| Land Speed Record | 1981 |
| Everything Falls Apart And More | 1982 |
| Metal Circus | 1983 |
| Zen Arcade | 1984 |
| New Day Rising | 1985 |
| Flip Your Wig | 1985 |
| Candy Apple Grey | 1986 |
| Warehouse: Songs And Stories | 1987 |
| The Living End (live) | 1994 |
Along with The Replacements, R.E.M., Meat Puppets and bands like that, Husker Du are definitely one of the saviors of the early-to-mid 80's underground. While I'm not exactly the world's biggest 'hardcore' fan (I usually can't tolerate overly abrasive, tuneless noise that's just playing fast for the sake of doing so), nor am I the world's biggest 'pop/punk' fan (there's usually way too much generic faceless crap in that scene, though I do like The Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady just about as much as anyone, and you should too), I definitely can't deny the immense talent these Minneapolis guys have in both areas. For sheer emotional intensity, it's very difficult to top Husker Du - in fact, this trio could have arguably been the single most intense band of the time period, in terms of music, lyrics and vocals. And there are also a lot of simple yet catchy pop hooks in their catalog, particularly in their later period when they concentrated more on that style. Their best stuff, though, usually came when they successfully blended their intensity with incredibly catchy pop melodies, and when they did so successfully, it's hard to think of anyone who did it better. Oh, and don't discount their occasional ambitiousness either - something like the double 'concept' album blast of Zen Arcade (their first album over a half hour, no less) was something totally unheard of in the underground.
As far as the lineup goes, the two main songwriters are primarily guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould (who usually writes about 60-70% of the material) and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. It's hard to generalize about what each songwriter is like - both have written their share of intensely personal and aggressive tunes (though Mould's vocal style seems more suited toward harsher material, and Hart's more toward singalong 60's pop-influenced stuff, even if that's not all either one of them wrote) as well as pop/punk delights and more 'experimental' noisemaking and instrumental tracks. It's also interesting Hart claims he ended up leading the band in a poppier direction in the mid 80's, while Mould's short-lived post-Husker band Sugar (which I'll also be reviewing eventually) continued in much the same vein as albums like Candy Apple Grey and Warehouse: Songs And Stories, so you be the judge. The other member, bassist Greg Norton, may not have been much involved in the songwriting (at least not since the earliest albums), but he did play a fine role within the framework of the band. His subtle but melodic basslines are frequently just as memorable and groovy as Mould's guitar noise and Hart's incredibly frantic pounding, enough that I'd say he's one of the more overlooked bassists out there - just the bass player, yes, but a very good one he was. Plus he had a cool moustache!
As great as a number of their songs are in terms of melodic and emotional impact, though, the Huskers aren't entirely without flaws - for one thing, they unfortunately never had very good production on their albums, whether it be a sometimes tinny guitar sound or a really buried lead vocal here and there which can dilute the impact of their intensity. Also, there tends to be a bit too much abrasive and/or annoying tuneless filler scattered throughout the landscape of even their best albums. But still, if you're looking to start a collection of the best and most influential music of the 80's, your collection may be incomplete without at least a couple of their releases (Zen Arcade should be among them, and I'd also heartily recommend New Day Rising). Oh, and normally I wouldn't mention this fact in the context of an album review page, but given the intense nature of a lot of their material, you'd never guess that Mould and Hart are actually gay from listening to Husker Du records, unlike, say, Freddie Mercury or Rob Halford from listening to certain Queen and Judas Priest songs or albums (har har har Point Of Entry - LOL). Of course, nobody figured out they were such either - make of that what you will. Enough of that crap, though - on to the reviews!
--Nick Karn
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COMMENTS
Ah! Glad you reviewed the Huskers! Great, unique band man. One of hte most underrated ever. - Trevor e.y.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Data Control. LOW POINTS: Most of them - it's impossible to tell what specific songs.
Alright, this is just way too hardcore for my tastes. While the band eventually figured out how to fuse their unreal energy with actual melodic songwriting, the energy is about all that's noteworthy here. Don't get me wrong - I really do respect how these guys rip through these songs at such powerful speed and volume (17 of them in just 26 minutes!), but when it's one song of 'poorly recorded high-energy burst of incomprehensible amelodic screaming' after another, it's really really tough to take. I should also mention this is actually a live album, one of the rare debut albums of its' kind in rock history, which would explain the very poor even by Husker Du standards sound quality - I mean, at least you can hear each individual instrument most of the time, but the way the album is recorded is very harsh on the ears, especially the guitar sound, and don't even try to decipher the lyrics, cause you ain't gonna be able to.
