SHOCKING BLUE LOVE BUZZ VS NIRVANA

Posted by Justin Ward on 10 May 2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: Music

Shocking Blue sultry singer Mariska Veres had crazy sex appeal and one hell of a voice, but this vixen and her army of musicians move up to my A-list for simply inspiring Kurt Cobain and the Nirvana clan during their early years as a misunderstood/overlooked grunge outfit.

Nirvana covered "Love Buzz" for the first time live at Tacoma's Community World Theatre in 1987. However, at the time the group weren't set on a name, so they rocked up at their first ever non-party gig and introduced themselves under the name Skid Row. Kurt was totally oblivious to the fact that a metal band from New York had already claimed that particular title. 

""Love Buzz" has been one of the missing pieces the band needed. Krist had discovered the song on an album by a Dutch band called the Shocking Blue, and Kurt embraced it immediately and made it their signature tune. It began with a mid-tempo drum beat, but quickly transitioned into a whirling guitar riff. Their performance of the song mixed equal parts psychedelic-trance with a thudding, slowed-down heaviness from Krist's bass part. Kurt would play the guitar solo on his back on the floor." - extract from Heavier Than Heaven, The Biography of Kurt Cobain, written by Charles R. Cross. 

Both versions of the song are mad. Enjoy 'em below.