From album
Nevermind
Nirvana · 1991 · Track 8
Details
TonalidadA
Compás4/4
Tempo129 BPM
Duración3:47
CompositorKurt Cobain
ÁlbumNevermind
Año1991
ISRCUSGF19942508
Credits
Music Kurt Cobain
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The story behind
The song Drain You, which you are now learning to play, has an interesting story behind its creation, dating back to 1990. It was originally intended to be called Formula. A curious fact is that, before entering the studio to record what would become the album Nevermind, Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl visited Dale Crover, the drummer for Melvins, and his then-partner Debbi Shane in San Francisco. There, in a rehearsal space shared by Shane's band, Dumbhead, they formed an ephemeral project called The Retards and recorded several ideas on a four-track machine, including what would become Drain You. It was in that session that the song's instrumental structure took shape.
When it came time to record Nevermind at Sound City Studios in May 1991, Drain You benefited from a detailed production process. According to Butch Vig, the album's producer, this song received more guitar layers than any other on the record: one clean track and five distorted ones, using different amplifiers like Mesa Boogie and Fender Bassman, in addition to an effect they called "super grunge." Cobain, at times, was not in favor of so many layers, so Vig had to be creative to convince him to record multiple takes, even saying that some parts hadn't been recorded well. The peculiar sounds you hear in the song's interlude are the result of toys that Cobain brought to the studio, such as a squeaky toy mouse and a rubber duck, to which sound engineer Andy Wallace added echo effects. In 1996, a live version recorded in December 1991 at Del Mar Fairgrounds, California, was released as a promotional single, reaching number 44 on the Alternative Top 50 chart of Radio & Records.
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