Besides the respectable energy level, there are moments of promise in a few songs, though - the captivating while it's on anthemic chord progression of the opener "All Tensed Up" (which always made me feel like the album might not be that bad until I end up experiencing the rest), the amusing "Gilligan's Island" (which actually does use the music from that show's theme song and adds some lines about fucking Ginger in there), the later-reprised "Bricklayer" (the only song to show up on the next album, where it makes more of a noticeable impact), the almost catchy "Let's Go Die" (one of the few tracks that doesn't forget to add some semblance of memorable vocal melody) and especially the closing "Data Control", which stands out most because it's the only song that isn't played at unstoppable high speed, instead going for a more midtempo buildup, and it clocks in at a startiling for this album over 5 minute length. As an intense buildup tune it works really really well (the screams of the title and insanely loud bass drum pounding contribute to this), though it shares the same piss-poor production and serious lack of memorability flaws as the others, so it's not quite a great song or anything.
The rest of the album I couldn't remember if I tried - none of it particularly stands out by itself as being terrible, but like I said, the energy level is about all it has going for it (my respect for which is probably the only reason I don't give this a 2 or 3), and that by itself is not going to make things listenable. Heck, none of the tracks I singled out earlier come even close to the level of captivating greatness that they would later reach, either. I wonder what the crowd must have felt like at this show with the supposedly loud beyond words atmosphere, though - man, it was probably really something if you were there. But listening to it on Winamp in 2004, Land Shit Record doesn't inspire much positive within me. All I can be thankful for is that the album actually ends after Bob Mould announces to the crowd 'We'll be back for another set' instead of actually including that other set to pad things out.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Everything Falls Apart, Blah Blah Blah. LOW POINTS: Statues.
Much better, if only because the production is actually bearable and there are more real vocal melodies this time out. Actually, what Everything Falls Apart And More consists of is their 12 song, 19 minute(!) studio debut Everything Falls Apart, which was nearly impossible to find until it was reissued in 1993 with seven songs culled from early singles added on that I guess you could call 'bonus tracks' of sorts. As far as the regular 'album' goes, with a half-decent sound behind them, it's much easier to appreciate their furious energy than it was before - take something like "Punch Drunk", which manages to cram in two lightning fast, really really pissed off screaming verses (with tumbling sudden stop chorus shifts) in a 30 second time span, so it feels like you've suddenly been punched in the face. In following that up with the similarly short and brutal "Bricklayer", the listener's definitely got a prime Husker Du assault on their hands.
There are other good moments of power here as well, from the simultaneously driving and hilarious "Blah, Blah, Blah" (more furious and catchy hardcore with that amusingly unexpected over-the-top 'I can see your lips move...BLAHBLAHBLAH' chorus), the tight 'military rhythm' of the opening "From The Gut" (also a great bassline there), the appropriately titled "Obnoxious" (which says it all with its' screamy chorus - 'you don't like the way we look, OBNOXIOUS!!!!') and what's probably their first semi-classic in the title track, probably the single most melodically appealing and lyrically personal song on here - it's difficult to get the 'if I listened to the things that you said everything would fall apart' lines out of my head, and I really like that shimmering guitar tone that shows itself throughout. Really cool compact tune there. In a more poppy vein, they also do a brief, energetic cover of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" (sung by Grant Hart, of course) that might have seemed really odd to fans at the time but in retrospect obviously points to their later success in some ways.
Of course, while the album is a big improvement in songwriting over Land Speed Record, Mould and Hart still don't have an overwhelmingly impressive sense of melody at this point in their career even on the better tracks, and with a less than two minute length on average, a lot of the songs inevitably sound very underwritten - I can't at all remember how, say, "Afraid Of Being Wrong" and "Signals From Above" go, to use a couple random examples, and that prevents this effort from really being anything more than decent, even if there aren't really any specifically bad tracks here, and it is often pretty fun to listen to these guys continue to tear the place up at times.
