Nine Inch Nails

"Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day." Over and over. That was my first impression of NIN. The song was Down In It from the debut album. I was 17. My girlfriend had just left me (after fucking another guy in my bed). I had found the soundtrack to my life. I didn't especially dig the Broken/Fixed stuff at first. It was too harsh, too industrial, too Ministry for me. But I grew to love it. Trent is one of those guys that I'll buy pretty much anything he puts out as soon as it comes out. It's always good, often fantastic and occasionally mind-blowing. I have almost all the singles and remixes and soundtracks as well, but I'm not going to review a CD that contains nothing but 11 versions of Head Like A Hole even if all 11 versions rock.
             Nine Inch Nails Album Mini-Reviews

Pretty Hate Machine
  1989

 A classic. At 28, I'm beyond Trent's study hall poetry angst but this album is phenomenal. It very nicely dissects a failed relationship and provides 101 awesome uses for a drum machine.
Best song: Something I Can Never Have    Worst song: Kinda I Want To
Broken
  1992		 This EP is the angriest thing ever created. It's all about the Interscope record label hampering Trent's creative ideas and trying to turn him into just another product.
Best song: Gave Up     Worst song: Pinion
Fixed
  1992		 This EP contains a half dozen radical remixes of tracks from Broken and is every bit as good as its predecessor. I actually like some of these versions more than the originals.
Best song: Throw This Away     Worst song: Fist Fuck
The Downward Spiral
  1994		 At first, I loved this album but a decade later it just doesn't hold up. It's still got some amazing stuff on it but the songs I didn't like have become the songs I can't tolerate.
Best song: The Becoming     Worst song: Big Man With A Gun
Further Down the Spiral
  1995		 Wow. More remixes of album tracks, many of which are far better than the originals. Heresy, Piggy and Ruiner are all especially awesome.
Best song: Ruiner (version)     Worst song: At The Heart Of It All
The Fragile
  1999		 After 4 years of silence (apart from the mediocre Perfect Drug single) Trent put out this monster double album. 2/3 of this wicked beast is incredible. The rest ranges from good to crap.
Best song: The Wretched     Worst song: Starfuckers, Inc.
Things Falling Apart
  2000		 Again we have the standard remix EP following the album and again there are some improvements but do we really need three new versions of Starfuckers, Inc?
Best song: The Great Collapse    Worst song: Starfuckers, Inc. (version)
And All That Could Have Been
  2002		 This big ol' double live album is tolerable but not essential. The DVD version is much cooler, as the lighting effects and the big TV screen behind the band is quite a spectacle to behold.
Best song / Worst song: It's all the same live.
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