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131 of 142 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Era defining album, Courtney's finest moment, March 8, 2005
It seemed that Live Through This was written specifically to address the tragedy of Kurt Cobain's suicide. Released only about a week after Cobain's death in April of 1994, such a perception was inevitable. It was the perception I had when I turned on MTV one day in early 1994 and saw Courtney dressed as a stripper in torn netted stockings, screaming at the camera, "Go on, take everything!" Over and over, like a chant, like a battle cry, but an odd one, one that called for victimization.
"That's that woman everyone hates!" I thought, astonished by her aggressive stance in light of the tragedy of Kurt's death and the resulting hatred hurled toward her. (In "Courtney Love: Queen of Noise" biographer Melissa Rossi writes that shortly after Kurt's death, Courtney was receiving hate mail from all over the world, some of it addressed simply to, "Courtney Love, Seattle, Washington.")
It was at that moment that I fell in love with Courtney. I felt she had a right to yell, to scream that everything had been taken from her, so much so that she had become accustomed to it and even started to like it. She seemed like a mythological archetype. And I was very attracted to the notion that a widow, albeit the most notorious rock widow since Yoko Ono, would very publicly and shamelessly share her rage and grief with the world.
Of course, the truth is far more complicated. Live Through This was completed a few months before Kurt Cobain's suicide, and the opening song Violet, where she screams that she wants you to take everything, was actually a response to a letter Courtney Love once received from former flame Billy Corgan, lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins. He had written to Courtney, "When you get what you want will you ever want it again?" Courtney promised a response in the form of a song.
Last minute adjustments had to be made to Live Through This so as to not seem disrespectful to Kurt's memory. For example, the last song on the album is identified as Rock Star, when its true title is Olympia. At the time of Kurt's death, the CD inserts and labels had already been printed, but the actual musical tracks on the CDs hadn't. The track Rock Star was thus changed to Olympia, though the inserts remained the same. You see, the real Rock Star song, which is available on any number of bootlegs, is a mockery of the whole notion of being a rock star, containing the lyrics, "How'd you like to be a rock star? How'd you like to be Nirvana? Barrel of laughs to be Nirvana. Say you'd rather die!" In light of Kurt's recent death, releasing such a song was unthinkable.
Olympia, the song you actually hear on the CD, is about the Riot Grrrl movement that sprung up in Washington state's capital city. Courtney was affiliated with them briefly, but claimed they were too elitist and that in their quest to not conform to society's norms they were ironically creating their own type of conformity, hence the lyrics, "I went to school in Olympia. And everyone was the same."
So if Live Through This is not primarily about Kurt, what is it about? Well, in my opinion it is primarily about good music. And the critics agreed. Live Through This was voted best CD of the year by many industry magazines from Rolling Stone to Spin to Village Voice. The success of the album propelled Courtney Love to star status, earning Hole a place on the Lollapalooza tour the following summer, and getting them on the covers of Rolling Stone and Spin. Live Through This went platinum, meaning that Hole was the biggest selling act that year on the Lollapalooza stage.
Sorry if all of this background history seems a little much. It's just that I can't really confront Live Through This without all of this coming to mind. I can't just give a review of the music itself, because Live Through This is an era defining album in my life, an album that has meant a lot to me for years. Shortly after the release of Live Through This, I found out that Courtney was from the city I was living in at the time, Portland, Oregon. I would soon cross paths with people who had known Courtney in her Portland days, even finding that a friend of many years is related to Courtney's friend/enemy Kat B'jelland, co-writer of a track on Live Though This. And I found that Courtney Love's favorite Portland band had been Dharma Bums, a band started by friends of my friends. (Dharma Bums' album Haywire is available on Amazon. In the late 80s Dharma Bums were expected to be the big breakthrough. Instead, it was their opening act that became the breakthrough act of the genre. That opening act, of course, was Nirvana. Courtney Love met Kurt Cobain at a Dharma Bums concert in Portland, at the now closed Satyricon nightclub.) At the time, I got very caught up in the excitement of knowing that people from Oregon, which is usually seen as a cultural backwater, had made an impact on the international music scene. (The picture of a young Courtney on the back of the CD was taken in Marcola, Oregon, which is a suburb of Eugene. Courtney's mother and stepfather moved to the Eugene area at the end of the 1960s and set up some sort of hippie commune.)
Anyway, I hope this review has been of some help to someone. My main goal in this review is to offer more insight into this album than is provided by the official "Amazon Editorial Review" at the top of this page. I was a bit upset that what is for me a very important album was simply brushed aside as being too much like early Heart and late Joan Jett -- like that's a bad thing anyway. I like Heart and Joan Jett.
Andrew Michael Parodi
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21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of My All Time Favorite Albums, September 4, 2003
Of the various grunge bands in the early 1990's, Hole certainly has to be regarded as one of the landmark groups with the release of its debut album "Live Through This" nearly 10 years ago. Formed by the well-known wife of grunge icon Kurt Cobain (1967-1994), Courtney Love sings all of the vocals as well as plays guitar in a unique style. My ratings out of 5 stars for each of the songs on this album are as follows:1. "Violet" (5+). A fast & powerful start to this great album featuring Courtney's powerful vocals. One of the best songs on the album and the perfect way to start it.
2. "Miss World" (5). Starts slowly, then builds into a forceful crescendo with Courtney's screaming vocals.
3. "Plump" (5). A fast and aggressive song mixed with soft and screaming vocals, giving way to a softer sound midway before escalating back into its fast and aggressive beginning.
4. "Asking For It" (4.5). A soft but impressive ballad that later escalates into a more emotional statement from Courtney at the end.