Oh, as far as the ...And More portion of the album goes, while mostly okay, it's really not too special at all. There are only a couple standouts here in "In A Free Land" (a pretty good quality anthemic rocker that gains extra catchiness with its' repeated 'don't mean a thing...' lines) and the studio version of "Let's Go Die", as well as a couple long 'grooves', one of which, Hart's "Statues", is one of the most yawn-inducing things they'd ever record. It's basically driven by a constantly repetitive, unspectacular bassline, an average 'epic' melody, and thoroughly uninteresting 'dramatic' guitar work, and they have the nerve to stretch it out to 8-1/2 minutes long? Egghh. In addition, the other long groove - the near 5 minute "Amusement" - more or less just sounds like a meandering demo, especially production-wise, and the average pop rocker "Do You Remember?" is only noteworthy for its' title, since it's actually the English translation (from Swedish) of the name Husker Du. Maybe it could be their theme song, perhaps? Anyway, these extra tracks don't really affect the rating one way or the other, so forget I even mentioned them. Instead, let's move on to the next album in which the Huskers continue to deliver on their promise...
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Diane, Real World. LOW POINTS: Out On A Limb.
You can mark this little EP as the point where Husker Du, as I know them and love them at least (and for many others as well) really start to arrive. As deceptive as the album title Metal Circus might be (there's really nothing very 'metal' about the music on here other than maybe some slightly thrash-style riffs here and there, and it sure ain't a crazy album of 'circus' music a la Mr. Bungle or anything), it's here where Mould and Hart truly start bringing out their emotional side more effectively in the lyrics, while also making their melodies and arrangements generally better written and more fleshed out, yet not letting up on their 'hardcore' roots. Sure, the sound is still a bit weak in a lot of spots, and not all the hooks/riffs on here make all that much impact, but overall this is a good transition effort which shows the band's still ass-kicking and furious, but not in a way they have to limit themselves musically. Progression ahead!
First off, Mould invites you into his pessmistic, disgusted "Real World" where he throws insights on how people who think they're cool by celebrating anarchy and 'breaking rules and laws' (hey, many of us have felt this way as teenagers!) are rather lame and unrealistic, and the lyrics and vocals are done with such angry, screaming conviction over a captivating melody (and excellent riff in the intro!) that it becomes enthralling. As does the high-speed nuclear war anthem "Deadly Skies" (which is similar in concise style to a lot of the stuff on Everything Falls Apart only it has more provocative lyrics and a stronger hook than most anything on there, and the second verse about how protest is ultimately pointless gets to me in particular) and the 'battle against drinking' song "First Of The Last Calls" with another good-quality haaadcore refrain and face-ripping vocals that compensate for slight unmemorability.
Hart is also starting to emerge as a really good songwriter in his own right as well with the lyrically trite yet still really catchy "It's Not Funny Anymore" (with a fine, fine stick-in-your-head chorus, the kind of which would become commonplace later) and the album's best song in "Diane", based on the real abduction of Diane Edwards. Not only is it somewhat dark and disturbing lyrically (of course), but the tense atmosphere created by the slow, thumping rhythm, the warbly tone of the bassline (which pretty much is the main 'riff' here), and of course that distinctive harsh guitar sound provides the perfect backdrop, and the way it builds up expertly while being a fairly simple three chord song is a great example of pop smarts. There's also other subtleties like how it sounds like he's yelling 'DYIN!!! DYIN!!! DYYYYIN!!!' instead of 'Diane!' at times, and that rather, err, specific first verse ('We could cruise down Robert Street all night long / But I think I'll just rape you, and kill you instead', a bluntness which took me by surprise when I first heard it). In any case, it definitely ranks as a Husker Du classic.
The only two songs that don't do very much for me are "Lifeline" (which has excellent lyrics about desperation and insecurity but not really much else noteworthy) and the somewhat pointless, vocally inaudible closer "Out On A Limb", which kickstarts a trend where the band throws all their edgy 'experimental' stuff at album's end. The slightly metallic riff here is actually memorable, but the song never builds on it at all, except if throwing in an irritating 'chorus' where the guitars are playing all this atonal crap and making what sound like smoke alarm-imitating noises counts. Those two tracks, the sometimes distracting production flaws, and the very brief length prevent me from possibly giving this EP a higher rating, but it's definitely very worthwhile regardless, and I'm also really glad it exists, because without the experience gained from it, the next monster of an album just wouldn't be possible.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Something I Learned Today, Pink Turns To Blue, Standing By The Sea, Whatever, Turn On The News, What's Going On, Newest Industry, Indecision Time. LOW POINTS: Hare Krsna, Dreams Reoccuring.
