Celebrity Skin (CD - 1998)

Additional personnel: David Campbell, Craig Armstrong (strings); Michael Beinhorn, Paul DeCarli, Max Risenhoover, Chris Vrenna, Nick Franglen (programming).

Principally recorded at Conway Studios, Los Angeles, California.

CELEBRITY SKIN was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

"Celebrity Skin" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or A Group With Vocal and Best Rock Song. "Malibu" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

Personnel: David Campbell , Craig Armstrong (strings); Chris Vrenna, Michael Beinhorn, Nick Franglen, Paul DeCarli (programming).

Audio Mixers: Chris Lord-Alge; Jack Joseph Puig; Tom Lord-Alge.

Recording information: Olympic Studios, London, England; Quad Recording, New York, NY; Quad Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Record Plant, Los Angele.

Photographers: Robert Dawson ; Richard Prince.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Courtney Love; Eric Erlandson; Patty Schemel; Melissa Auf der Maur.

From the moment the Pyromania guitars herald open the title track on Celebrity Skin, it's clear Hole no longer is tortured. Gone are the roaring guitars and noise, the pain and the anguish that informed Pretty on the Inside and Live Through This. Some angst remains, but it's buried under a glaze of shiny guitars and hazy melodies, all intended to evoke the heyday of Californian pop in the late '70s. Conceptually, it's a bold move for a band that's nearly synonymous with grunge, but the makeover doesn't quite work. Part of the reason is that Hole's music was always compelling as nakedly cathartic spectacle -- and that's exactly what has been excised on Celebrity Skin. In the past, Courtney Love pushed her emotions to the forefront, and the sheer forcefulness of her personality disguised the anonymity of her bandmates. A toned-down Love still may not be able to carry a tune, but there's little grit to her performance on Celebrity Skin, so she effortlessly blends with the faceless musical support -- which is strange, considering her overpowering public image. Walking the line between soft rock and confessional grunge was a difficult task regardless, and to its credit, Hole -- with the assistance of producer Michael Beinhorn and consultant Billy Corgan, who is credited with co-writing five songs and essentially pioneered the very sound of Celebrity Skin with his Smashing Pumpkins albums -- has created an album that sounds like an arena rock monster, but the hooks sink only halfway in, so it doesn't have much impact. It is a complete makeover, but instead of metamorphosing into a new band, Hole has unwittingly neutered itself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

From the moment the Pyromania guitars burst forward on the opening title track on Celebrity Skin, it's clear that Hole is no longer the same tortured creature it was in its past incarnations. Gone are the roaring guitars and noise, the pain and the anguish that informed Pretty on the Inside and Live Through This. Some angst remains, but it's buried under a glaze of shiny guitars and hazy melodies, all intended to evoke the heyday of Californian pop in the late '70s. Conceptually, it's a bold move for a band that's nearly synonymous with grunge, but the makeover doesn't quite work. Part of the reason is that Hole's music was always compelling as nakedly cathartic spectacle -- and that's exactly what has been excised on Celebrity Skin. In the past, Courtney Love pushed her emotions to the forefront, and the sheer forcefulness of her personality disguised the anonymity of her three supporting bandmates. A toned-down Love still may not be able to carry a tune, but there's little grit to her performance on Celebrity Skin, so she effortlessly blends with the faceless musical support -- which is strange, considering what an overpowering media figure she creates. Walking the line between soft-rock and confessional grunge was a difficult task regardless, and to their credit, Hole -- with the assistance of producer Michael Beinhorn and consultant Billy Corgan, who is credited with co-writing five songs and essentially pioneered the very sound of Celebrity Skin with his Smashing Pumpkins albums -- have created an album that sounds like an arena-rock monster, but the hooks sink only halfway in, which means it doesn't have the impact it should have had. And as a Hole album goes, it lacks the emotion and sheer identity that made their other records compelling. It is a complete makeover, but instead of metamorphosing into a new band, Hole has unwittingly neutered itself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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's strength 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 domestic abuse 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 "Boys On The Radio." minimize