The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum
The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 25, 1997 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Punk rock | |||
Length | 41:35 | |||
Label | Slash, Reprise | |||
Producer | Rob Cavallo, Joe Barresi, L7 | |||
L7 chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum | ||||
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The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum is the fifth studio album by American
Upon release, The Beauty Process reached No. 172 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart and No. 12 on the
Background and recording
The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum is the follow-up to L7's 1994 album Hungry for Stink, which was released by Slash Records in collaboration with Reprise Records. Hungry for Stink peaked at No. 117 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart[1] and coincided with the 1994 Lollapalooza music festival, where the band shared the stage with other successful acts including The Smashing Pumpkins and The Breeders.[2] For their next album, L7 decided to take a less constrained approach than they took with their previous albums. According to singer and guitarist Donita Sparks, "In the past, I think we wanted to prove that we were tough cookies. We wanted to show that we could rock harder than anyone. Now we're more secure. So we have more freedom. It's kind of liberating."[3]
The Beauty Process was recorded at
Music and lyrics
The Beauty Process marks a departure from the tough
The Beauty Process also contains heavier songs that are reminiscent of the band's previous albums.
Promotion and release
The Beauty Process was released on February 25, 1997, by Slash Records.
The song "Off the Wagon" was released as a single on January 28, 1997. The single included the outtakes "Guera" and "Punk Broke (My Heart)" as its B-side.[5] A music video for the single was planned, but ultimately canceled.[5][6] A concert film, titled L7: The Beauty Process, was directed by former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and released in 1998. The film was shot in 1997 while Novoselic was on tour with the band. It features live footage of songs interspersed with sketches and acted out by the band members on days off from touring.[13] The Beauty Process sold worse than expected, leading Reprise to drop the band thereafter.[14]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[16] |
Los Angeles Times | [17] |
NME | 6/10[18] |
Pitchfork | 6.5/10[19] |
Rolling Stone | [20] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [21] |
Spin | 6/10[8] |
The Village Voice | A−[22] |
The Beauty Process received generally favorable reviews from
In a mixed review, Jessica Hopper of
AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described The Beauty Process as "a good hard rock record" with "its fair share of hooks", but noted that it makes fans "yearn for the days when L7 appeared revolutionary, not just keepers of the flame."[15] The A.V. Club's Stephen Thompson praised the songs for being anthemic and not overly polished and considered "The Masses Are Asses" and "Off The Wagon" as the album's finest moments.[24] Prominent music critic Robert Christgau also gave a positive review to the album, commenting: "Brazenly revving even further toward metal, they work their claim to 'the urban din' till it yields the slag and shiny things they won't do without."[22] Sparks regards The Beauty Process as her favourite L7 album as she felt that Gardner wrote songs that "completely stand up to any underground punk song ever."[6] Entertainment Weekly initially had a positive review of the album, but later included it on their "flop albums" of 1997 list, as a result of its lack of commercial success.[25]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The Beauty Process" | 0:58 |
2. | "Drama" | 3:28 |
3. | "Off the Wagon" | 3:27 |
4. | "I Need" | 2:57 |
5. | "Moonshine" | 3:23 |
6. | "Bitter Wine" | 4:15 |
7. | "The Masses Are Asses" | 4:20 |
8. | "Bad Things" | 3:12 |
9. | "Must Have More" | 2:54 |
10. | "Non-Existent Patricia" | 4:30 |
11. | "Me, Myself & I" | 3:46 |
12. | "Lorenza, Giada, Alessandra" | 4:25 |
Total length: | 41:35 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]
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Charts
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200[1] | 172 |
US | 12 |
References
- ^ a b c "L7 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric (September 1994). "Lollapalooza '94". Spin. Vol. 10, no. 6. pp. 147–148. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f DeLuca, Dan (February 21, 1997). "L7 Not So Tough For 'The Beauty Process'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ a b L7 (1997). The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum (CD booklet). Los Angeles, California: Slash Records, Reprise Records. 9 46327-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Morris, Chris (January 25, 1997). "L7 Readies 'The Beauty Process'". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 4. pp. 16, 24. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Scott, Tim (August 4, 2016). "Rank Your Records: Donita Sparks Rates L7's Six Studio Albums". Vice. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ "Cool Rockin' Album Comin' From L7". MTV. November 17, 1996. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Hopper, Jessica (April 1997). "The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum". Spin. Vol. 13, no. 1. p. 161. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- ^ CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 43. p. 34. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Salon. Archivedfrom the original on January 22, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ a b Hamilton, Jill (May 1, 1997). "Q&A: Donita Sparks of L7". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ a b "L7 Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Nelson, Chris (November 24, 1998). "L7 Get Worldly With A Live Album, Home Video". MTV. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ Scribner, Sara (April 25, 1998). "L7 Shows Its Made-Over Face Since 'The Beauty Process'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- ^ "The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum". Entertainment Weekly. February 21, 1997. p. 126.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (February 27, 1997). "L7 The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
- ^ Williams, Simon (February 22, 1997). "NME.COM - L7 - The Beauty Process". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Schreiber, Ryan. "L7: Triple Platinum:: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c Foege, Alec (February 6, 1997). "The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
- ISBN 978-0743201698. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (March 11, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- Boston Phoenix. Archived from the originalon February 5, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "L7: The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ "Entertainment Weekly - The Best Of 1997 -1997-12-26". December 26, 1997 – via Internet Archive.
External links
- The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum at Discogs (list of releases)