Nobody's Daughter

Hole | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mercury Records
• ASIN: B00192KCHO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,029 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This record is about greed, vengeance and feminism," says Courtney Love of the ragged rock songs on her first LP in six years - and the first she'll release with a new incarnation of Hole. Writing began in 2005, while Love was strumming raw folk tunes on an acoustic during a rehab stint. But as the songs developed - with help from producer Michael Beinhorn, Billy Corgan and Linda Perry - Love says, "S**t got darker, I got meaner, and the tracks got hard and big." -- Rolling Stone, March 8, 2010

Product Description

2010 release from Courtney Love and Co. Nobody's Daughter is the first Hole album in over a decade since1998's three-time Grammy-nominated Celebrity Skin. It also marks Courtney Love's first record since her solo album America's Sweetheart in 2004. Collaborators on the album include producer Michael Beinhorn, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, and Linda Perry. Along with Courtney Love, the new line-up of Hole includes British guitarist Micko Larkin (formerly of London indie rockers Larrikin Love), bassist Shawn Dailey (of Rock Kills Kid), and drummer Stuart Fisher. Jack Irons, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, also played drums on the album.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "It's a long way back, from where I've fallen down..." April 27, 2010

By M W

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wow. Who expected this? We all know the back story of Courtney Love. Her personal life has long overshadowed any musical effort that she has put out. And in her own words, she has spent more time being a "celebrity" than an actual musician in the past 10 years. After years of tabloid scandals, celebrity feuds and gossip, even the most hardcore fan could be forgiven for thinking this was going to be an absolute disaster. But it's not. In fact, this is a great record...actually, scratch that. The fact that this was made at all makes this a phenomenal record.

If you are looking for the heaviness of Pretty on the Inside or the roaring grunge Queen of Live Through This, then look elsewhere. Compared to Holes discography, Nobody's Daughter is probably closest to Celebrity Skin, but even that is an unfair comparison. This album is more in the vein of latter-day Marianne Faithfull and Stevie Nicks than any of the above. Some critics would have you believe this is a disappointment. Most seem to want some sort of repeat performance of Live Through This, which is ridiculous. Grunge is dead and Courtney is now a 45 year old woman. Do they still want her to be singing about Pee-Girls and Garbadge Men at 45? As someone who favours songwriting and lyrics above all else, Nobody's Daughter is such a classy, lyrically strong and wonderful record that shows a remarkable amount of growth.

Nobody's Daughter started out life as a solo record, and a folk-rock record to it's core. The re-recorded product (Recorded with and co-produced by new Hole guitarist Micko Larkin) still retains some of the earthy folk of the ditched solo record, but adds some much needed meat to it's bones. Some of the highlights include The title track, which could one day be regarded as her masterpiece.... Containing a brilliant riff and equally brilliant lyrics, it's epic. It's sweeping. It's her "Gold Dust Woman" it's her "The Wall" all combined into one. It is truly that good. "Honey" is a gorgeous, heartbreaking scream-along ballad that is quite obviously written about her late husband. It's a very touching song, sung with a passion that has been missing from Courtney's music since Live Through This. "Pacific Coast Highway" is the twin sister of "Malibu"; it's a fantastic track which sounds like it should have been given to Stevie Nicks. "Someone Else's Bed" is one of the true highlights of the album. A song about one night stands, it's like R.E.M's "Country Feedback" meets "Doll Parts". The real highlight for me on this record though has to be "For Once in Your Life". The track is a stunning English pop/Celtic waltz, complete with marching drums and cellos and a beautiful backup vocal from Martha Wainwright and Jenni Muldaur. It is just a phenomenal tune, which very much recalls early Marianne Faithfull. The album ends on a big high note with "Never Go Hungry" which is just Courtney alone with her acoustic guitar. This is a 60s Dylan style folk tune, about survival through the darkest of times.

