Heart-Shaped Box

Nirvana, 1993, from In Utero. Solo by Kurt Cobain.

Cobain's short, detuned-sounding solo bends notes just off pitch, turning sourness into the point.

Heart-Shaped Box, from In Utero, has a short solo in which Kurt Cobain bends notes just off pitch, and that sourness is the point. The effect is unsettling, like a melody seen through warped glass, and it matches the song's mix of tenderness and discomfort. His tone sounds thick and slightly detuned, and the phrasing is deliberately simple, sticking close to the song's own melodic shape instead of adding flashy runs. Cobain rarely treated the solo as a showcase, and here he uses it to push the song's mood further into strangeness. Listen for the bent notes that never quite resolve, leaving a feeling of unease hanging in the air as the song returns to its chorus.

Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana is ranked #299 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Kurt Cobain and the song was released in 1993. It appears on 1 lists, placing as high as #70 (Rolling Stone).

In our lists

• The Most-Taught Solos — #18
• The 25 Greatest Grunge Guitar Solos — #15
• Rolling Stone vs. Everyone — #5
• The Best Nirvana Guitar Solos — #2

Sources

• Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #70