America's Sweetheart

Personnel includes: Courtney Love (vocals, guitar); Emilei Autumn, Jerry Best, Samantha Maloney, Scott McCloud, Patty Schemel.
Producers: Courtney Love, James Barber, Josh Abraham, Matt Serletic.
Recorded in France and Los Angeles, California.
AMERICA'S SWEETHEART finds controversial alt-rock queen/tabloid regular Courtney Love bringing the sordid aspects of her over-publicized private life into the studio. Churning out such confessional fare would be easy to dismiss, but the songs are surprisingly well crafted, largely due to the presence of Matchbox Twenty producer Matt Serletic, and Love's choice of songwriting collaborators, including Bernie Taupin, Linda Perry, and former Hole drummer Patty Schemel.
Love's vocals are ragged, but this quality works for these tales of debauchery, whether she's nicking part of Blur's "Song 2" for the defiant "I'll Do Anything" or spitting out a musical mash note to the Strokes' frontman on "But Julian, I'm a Little Bit Older Than You." Equally effective are some of the mellower numbers, including the mid-tempo rocker "Sunset Strip," with its theme of semi-autobiographical ennui, and the vulnerability-laced "Hold On to Me." As this set of songs proves, Courtney Love may not truly be AMERICA'S SWEETHEART, but she's definitely one of its most outrageous celebrities.