Nirvana is the grunge act that receives most of the credit for popularizing the genre, but fellow Seattle band Pearl Jam was just as successful and influential. The band’s 1991 debut, Ten, is neck-and-neck with Nevermind in terms of domestic album sales, both topping 10 million.
I love several tracks on Ten, including ‘Black,’ ‘Evenflow,’ ‘Alive’ and today’s SOTD, hit single ‘Jeremy.’ The rest of the cuts are either a little too loud, a little too meandering, or both.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ breakthrough 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik sold 7 million copies in the U.S. and doubled that worldwide. It was the commercial peak of a career that has been remarkably consistent. I was surprised to see that every one of the half-dozen albums they’ve released since this one has gone Gold or Platinum.
I’ve never been much of a Chili Peppers fan, but I gave this album a lot of attention in 1991. If you’re in the mood for the band’s brand of L.A. soulful funk, this record is a minor masterpiece.
Michael Jackson’s Dangerous is the top-selling 1991 album worldwide, though it has sold “only” 8 million copies in the United States. Jackson’s follow-up to Bad and Thriller doesn’t have as many hits as those albums but it certainly found an audience.
I remember listening to this album a fair amount when it came out, though skimming it now I don’t recognize most of the songs. The exceptions are ‘Black and White,’ ‘Heal the World,’ ‘Dangerous,’ and today’s SOTD, ‘Remember the Time.’ I don’t much like any of those other than this one, but I like this one a lot.
I can’t write about the music of 1991 without mentioning Nirvana’s Nevermind, the smash hit that ushered in the grunge era and defined the sound of the decade to come.
I was never a Nirvana fan, though I do like the album’s four hit singles: ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ ‘Come As You Are,’ ‘Lithium‘ and today’s SOTD, ‘In Bloom.’ This might be the best of them.
Welcome to the early 90s and the latest edition of my Decades series, wherein I look at the albums released in a given year in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. Most recently I’ve covered 1971 and 1981, which brings us to our current focus: 1991.
This is the year I turned 19, and a time when I was actively buying new music. It was also a very strong year for album releases in general. So I will spend more time than usual on 1991 releases — three weeks on my own favorites from the year and another two or three weeks on critically acclaimed albums I don’t know well.
Meet Me In Montauk 