| Hormoaning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australian cover | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | January 27, 1992 (1992-1-27)[1] | |||
| Recorded | October 21, 1990 January 1, 1991[2] | |||
| Length | 18:51 | |||
| Label | DGC,Geffen | |||
| Producer | Dale Griffin,Craig Montgomery | |||
| Nirvana chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Japanese cover | ||||
 | ||||
Hormoaning is anextended play (EP) by the Americanrock bandNirvana. It was released on January 27, 1992,[1] throughDGC Records andGeffen Records. It was released in Australia and Japan only, during the band's tour there.[3]
Four of the songs onHormoaning are covers which had not been released previously. The remaining two songs are Nirvana originals which previously appeared asB-sides to singles forNevermind.
"Aneurysm" and "Even in His Youth", two Nirvana originals produced and engineered byCraig Montgomery, also appear as B-sides on the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single. This version of "Aneurysm" later appeared on disc two of the rarities box setWith the Lights Out in 2004 and is different from the alternate version released onIncesticide in 1992.
The other four songs are from aPeel Session, recorded forBBC Radio on October 21, 1990. "Turnaround" (originally byDevo), "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" (originally byThe Vaselines) appear on theIncesticide album. "D-7" is a cover of theWipers song and appears on theUK version of the "Lithium" single and later on disc 2 ofWith the Lights Out in 2004.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ ( )[5] |
| The Village Voice | A−[6] |
In Australia, 15,000 official copies were released: 4,000 on burgundy 12-inch vinyl, 10,000 on CD, and 1,000 on cassette. There were two different pressings of the Australian CD, one with a silver CD and one with a blue CD. In Japan it was released on CD in large quantities. The Australian and Japanese releases have entirely different artwork. The Australian version is considered rare due to the limited numbers. There were only two official Japanese pressings, both on CD with barely noticeable variations in artwork. The Japanese CDs were rushed out without prior consent from the US parent company, and as a result, the cover art is taken from the inside artwork of theNevermind album. All Japanese vinyl copies were counterfeit. Counterfeit versions of the Japanese CDs also exist, and the Australian blue CD version has also been counterfeited. The Australian silver CD is the only official version of which counterfeit copies are not known to exist.[citation needed]
In a contemporary review forThe Village Voice,Robert Christgau gaveHormoaning an "A−" and found it almost as good as their second album,Nevermind (1991), and far superior to their first record,Bleach (1989), particularly because "without David Grohl they're sludge monkeys".[6] He named it the 33rd best album of 1992 in his list for thePazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published byThe Village Voice.[7] In a retrospective review,AllMusic's Steve Bekkala gave the EP four out of five stars and called it "a revealing entry in the catalog of the most influential rock band of the '90s".[8]
Hormoaning was officially re-released onRecord Store Day (April 16, 2011) as a 12-inch vinyl. Only 6,000 unnumbered copies were released.[9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Turnaround" (Devo cover) | 2:21 | |
| 2. | "Aneurysm" | 4:49 | |
| 3. | "D-7" (Wipers cover) | Greg Sage | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Son of a Gun" (The Vaselines cover) | 2:50 | |
| 5. | "Even in His Youth" |
| 3:07 |
| 6. | "Molly's Lips" (The Vaselines cover) |
| 1:53 |
| Total length: | 18:51 | ||
Nirvana
Production
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 2 |
| Australian Alternative Albums (ARIA)[11] | 1 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] | 67 |
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.SBillboard Tastemaker Albums Chart[13] | 20 |
The following table shows the release history of official releases ofHormoaning.
| Year | Country | Type | Number of copies produced | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Australia | CD (blue) | 5,000[3] | Geffen Records |
| CD (silver) | 5,000[3] | |||
| Cassette | 1,000[3] | |||
| Vinyl (burgundy) | 4,000[3] | |||
| Japan | CD (two versions) | Unknown | Geffen Records (Japan) | |
| 2011 | United States | Vinyl (black) | 6,000 | Universal Music Group |
