Live Through This | ||||
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Studio album by Hole | ||||
Released | April 12, 1994 | |||
Recorded | October 8–30, 1993 | |||
Studio | Triclops Sound Studios in Marietta, Georgia | |||
Genre | Grunge,punk rock | |||
Length | 38:16 | |||
Label |
DGC (US) City Slang (Europe) |
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Producer | Paul Q. Kolderie, Sean Slade | |||
Hole chronology | ||||
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Singles from Live Through This | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Chicago Tribune | |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
NME | 8/10 |
Rolling Stone | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Select | 4/5 |
Spin | 9/10 |
Live Through This is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. It was released by DGC Records on April 12, 1994, just one week after frontwoman Courtney Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, died in their home. It was Hole's only album to feature bassist Kristen Pfaff before her death in June 1994. Recorded in October 1993, the album marked a divergence from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodies and song structure, and features production by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, with mixing by Scott Litt and J Mascis. The album's lyrics and packaging reflect Love's preoccupation with beauty, and its songs contain repeated motifs of milk, motherhood, anti-elitism, and violence against women. The album's title is derived from a quote in Gone with the Wind.
The album met near-unanimous critical acclaim upon release, earning top-100 chart spots in seven countries and going multi-platinum. It has been considered as a contemporary classic, and was included in Rolling Stone's list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album is featured on the list 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album was also named the 84th greatest album of all time in a list produced by NME magazine in 2013. As of 2010, it has sold over 1.6 million copies in the United States.
Hole released its debut studio album, Pretty on the Inside, in 1991 and despite moderate sales, the album was a critical success among English and American press. In March 1992, following the tour to support the album's release, two members of Hole – drummer Caroline Rue and bassist Jill Emery – left the band due to artistic differences. In April 1992, vocalist Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson arranged auditions for a drummer at the Jabberjaw in Los Angeles, California and recruited drummer Patty Schemel. Love, Erlandson and Schemel then relocated to Carnation, Washington to a house owned by Love and her husband Kurt Cobain and began rehearsing and writing material for a second album. "We had been going more pop, less journal-entry noise stuff," said Erlandson. "[At the time] I was very competitive with Kurt [Cobain] because I wanted more melody," Love had stated. "But I already wanted that before [we wrote] Live Through This."