Hardcore punk as a style, as we all know, is a pretty limited and often redundant one, and even Husker Du themselves had fallen victim to some of the weaknesses of it at times (i.e. a lot of Land Speed Record). But yet this is something else entirely - apparently the band had meant Metal Circus to be a full-length album but decided to cut it down to an EP instead, therefore making this their first LP, one that breaks down a hell of a lot of barriers for their supposed style. A 70 minute concept album? Acoustic guitars, pianos, and assorted psychedelic (sometimes backwards) studio effects? A 14 minute 'live in the studio' jam? At times almost poppy and accessible melodies? Lyrics with a whole lot of personal depth to them conveyed by mammoth screaming vocal emotion? Two distinctive songwriting personalities? Yeah, it's all that and more, an album I easily consider to be the Husker's peak, one of the brightest moments of 1984 that perfectly captures a time when a lot of smart, creative music in the metal, college rock and punk underground was contrasted with a lot of often overly dated, synthetic and in the case of a lot of older classic rock veterans clueless, music.
Of course, for all the album's acclaim and considerable strength, for whatever reason it does have its' major detractors. There are always the common complaints of the production being much too raw with tinny guitar noise and hard-to-decipher vocals, there's too much distracting screaming in place of actual singing at too many moments, and there's too much underwritten filler within its' overlong length. Now I can definitely understand these complaints to a point - I'll probably never fully be able to get into songs like "Pride" and "Beyond The Threshold" since they're the most marred by all these problems (the latter especially), while "Hare Krsna" might be a decent song were it not for the very upfront and irritating ringing percussion noises, and "Dreams Reoccuring" is just a pointless backwards snippet of the aforementioned "Reoccuring Dreams" ending jam that's clearly there to take up space. But they also end up adding to the framework of the whole experience as well, and combined, they take up less than 10 minutes of the album anyway, never really being that offensive or anything.
Really, though, what drives that framework of Zen Arcade is the way everything combines - the 'epic' feeling it gains as it goes on, the outpouring of raw emotion, the often catchy melodies, and the spontaneity of it all (it was, amazingly enough, recorded in a mere 85 hours, and all but a couple songs are first take!) in such a way that there's no other album like it in history. And it gets off to a great start - the opening contemplative rage of "Something I Learned Today" seems to embody all these qualities perfectly, and almost instantly became my favorite Husker Du song when I first heard it. It's not even so much what Bob Mould's singing here (though the personal lyrics themselves hit home anyway with lines like 'Something I learned today / Never look straight in the sun's rays') but how he uses his pained vocal intonations combined with truly epic-sounding, energetic interplay between the guitar noise and main bassline and the high-speed pouding drum fills is just gutwrenching on my end. Plus that guitar jangling near the end sounds so glorious! And it's all done in a just over 2 minute length!
While that may be my favorite song on the album, there are loads of glorious moments just like that one elsewhere. The unrestrained screams of 'I'LL.... NEVER.... FORGIVE.... YOU.... I'LL.... NEVER.... FORGET.... YOU....' in "I'll Never Forget You" makes me understand even more why so many people call these guys the most intense band on the planet, as it's downright painful to listen to (in a good, cathartic way, if that makes sense). The frenzied, disturbing chaos of "Masochism World" ('does it hurt you.... when I dooooo this'). The gripping, epic atmospheres that feel like they're building into something bigger and special by the minute ("Chartered Trips" with its' appropriate 'nothing's ever solved' hook, and especially the great guitar tone and piano notes coloring "Newest Industry" which creates an atmosphere helping the emotion of the lyrics to come through all that much more). The uneasily pissed yet simultaneously catchy "Broken Home, Broken Heart", "The Biggest Lie" and especially "Indecision Time" (with its' great back and forth speaker-shifting 'go to the left / go to the right' chorus) that mostly refine their earlier sound to an even better, powerful effect than before, even if sometimes I have to really be in the mood to get the most of them, due to the album's sound. And these are just Mould's songs!
