Product Description

After getting more press than O.J. Simpson, Courtney Love and Hole went underground to put together this quality, guitar-driven rock/pop release. CELEBRITY SKIN is packed from beginning to end with up-tempo, hard rock gems that show Love'sstrength and direction as a songwriter. Co-writing several tracks on CELEBRITY SKIN is Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan ("Malibu", "Petals").
The title track is co-penned by Corgan with Love scripting the lyrics. Kicking into overdrive from the first chord, the song talks about the often-comical pursuit of fortune and fame. The lyrics on "Hit So Hard" make you wonder whether Love is talking about domesticabuse or the drop-dead feeling that results from spotting the most beautiful boy in the world across the room? The lyrics are smart enough to support both theories. Other tracks to check out are "Awful", "Reasons To Be Beautiful" and "BoysOn The Radio".

Track Listing

1. Celebrity Skin
2. Awful
3. Hit So Hard
4. Malibu
5. Reasons To Be Beautiful
6. Dying
7. Use Once & Destroy
8. Northern Star
9. Boys On The Radio
10. Heaven Tonight
11. Playing Your Song
12. Petals

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20259 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 50 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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, co-wrote 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

Customer Reviews

Rip Your Heart Out ( nevertoolate #005 )
Ms Love has never been her own best friend.
This is self-evident.
Looking for love in all the wrong places.
Chasing that elusive spotlight.
(It's there / It's gone / It's there /...It's gone).
Conspicuous rock and roll celebrity desperation.

The last time I saw her she seemed to have ditched
the booze and pills and powders and with the aid
of a little meditation appeared to be squaring up to
a new solo album.
I was hopeful. I find myself rooting for her against
my better judgement. I want her to succeed.

That was sometime in late 2007. Her website records
no activity since then. The album did not appear.

1998 (God was it really that long ago ?) saw the release
of Hole's 'Celebrity Skin'.

12 blisteringly raw rock songs, the majority of which bear
evidence of Ms Love's pen and not insignificant passion.

Her performances are focussed, powerful and convincing.

The band create a dense wall of sound; sometimes grindingly
hard and heavy; at other times fleet of foot and demonstrating
a finely tuned pop sensibility.

There's not an ounce of spare fat on this album.
The production is wholly committed to the spirit of the music.

Ms Love's finest moment for sure.

I wish at least one more for her.

I love pop music
Pop.Why are some so scared of that little three letter word.
Sue I love Napalm Death,My Dying Bride and Darkthrone,but why should that mean I shouldn't like Gwen Stefani,Kelis and Daft Punk.Anyone says I shouldn't,who cares.
Hole go pop,great.
Like Courtney said,"sometimes I want to sound like grindcore,and other times I want to sound like raspberries style pop".Makes perfect sense to me.

Smart up-tempo Hollywood hooks
Smart up-tempo Hollywood hooks an a clear ability to write great songs.
The souind & feel is Fleetwood Mac meets Smashing Pumpkins; no surprise perhaps since Billy Corgan co-wrote five songs (the best ones as it happens).
The lyrics are confessional and scathing, covering subject matter from abuse, drugs, the film industry, fortune and fame to celebrity culture.
High quality, guitar-driven pop-rock.