Auction Link (ends August 22nd)
City Slang Records: EFA 04935 Original First Issue, Printed in Germany for release in the U.S.
Format: 12" LP
Includes: Original Generic White Inner Sleeve
Cover Condition:Near Mint - Pulled from the shelf only a few times and always stored vertically in a protective poly sleeve.
Vinyl Condition: Near Mint - Only played a few times, still like new!
Release Info: Live Through This is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, following the band's debut album, Pretty on the Inside (1991). It was released by Geffen records on April 12, 1994, just four days after frontwoman Courtney Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, was found dead in their home. It was also bassist Kristen Pfaff's last musical collaboration before her death in June 1994.
The album contained five singles, including "Doll Parts" and "Violet" which garnered the most critical attention and highest-ranking Billboard positions, with "Doll Parts" reaching number 58 in the Billboard's Hot 100 as well as peaking at number 4 in the top Modern Rock Tracks.
The album received unanimous critical acclaim, and is often regarded as Hole's best album, and as one of the greatest albums of all time, selling over two million copies worldwide and going multi-platinum within a year of its release. Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1994, as well as later awarding it a spot on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Sessions for Hole's second album begun initially in Paris in May 1993 with Nirvana producer, Butch Vig. Nothing is reported to have come from the sessions, and a second attempt at recording the album was done at Hanzek Audio in Seattle in August 1993 with producers and engineers, Chris Hanzek, Jack Endino and Craig Montgomery. During this attempt at recording Live Through This the band recorded instrumental versions of a number of songs, including "Jennifer's Body" and the unused Nirvana song "Talk To Me", however the session "wasn't very productive" and eventually, the recordings were left in the studio for years before Eric Erlandson reclaimed them.
The sessions for Live Through This began on October 8, 1993 at Triclops Studios in Atlanta, where The Smashing Pumpkins - friends of the band - recorded their second studio album, Siamese Dream. The first week of recording was spent record basic tracks, such as drums, bass, scratch guitars, and scratch vocals. After the first tracks were laid down, Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, joined the band in-studio on November 18 before Nirvana were set to tour to promote their latest album, In Utero. When shown the work in progress, the band invited Cobain to sing on a few unfinished numbers. Cobain refused at first, due to being unfamiliar with the material. When Cobain asked, "how can I sing on it if I haven't heard it?", Courtney answered by encouraging him to "just sing off the top of [his] head."
Due to this and that a year earlier, a b-side for "Beautiful Son", "Old Age" was credited as being written by Hole but the song had been recorded a year before by Cobain's band Nirvana, there have been unsubstantiated rumors regarding Cobain's involvement in this record, from alleged instrumental and songwriting contributions, to claims that he effectively wrote the entire album. What is known is that Cobain sang background vocals for two tracks, according to both Erlandson and Love; he can be heard in the bridge of the released version of "Asking For It", though his vocals are low in the mix and during "Softer, Softest." An alternate mix of "Asking For It" was broadcast on radio in 1994 which more prominently features his singing. Some recent claims state he can be heard at some point in "Doll Parts". Having taken a break for dinner, the session devolved into a formless jam with Cobain on drums, Eric and Courtney on guitars and session co-producer Sean Slade on bass. The band eventually finished on October 31 and finished off their stay in Atlanta with a show at The Masquerade.
The album is dedicated to the memory of Joe Cole, a roadie for Black Flag and the Rollins Band who was shot to death in a 1991 after attending a Hole show at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood. The album was noted for being more accessible and melodic than the band's previous album, Pretty on the Inside. According to BMI's website, most of the songs credited officially to Hole were written just by Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson. "Doll Parts" was officially written only by Love and "I Think That I Would Die" was written by Erlandson, Love and Kat Bjelland. "Credit in the Straight World" is a Young Marble Giants cover.
Bassist Kristen Pfaff had decided to take a break from the band at the time of Cobain's death in April, 1994. In June 1994, she was found dead by boyfriend and bandmate Eric Erlandson from a supposed heroin overdose. Two months after Kristen's death, Hole began an extensive tour, with Melissa Auf der Maur replacing her on bass.
A song entitled "Rock Star", which took a swipe at The Lemonheads, was originally slated to close the album, however the band chose to replace it with the track "Olympia." Since the artwork had already been printed, however, the title of "Rock Star" remained and was also used for further releases. There was also concern about the lyric "barrel of laughs to be Nirvana, hope you'd rather die." To those not aware that Live Through This was completed before Cobain's death, the lyric could be potentially misconstrued as a reference made in poor taste regarding the discovery of Cobain's body (the same could be said of the album title as well, but the title was actually lifted from the lyrics for "Asking For It" which, coincidentally, featured Cobain on guest vocals).
Four singles were released from the album and three promotional videos were shot, for "Miss World" (still with Kristen Pfaff), "Doll Parts" (with L7's bassist Jennifer Finch replacing her) and "Violet" (already with Melissa Auf der Maur). "Softer, Softest" was also released as a single, and Hole's performance of this song at their MTV Unplugged session was used as a promotional video.
Model Leilani Bishop is shown on the cover of the album, and the back cover features a young Courtney Love in New Zealand in her childhood. Journalist and friend of Hole, Everett True, titled a book after the album, which details the rise and fall of the early grunge bands of the Nineties.
All songs credited as Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson unless noted otherwise.
1. "Violet" 3:24
2. "Miss World" 3:00
3. "Plump" 2:34
4. "Asking for It" 3:29
5. "Jennifer's Body" 3:41
6. "Doll Parts" Love 3:31
7. "Credit in the Straight World" Stuart Moxham 3:11
8. "Softer, Softest" 3:27
9. "She Walks on Me" 3:23
10. "I Think That I Would Die" Love, Erlandson, Kat Bjelland 3:36
11. "Gutless" 2:15
12. "Rock Star*" 2:42
No comments:
Post a Comment