Sliver is a song by Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. The song was released as a non album single by the band’s then record label, Sub Pop, in September 1, 1990. The same recording was re-released on the compilation album Incesticide by DGC in December 15, 1992.
Sliver was written in 1990. According to the 1993 biography Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana by Michael Azerrad, the song was written during a rehearsal with Dan Peters, who briefly played drums with Nirvana According to Azerrad, the lyrics to Sliver were written shortly before they were recorded.
“I decided I wanted to write the most ridiculous pop song I had ever written,” Cobain explained to Azerrad, in order “to prepare people for the next album,” which became their 1991 release, Nevermind.
Most of the song’s instruments were recorded by Jack Endino at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle, Washington on July 11, 1990, during a studio break by the Sub Pop band, TAD “We called Tad up and asked if we could come over and record the song”.
Cobain recalled in a Melody Maker interview with journalist Push in December, 1990. “We used their instruments while they sat around eating.
But that’s nothing new…the key to a successful album is to get the fuck out of the studio before you’re sick of the songs.” With Peters on drums, the band recorded the song’s music in less than an hour. Two weeks later, on July 24, Cobain returned to the studio and recorded his vocals as well as additional guitar with Endino, who then mixed the track Unlike most Nirvana songs, Sliver was recorded in the studio before it had ever been played live. Its live debut was on September 22, 1990 at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle, the only show that Peters ever played with the band. Sliver also represents Peters‘ only appearance on a Nirvana studio recording.
Cobain was happy with the time Peters spent with Nirvana, telling Azerrad, “The chemistry was definitely there…We could have ended up writing some really good songs together.” As Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic explained, however, “If Dan were to have joined our band it would’ve been certain that Mudhoney was finished, and we didn’t want to be responsible for that.”
1991 UK CD single
- Sliver
- Dive (Cobain, Novoselic)
- About a Girl (live February 9, 1990 at the Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR)
- Spank Thru (live February 9, 1990 at the Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR)
The music video for the song Sliver was filmed in March 1993 and was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who also directed the videos for the band’s three previous singles, Come As You Are, Lithium, and In Bloom. The video opens with Cobain‘s young daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, dancing to the song’s bass line, held from behind by Kurt as her arms protruded from two holes he cut in a piece of cardboard, then switches to the band performing the song. song in Cobain‘s garage.
The video features Dave Grohl on drums, although he does not appear on the track. Cobain doesn’t play guitar in the video, just sings into a microphone while wearing a red-and-black striped mohair sweater. Cobain‘s own garage had been decorated with toys, posters and artifacts that he had collected over several years, and had been kept in storage since before Nevermind was recorded in May 1991.
Nirvana
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar
Krist Novoselic: bass guitar
Dan Peters: drums
Additional Personnel
Jack Endino: recording and mixing engineer, producer
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994)