5. "Jennifer's Body" (4.5). A faster song backed primarily with Courtney's screaming vocals giving way to more melodic parts.
6. "Doll Parts" (5+) An emotional and dark ballad that is one of Hole's most recognizable songs with Courtney comparing herself to a doll.
7. "Credit in the Straight World" (5). Starts very softly but builds rapidly into a complex song with unusual chord combinations.
8. "Softer, Softest" (4.5). Starts as a soft and emotional ballad but slowly builds to an emotional crescendo towards the end.
9. "She Walks on Me" (4). A fast, metal & harsher sounding song.
10. "I Think That I Would Die" (4.5). Unusual chord combinations are used in this song which is softer than the previous.
11. "Gutless" (4). A slightly repetitive song that is faster than the previous, but not as harsh or metal sounding as track #9.
12. "Rock Star" (5+). Courtney's tribute to growing up in Olympia, Washington in her raw and unique grunge form. A powerful ending to Hole's debut album that captures the essence of grunge. With only just over 38 minutes of music, "Live Through This" may be a short album, but its impact was huge when it was first released. Many people don't like Courtney Love, but many who don't like her must admit to her talent and ability demonstrated by this album. Sadly, her husband Kurt Cobain did not live long enough to see her further successes. However, Courtney's impact in the world of music will remain in spite of the fact that Hole broke up not long after the release of their last album "Celebrity Skin". Overall, I rate Hole's "Live Through This" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. You don't have to have grown up in Olympia to enjoy Courtney's raw and powerful voice.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"...My Bitter Hand Has Bitten Me...", December 2, 2000
When you think of Hole (well, when I do, anyways), you think of the crap that comes out of obnoxious frontwoman Courtney Love's mouth. You do, I do, and I'm sure even Drew Barrymore does, too. No matter. But when thinking of Hole musically, things aren't quite as negative. I used to be a Hole fan, but as time went by, and Courtney became even more annoying, I stopped listening to the band entirely. And after looking back at that Hole phase of mine, I wondered what I was even thinking (actually, I still wonder...). Then, one day, I pulled out this CD from my "never listen to" pile, and decided to give it a spin for whatever reason. And you know what? This is still a damn good CD; perhaps even better as time goes on, as I certainly like it more than I once did. Hole's earlier material was loud and angry, but unlike "Live Through This," it was all misguided; kind of like Limp Bizkit, angry just for the sake of being angry (though not as dumb). "Celebrity Skin" was Courtney's failed attempt at making Hole a Hollywood band. And even with its catchy hooks and riffs and intelligent lyrics, it was still a so-so album (barely, I might add). "Live Through This," however, is completely different. Courtney snarls with rage that would scare most Kid Rock fans. And unlike Kid Rock, she's intelligent and thoughtful in expressing her pain. And she certainly expresses a lot of her pain. Dealing with all sorts of trouble women go through (image being the one that comes up most ofter), Courtney tackles one problem head on and rages on to the next like it's nothing. "Live Through This" opens up with "Violet," which is often considered their best song. It's easy to see why it is considered their best song, as right from the opening chords, you get a feeling that the song is going to explode. And explode it does, as Courtney wails "Go on, take everything, take everything, I want you to" over and over. Britney Spears this is not. "Doll Parts" has some of the best lyrics Courtney has ever written. They're very tragic, dark, and depressing. Definitely one of the highlights. "She Walks On Me" is the harshest song here. It's real Punk, not the Blink-182 kind of watered down stuff. The drumming on this particular song deserves the most attention. Patty's drumming is fast and powerful, she never lets up, and continues to pummel the listener. The song rolls and roars stopping a few times only to drag you back down and take you for another skull-rattling ride. A very close second to "Miss World," which is, in my opinion, their best song. "Miss World" is a little more light-hearted than the rest of these songs, even a little funny. Courtney's lyrics will get a chuckle for the honesty she puts forth; and this song is the only time you laugh (assuming you even do so). It's both catchy and smart, funny and honest, rocking and fun. "Plump" is the exact opposite, with a much more serious tone and feel, as well as lyrically confrontational. Take, for example, the unapologetic lyrics: "They say I'm plump, but I throw up all the time." The music is just as good as well, there's a break in the middle of the song that completely throws the listener off gaurd, kind of like Metallica's "Master Of Puppets" does (not that I'm comparing the two, mind you). The break in the middle of the song is actually quite beautiful, almost angelic (again, like "Master Of Puppets"). It's a strong testament to the great musicianship Hole have. That leads me to me next topic: the musicianship, which is unbelievable. Eric Erlandson's guitar playing is brilliant, Kristen Pfaff's bass playing is beautiful and melodic, and Patty Schemel's drumming is almost as good as Dave Grohl's. The production isn't as crisp as, say, "Celebrity Skin" was, which is unfortunate because Kristen's bass can sometimes get drowned out by the guitars and Courtney screaming. My favorite part of "Live Through This" is the lines in "Asking For It": "Was she asking for it? Was she asking nice? Did she ask you for it? Did she ask you twice?" You have to buy it just to hear that. After I listened to the album, I gladly put it with my other CDs (the ones I actually listen to, that is). "Live Through This" is a very deep album, very personal, very unique, and absolutely beautiful in all its ugliness; and to think, it clocks in at just under 40 minutes. If you only check out one Hole album, make it sure it's this. The rest of their material is, in my opinion, lame, but this is a masterpiece; there's not one bad song on here, and all of them are perfect. One of the best albums of the '90s. Worth all five stars. PS: You don't have to be a woman to like this, guys.
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