Icon (Nirvana album)

Icon is a compilation album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on August 31, 2010.

Icon
Greatest hits album by Nirvana
Released	August 31, 2010
Recorded	1991–1994
Genre	Grunge
Length	41:21
Language	English
Label	Geffen,[1] UM^ɵ[2]
Nirvana chronology
Live at Reading (2009) Icon (2010) Nevermind: The Singles (2011)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Overview

Icon is the band's second greatest hits collection. The album was released as part of the Icon series launched by Universal Music Enterprises, which featured greatest hits releases "from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B and country."[2]

As with the band's first greatest hits compilation Nirvana, released in 2002, the otherwise chronological album opens with "You Know You're Right", which was first released on Nirvana, and recorded during the band's final studio session in January 1994. This is followed by the four singles from the band's second album and major label debut, Nevermind ("Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come as You Are", "Lithium" and "In Bloom"), three singles from their 1993 third album In Utero ("Heart-Shaped Box", "Pennyroyal Tea" and "Rape Me"), and the In Utero album track, "Dumb". It also includes the MTV Unplugged versions of "About a Girl", which was released as a single to promote the album MTV Unplugged in New York in October 1994, and "All Apologies", which was released as a promotional single.

Unlike Nirvana, Icon contains no material originally released on the band's first record label, Sub Pop, replacing the studio recording of "About a Girl" with the MTV Unplugged version, and no cover versions.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the album "a concise, enjoyable collection that doesn’t dig deep but does give casual fans what they want."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kurt Cobain; track 2 co-written with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic.

No.	Title	Album	Length
1.	"You Know You're Right"	Nirvana	3:37
2.	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	Nevermind	5:02
3.	"Come As You Are"	Nevermind	3:40
4.	"Lithium"	Nevermind	4:17
5.	"In Bloom"	Nevermind	4:15
6.	"Heart-Shaped Box"	In Utero	4:40
7.	"Pennyroyal Tea" (Scott Litt Remix)	In Utero	3:36
8.	"Rape Me"	In Utero	2:50
9.	"Dumb"	In Utero	2:31
10.	"About a Girl"	MTV Unplugged in New York	3:08
11.	"All Apologies"	MTV Unplugged in New York	3:45

Personnel

• Kurt Cobain – vocals, guitar
• Krist Novoselic – bass guitar
• Dave Grohl – drums, backing vocals on "In Bloom" and the MTV Unplugged tracks
• Pat Smear – guitar on the MTV Unplugged tracks
• Lori Goldston – cello on "All Apologies"
• Kera Schaley – cello on "Dumb"

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Greece Albums (IFPI Greece)[4]	37

Chart (2017)	Peak position
US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[5]	46

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[6]	Gold	40,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Icon - Nirvana". Allmusic.
2. "Icon Series Launched by Universal Music Enterprises | Editorial-News Releases". Radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Nirvana - Icon". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
4. Steffen Hung. "Greek charts portal". greekcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
5. "Nirvana Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
6. "Canadian album certifications – Nirvana – Icon". Music Canada.