Courtney Love
America's Sweetheart

THE REVIEW

Even if we are faced with a character like Courtney Love, who is herself, a piece of Rock history, I believe that a good approach to an album should still be characterized by an attitude free of prejudices or expectations, and by an intelligent willingness to understand the author's message (if there is one).

I say this because often (not to say 'always') people talk about Love without knowing her artistic side, and because in this review I want to talk only about music, not gossip. The album starts with Mono, a biting anthem that serves as the right prelude to the album: definition of the poetics, stylistic choices, musical polemic, recusatio of ideals passed off as priorities for someone of her level… the essence of the entire album is precisely Mono, which I would define as a sort of autobiography of Courtney. Regarding the rest of the CD, at first listen the songs are quite discouraging both technically and conceptually.

We are obviously not at the level of Hole, but listening to it carefully, Courtney eventually emerges in her entirety, in all her spirit and soul. Echoes of Hole can be heard in Sunset Strip, All the Drugs, Hello… and her tormented soul resurfaces in desperate ballads like Hold on to Me, Uncool, Never Gonna Be the Same, full of pathos. In this album, we also find a new theme for Love, which I would define as 'metamusic,' that is, music made with other music or music that talks about music itself as matter. Love, in fact, wants to talk about music, about contemporary music, about the Rock scene and its ruin… to set the record straight: the new rock is not Rock; it’s just kids playing cool while fiddling with electric guitars, and she goes after the unfortunate Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, whom she actually appreciates. But that’s not the point.

The point is that Rock has become, by now, only citationism: who imitates one style, who another… truly there hasn’t been anything original after grunge. And here, Courtney herself engages in, so to speak, quotations: Life Despite God, a brilliant piece where she channels Janis Joplin or I’ll Do Anything, reminiscent of Smells Like Teen Spirit in its intro… although Hello could, regrettably, sound like a piece by the Donnas. After this lesson in Rock history, the album ends with Never Gonna Be the Same, which in my opinion represents, conceptually, the best song she has written. It talks about life, people, sincerity, respect, and authenticity… no, Courtney has not sold out by making this commercial album with Virgin and echoing the pseudo-indie rock of these times… beyond the phenomenal level, she will always remain herself, true to herself… it is circumstances and people that change and will always change.

Although this album highlights not a few declines in level (and here one feels the absence of the Geffen Records family), one can't fault Love, with that voice that seems to take your words out of your mouth, with that disarming pessimistic and laissez-faire logic of someone who already knows what’s behind… of someone who has grown, understood, and is certain: Rock is dead.