Mr. Wonderful v. Hole

[michelej1]

The Ledger.com

http://www.theledger.com/article/200...042/COLUMNISTS

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'Mr. Wonderful' vs. 'Live Through This'

This week, Aurora listens to FLEETWOOD MAC'S 1968 album "Mr. Wonderful."

AURORA: While listening to Fleetwood Mac's second album, it's not surprising to see why the band was considered one of the most influential American rock bands to date. While the band members' personal struggles did get a bit of headlines, Fleetwood Mac proved to turn its emotional crossfire into lovely music, such as the album's first track, "Stop Messin' Around." It's a lyrically rich song filled with tongue-in-cheek innuendos about a cheating lover.

BILL: This early version of the band was way before the Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks days of the mid-'70s. This Mac was a true British blues band, and they played it as much as they lived it.

AURORA: Their blues rock is intense and proven in the track, "Love that Burns." I like the fact the band is not afraid to mix emotions with music, making its songs 10 times more poignant. And its cover of the blues track "Dust My Broom" simply rocks. What do you think about that, Bill?

BILL: Great barrelhouse piano and great British swagger, courtesy of the Mississippi Delta.

AURORA: It was refreshing to discover this album and to notice the influence women like Christine McVie (and, later, Nicks) had on today's "grrrl" rockers, Bill. It was definitely a worthwhile listen.

This week, Bill listens to HOLE'S 1994 album, "Live Through This."

BILL: It got pretty interesting for Courtney Love's band, Hole, about the time it recorded and released its second album, which came out after she had married Kurt Cobain. In the same way that Nirvana's "Nevermind" made that group's sound accessible to the mainstream, Hole's "Live Through This" was its "pop" album. It wound up on many best-of-the-year lists.

AURORA: And its grunge rock deserved the nods.

BILL: Cobain's influence is undeniable and really leaps out on tracks like "Asking for It," with its melodic, though acoustic, build-up. "Credit in the Straight World," however, revels with a more Smashing Pumpkins energy. "Plump" has melodic, even pretty vocals that would sound at home on a Fleetwood Mac record or a Pete Townshend-like guitar refrain.

AURORA: It's truly sad how this album took off then Love became tabloid fodder. Her talent was there on this record, don't you think?

BILL: "Live Through This" (released four days after Cobain died) is less effective when Love's vocals are placed front-and-center above plaintive acoustic tunes like "Doll Parts," although "Softer, Softest" is infectious. Unfortunately, Love's personal life and demons always seemed to overshadow her band's music.