“Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Nirvana’s raw and gritty anthem that changed the history of rock and roll. It’s not something you associate with solo female piano jazz. But with nothing but her piano and voice, Tori Amos created the most beautiful and spellbinding rendition of the ‘90s classic. It almost sounds like a completely different song, but the emotions still hit hard. Fans still aren’t over her live rendition at Montreux, with a number of commenters saying it was the greatest cover ever.
Tori’s idea of completely stripping “Smells Like Teen Spirit” apart and radically reinterpreting it is no doubt brilliant. A lot of the original song’s power comes from the thunderous groove of the Nirvana power trio, so it’s a real feat to take all that away but still give the song so much weight. The Music Man could listen to Tori’s piano playing all day, and we love how expressive and emotive her voice is here.
Tori performed her take on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 7, 1992. Fans keep coming back to the performance on YouTube and added comments like “Seriously though, this has to be one of the best covers of any song done by anyone ever” and “This works because it’s the same feeling but so different. Kurt projected raw pain, Tori has given it that sadness and sound of sorrow. Brilliant.”
Tori has given a number of memorable renditions of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” over the years. She gave another great cut of the song in 1992 while promoting her breakout solo album Little Earthquakes. Seeing the two performances back to back really highlights how unique she makes each version of the song, as she improvises different melodies and feels in each performance.
The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that Tori issued a studio version of her “Smells Like Teen Spirit” cover on her 1992 EP Crucify. The cover was a staple of Tori’s live sets in 1992, 1994, and to some degree in 1996. After that, she tended to perform the song live only rarely, and instead mixed up a range of covers from other artists. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” remains one of Tori’s most popular performances, with her unique take on the song reaching a significant crossover audience that might not normally be exposed to her music.