Some people don't want to see an artist grow. As an album, Nobody's Daughter is possibly lyrically the strongest Courtney has ever been, and as a long time Courtney Love/Hole fan I couldn't happier with it. This isn't Zeitgeist and it isn't Chinese Demoracy. However you feel about Courtney using the band name Hole for this record, Nobodys' Daughter is for the most part an intelligent, mournful, elegant, sometimes angry, but gratifying album that attempts to face some of her past mistakes head-on. In a perfect world this album would be given the accolades it deserves. Unfortunately we will have to wait for the world to catch up with her before it sees the critical praise it is due. Highly recommended. Read more ›

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock Goddess May 2, 2010

By Christina Westover

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

After a decade, Courtney Love has proven what fans have known all along, that she truly is a talented musician who understands her craft, understands herself,who knows that there is no room for ego where art is concerned--that good art, good music must speak for itself. Nobody's Daughter isn't a 90's sound. It's anger, love, pain and longing immortalized by great songs. I was impressed. I have been a Hole fan since the beginning, and not since Live Through This have I heard this emotional quality in their music. It's deep and raw. It's distinct, unique, and such a relief after all of the cookie cutter bands who have been played on the radio over the past five years. Good music is timeless, and Courtney Love and her band Hole have created something which will never be forgotten.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good rock record April 30, 2010

By Jondalar

Format:Audio CD

You know I read the reviews for this album before I purchased it and I noticed that the bad reviews really didn't criticize the songs. Instead, they were just filled with contempt for Courtney Love. What a shame! Well, I liked what Hole did in the 90s. I purchased this album anyway and basically, it's excellent. This is a real album. It's filled with well-thought out lyrics and really good music. It's what an album should be and they really don't make good albums anymore, so this is sort of a gem. Every song is good. The lyrics are touching, thought-provoking and some lyrics are ripe with great imagery. The music is terrific. I'm not sure who the new Hole is, but they sure can play. Love is a great lyricist and songs like Pacific Coast Highway and Someone Else's Bed take you into her despair. It's really, really good, and I've been devouring this thing for 3 days. Great purchase!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Passion, Pain and Promise May 8, 2010

By Steven Haarala

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

You either like her or you don't. One thing you can count on from Courtney Love, who IS the band Hole, is that she sticks to her roots and doesn't pretend to do anything else. This album's sound is basic punk/pop + jangly classic rock. The first 2 tracks, "Nobody's Daughter" and "Skinny Little B****", remind me of amped-up REM, as in "Monster", and they set the general tone for the album, musically. Courtney's persona is still dark, angry and desperate, pouring out the passion and confusion of her turbulent mad world. "Someone Else's Bed" opens with a desolate scene: "...lying in your underwear...in someone else's bed...a terrible sense of dread...so I have another cigarette." The music is appropriately serious, and later in the song, she admits, "In the filthy morning after, I have walked the walk of shame." However, in places I hear humility, an acceptance of the reality of the world and her place in it. And, Courtney's somewhat weakened voice reflects who she is and what she has been through. In the conversational ballad "Letter To God", she acknowledges her failings, earnestly pleading to understand and to be understood: "I always wanted to die but you kept me alive...I am coming unglued, please help me." Another thing I like is that she seems conscious of the pain of adulthood. In "Petals", from "Celebrity Skin", she mourned, "I miss the sweet boys in the summer of their youth"; and apparently she still does, because on this album she sings about "a BOY who came from the sea" in "Pacific Coast Highway", and in "For Once In Your Life", a milder track in waltz tempo with strings and piano, she declares, "I swear I'm too young to be this old." In other places she refers to "boys" and "girls" rather than "men" and "women", and she states "I miss the young" and "You're too young".... Perhaps this is the reason for the drugs and rebellious behavior. Maybe, like me, she just isn't so keen on growing up. "Loser Dust" is harder, more obviously punk, with angry, vengeful lyrics. The CD closes with "Never Go Hungry", a song about survival which is more folk than it is rock. Courtney states bluntly, "It's a long way back from where I've fallen down" and in the end vows, like Scarlett O'Hara, that she will "...never go hungry again."

For someone who has the reputation of being a rampant loose cannon and a total train wreck, Courtney Love comes across as surprisingly introspective and self-aware on this album, and musically pretty together. And by the way, NOBODY could get more out of the word "DOWN" than she does! Read more ›