The First Session
| The First Session | ||||
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| EP by Hole | ||||
| Released | August 26, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | March 17, 1990 | |||
| Studio | Rudy's Rising Star in Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, noise rock | |||
| Length | 12:55 | |||
| Label | Sympathy for the Record Industry | |||
| Producer | James Moreland, Eric Erlandson | |||
| Hole chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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The First Session is an EP by American alternative rock band Hole, released on August 26, 1997 on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The EP features the entire recording of the band's first ever studio session on March 17, 1990 and also a twenty-page booklet focusing on the band's early career prior to the release of their debut studio album, Pretty on the Inside (1991). The EP marked Hole's final release on Sympathy for the Record Industry.
Hole in mid-1989 after lead guitarist Eric Erlandson replied to an advertisement, placed by frontwoman Courtney Love, in the Los Angeles-based punk rock fanzine The Reycler. The band's first rehearsal took place in Fortress Studios in Hollywood, where Love, Erlandson and original bassist Lisa Roberts "played something noisy" while "they [Courtney and Lisa] started screaming their poetry at the top of their lungs for two or three hours." Drummer Caroline Rue and a third guitarist, Mike Geisbrecht were then recruited and the band began performing shows in October 1989. Songs that would be later featured on The First Session were played at these series of live shows. Before Hole began to develop a fanbase, Geisbrecht left and was replaced briefly by Errol Stewart, who also left a few weeks later. Roberts also left the group at some point in early 1990 and was replaced by Jill Emery on bass.
In March 1990, Hole were given a budget of $500 by Sympathy for the Record Industry's president Long Gone John for a studio recording session, which was initially meant to include only "Retard Girl." The allocated studio was known as Rudy's Rising Star, which Hole later described as "a tiny LA basement studio," and the recording session took place on March 17, 1990.
"Turpentine" was recorded first, followed by "Phonebill Song" and "Retard Girl." The final song, "Johnnie's in the Bathroom," was an avant garde-inspired noise jam and included segments of recorded phonecalls. Love's then-husband, "Falling" James Moreland, recorded and produced the session and Erlandson also took part in the production process. The final recordings were mastered by John Vestman. Moreland, despite mixed reports, would not produce Hole's next session at Radio Tokyo in November 1990, which featured "Dicknail" and "Burn Black."
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