CD
LP
Tracklisting:
1. Turpentine
2. Phonebill Song
3. Retard Girl
4. Burn Black
5. Dicknail
6. Beautiful Son
7. 20 Years In The Dakota
8. Miss World (Demo)
9. Old Age
10. Softer, Softest (from MTV's Unplugged)
11. He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) (from MTV's Unplugged)
12. Season Of The Witch (from MTV's Unplugged)
13. Drown Soda (Live)
14. Asking For It (Live)
Best Tracks:
Burn Black
Old Age
20 Years In The Dakota
Drown Soda
Currently listening to: CD
My Body, The Hand Grenade is one those rarest of rarities - a b-sides and rarities compilation that's actually really fucking good. Coming out between Live Through This and Celebrity Skin, it feels like it should be a cheap stop-gap. Instead, it's an essential part of Hole's back catalogue, perfecting complimenting both Pretty On The Inside and Live Through This. It also stands on it's own, painting a very accurate picture of the band.
While My Body, The Hand Grenade doesn't contain every b-side and obscure track from Hole's career up to 1997, it is wonderfully sequenced to include the very best. A big part of why the album succeeds is the inclusion of both sides of the band's early 7" singles, 'Retard Girl', 'Dicknail' and 'Beautiful Son'. The pre-Pretty On The Inside singles ('Retard Girl', 'Phonebill Song', 'Dicknail', 'Burn Black') are more listenable and accessible than anything on that album, while still hitting hard. 'Beautiful Son' and '20 Years In The Dakota' were early indications of what direction the band would take with Live Through This - neither would sound particularly out of place on that album. These tracks have been remastered for My Body, The Hand Grenade, and the sound is vastly improved from the few tracks that had been previously released on CD (see 'Burn Black' on the Teenage Whore single).
Another highlight is the beautiful 'Violet' b-side, 'Old Age', which seems to be remembered more now for who wrote it than on the merits of the song. Why it didn't make Live Through This, I don't know (though, the wonderful intro turned up at the start of 'Credit In The Straight World'), because it's a really great song. The Nirvana version, released on With The Lights Out, pales in comparison to the Hole version. It doesn't even come close.
The only song on the album that sounds out of place is the demo of 'Miss World'. It's certainly an interest inclusion, and while I hope that the rest of the demos from this session see some sort of official release, the demo halts the flow of the album, somewhat. It's a distraction, given that it's one of Hole's best known songs, sitting among these lesser known gems.
The last half of the album consists of live recordings, three from their MTV Unplugged session and two from UK shows in 1995. The Unplugged songs are great, and are possibly the best tracks from the session (though, again, I do hope the whole show sees an official release at some point. It is widely available, in great quality, on countless bootlegs. And, it's worth checking out). The Unplugged 'Softer, Softest' may be the definitive version. 'Season Of The Witch', which was not included on the broadcast, is a particularly welcome inclusion.
'Drown Soda', recorded live at the Brixton Academy, is - easily - the best live recording of Hole I've ever heard. It's absolutely scathing. I'm glad they chose this version for the album, as opposed to the studio version from the 'Teenage Whore' single - this is the definitive version. It's truly wonderful. The album ends with 'Asking For It', live from the Reading Festival in 1995. While it's a faithful version, it's not a revelation, the way 'Drown Soda' is (and, for those interested, both the Reading and Brixton shows are partially available on the wonderful Vengeance Is Mine bootleg - 'Miss World' from the Reading show is particularly haunting).
I think this was the second Hole album I got, after Live Through This (and during a trip to Coffs Harbour, of all places). Hole vinyl has always been elusive. And, expensive. I managed to get a vinyl copy off eBay about 4 years ago. It's one of my favourite records.
My Body, The Hand Grenade is as important to Hole's history as any of their studio albums. More importantly, it's a great listen, particularly to fans of their pre-Celebrity Skin work. That Hole only released three studio albums during their lifetime makes My Body, The Hand Grenade even more valuable.
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