Celebrity Skin

Description

Product Description With?Celebrity Skin, Hole entered its most ambitious creative chapter. The acclaimed 1998 album showcased the band's growing confidence as songwriters and musicians while expanding the boundaries of its sound. Produced by Michael Beinhorn,?Celebrity Skin?features Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Maur, and Patty Schemel. Certified platinum by the RIAA and nominated for three GRAMMY Awards, the album blends sharp songwriting with richly layered production across defining tracks, including "Celebrity Skin" and "Malibu," cementing its place among the defining rock albums of the late 1990s. desertcart.com When last we saw Courtney Love, she was performing on the silver screen and posing for Versace, a far cry from her formative days stumbling across stages wearing ripped thrift-store clothing. But Love's Hollywood transformation is just the latest in her crusade for adoration, whatever the environment. And Celebrity Skin is just the latest manifestation of that obsession. Instead of screaming in rage over a muscular din of power chords, Love sings in a restrained, melodic alto voice; the band matches the euphony with rhythms and hooks that draw from such mainstream acts as Fleetwood Mac, the Go-Go's, and, of course, Smashing Pumpkins, whose frontman, Billy Corgan, cowrote five songs. What makes Celebrity Skin more than another good rock album, however, is Love's lyrics, which remain confessional and scathing, addressing such topics as physical abuse ("Hit So Hard"), drugs ("Use Once and Destroy"), the music industry ("Awful," "Boys on the Radio"), and her late husband's suicide ("Reasons to Be Beautiful"). If nothing else, Celebrity Skin is proof to all the skeptics that superstars have feelings, too. --Jon Wiederhorn P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review ...[T]he punk-rocker turned Vogue glamor queen abandons her old shock attack and opts for a surprisingly appealing pop-rock sound.... -- PeopleCelebrity Skin is likely to piss off anyone still indulging in the fantasy of Courtney [Love] as punk Goddess/feminist Fury; if you want the howl and the open wound, you'll have to dredge Puget Sound. In exchange for the astonishing consistency of mood that made Live Through This a breakwater of '90s rock, Celebrity Skin produces a cataract of great songs, spectacularly polished. -- SpinThe songs ricochet from desolation to fury to pride; Ms. Love's lyrics agonize over the way people let themselves be used and the way rebellion turns into a commodity. They also mourn a lover who was sincere, self-destructive, trusting, beautiful, violent and impossible to save: a version of Cobain that verges on punk hagiography. -- The New York TimesThis album is one wild emotional ride.... [T]he gloriously melodic, pop-rock sheen of the best moments in this follow-up collection are going to leave lots of Hole fans puzzled. But don't be misled. Courtney Love may be embracing power pop, but she hasn't gone soft. Versace gown and all, she's still got a fiery rock 'n'roll heart. -- The Los Angeles Times[Celebrity Skin] is sprung, flung and fun, high-impact, rock-fueled pop.... [It] teems with sonic knockouts that make you see all sorts of stars. It's accessible, fiery, and intimate.... -- Rolling Stone[Courtney Love] sounds less razor-edged, more anonymous. From start to almost finish, Celebrity Skin is dogged by that same sense of vacillation and rootlessness. It's the sound of a returning hero who attempts to act as if nothing's changed--when, in fact, everything has, including the hero.... [I]ts rough edges sanded down, [this is] a singularly dispiriting experience. It's the music business' take on the current climate of celebrity makeover; aural plastic surgery. -- Entertainment Weekly See more