirvana being the "punkier"/pop side of things - don't think Kurt cared much 4 musical intelligence - just passionate delivery ?

Personally I love both bands 4 different reasons and love both of their lowest selling LP's - Nirvana 4 "Bleach" & "Incesticide" (2 halves of a whole basically) and "No Code" 4 PJ - a Neil Young twinged LP after "Mirror Ball" (collaberation with Young) - stunning !

Always tickled me that bands as disparate as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Nirvana were all described as Grunge.

Vintage Vibe wrote: a Neil Young twinged LP after "Mirror Ball" (collaberation with Young) - stunning !

Mirror Ball is IMHO an incredible album. ?

I might be a bit too young to comment on this post, I'd say because Nirvana was a bit before my time. But I grew up with my older brother always listening to them and bands like The Smashing Oumpkins and R.E.M. Seriously, I love Nirvana. He isn't one of the best guitarists or vocalists, that I agree to, but their songs are amazing. Simple, but really good!

Although i haven't been a big fan of Nirvana (the depressing lyrics got to me after a while and the playing except for Dave Grohl's, wasn't anything to write home about either), i agree with the fact that they have been very influential....and +1 with Mikezilla on the Pearl Jam comment.
Soundgarden and Pearl Jam rocked way harder than Nirvana.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Always tickled me that bands as disparate as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Nirvana were all described as Grunge.

Blame the music industry

I would blame the industry as well. We have not gotten anything great like that time period in a long time. Time for change!

I think he was an important ARTIST. I don't think he was a great guitar player. Nirvana, by extension, were an important band and they should be remembered. But that doesn't make any of them great players.

True, technically some may have not been, but more kids picked up guitars when they saw Kurt play than most "great players," they have seen.
Granted I will take Brad Gillis over Kurt Cobain as a guitar player any day but the influence of Cobain is light years greater.

I think he wrote decent music,but for some reason he appears on almost every "100 greatest guitarists" list ever which I cant understand...

Anti Ibanez wrote: I think he wrote decent music,but for some reason he appears on almost every "100 greatest guitarists" list ever which I cant understand...

same here

Anti Ibanez wrote: I think he wrote decent music,but for some reason he appears on almost every "100 greatest guitarists" list ever which I cant understand...

Those lists nearly always confuse "popular" or "big selling" with "excellent".

People remember Kurt Kobain and he played guitar - therefore he gets lots of votes. But nobody is remembering FOR HIS PLAYING.

And ultimately those lists have to be at least partly subjective. What are the criteria by which we rate, for example, Joe Walsh versus Keith Richards?

And it's getting crowed by now. ONE HUNDRED. Gee... there must have been a lot more than one hundred really, really, really good guitar players by now.

And usually Jimi Hendrix comes in at numero uno. And I think that Jimi's position at the top of the list should no longer be automatic. He was great, imaginative, changed perceptions about what could be done with the electric guitar and with recording electric guitar etc etc... but number one for ever and ever amen?