And yes, I did say Mould's vocals were more suited for angrier stuff in the intro, but that doesn't mean Grant Hart's contributions are at all cheerful either (he does throw in an incredibly fun-to-listen-to 'arena rock' style singalong "Turn On The News", but even that has heavily pessimistic political lyrics as well). Like his classic "Diane" from the last album, the acoustic "Never Talking To You Again" is built on a very simple chord progression than any beginning guitarist could master, yet it would be hard to convey the bitterness of the lyrics and melody quite as well as this song without sounding much more emotionally honest than cliched or banal. Additionally, "Pink Turns To Blue" is a hopeless account of a girl who dies of a heroin overdose with an equally bleak chord progression and desperate 'don't know what to do... when pink has turned to blue' chorus that just gives me chills (those lines of course refer to her skin color), "What's Going On" has a very uneasy mood achieved by playing an intentionally 'wrong-sounding' chord progression and later explodes into an absolute fury of 'WHAT'S GOING ON... WHAT'S GOING ON... INSIDE MY HEAD' screaming, guitar noise and piano banging that's incredibly effective.
Other really smart and effective examples of songwriting? How about "Standing By The Sea" which rides on a wobbly 'seasick' bassline and 'crashing waves' of guitar noise that definitely convey that mood of being stuck in a proverbial emotional sea that you're just about to drown in, a perfect start to the second half of the album. Or "The Tooth Fairy And The Princess", a slightly overlong but still really creepy psychedelic collage of backwards guitars and spoken voices repeating 'don't give up... don't let go... don't give up...' that works perfectly coming after the gutwrenching emotional outcast tale "Whatever" (a perfect merging of ominous melody, especially during the defeated 'whatever you want, whatever you say...' chorus portion, and pained emotion - lines like 'Mom and Dad, I'm sorry / Mom and Dad, don't worry / I'm not the son you wanted, but what could you expect? / I've made my world of happiness to combat your neglect' are some of the most lasting on the album).
And of course, I've already twice mentioned how it all ends, with the really controversial 14 minute jam "Reoccuring Dreams", an instrumental I've heard nicknamed 'reoccuring riff' and 'one of the worst things ever put to tape'. To be honest, I probably should hate it in theory, and that riff (or to be more precise two riffs) is heavily repetitive and the rhythm section doesn't really progress into anything much, but my lord, that guitar tone. It sounds like it's about to rip your head off the entire time, those Easterny solos Mould throws in there from time to time are twisted as hell, and that sort of fast chaotic 'breakdown chorus' of sorts is pretty apocalyptic. This thing has such a huge sound I find it hard to believe it was all live-in-the-studio. I don't disagree it is overlong by 3 or 4 minutes (I could particularly do without the feedback ending), but for most of the time, it works really well as a great explosion to close things out.
Wow - it's kind of hard to really do an excellent, unique album like this justice. Zen Arcade definitely is not a 100% flawless album (I mentioned all the problems and filler-like moments within before), but it's so easy for me to be drawn in by the whole power and intensity of the sound and clear ambition throughout that I don't really mind the sometimes obvious weaknesses much while listening - a 'greater than the sum of its' parts' listening experience, if you will. Maybe it isn't an experience for everybody, as I'd imagine it would be really hard to argue with those who can't tolerate it, but if you end up digging it (especially if you're a big alternative underground fan), you'll most likely really dig it.
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COMMENTS
Excellent review! As you point out, there's some stuff that's not exactly good, but I'm sure they knew that as well and didn't add that as 'songs', but complimentary sound pieces or whatever you wanna call it. It must've been incredible album at the time and even today (I've owned this album since 1990 when this band, Pixies and the Ramones triggered my interest in alternative/punk) it sounds incredible. I'd even go as far as saying it's still one of the most intense and emotional albums I've ever heard. From Mould's full-on rage (the hardcore songs) and Hart's bitterness ("Never Talking to You Again," "Turn on the News"), from the disorienting noise (the instrumentals, etc) and punishing brutality of the guitar, it's a non-stop trip through adrenalin-land. I've never been as baffled by an album again since the day I first heard this album, and when an album makes an impact like that on you, you know it's one you'll cherish for a lifetime. It's probably not the best album ever - not by my standards, certainly not by objective standards - but the sheer rawness and impact of the album force me to admit it's probably my favorite album ever, the one I'd risk my life for. It even makes me write nonsense, see.
I agree with your review here Nick. I do think "dreams reoccuring" is at least good, while yes it's opposite "reocurring dreams" it way too long, and "pride" does suck but "beyond the threshold" is actually pretty good if you give it a chance. But yes, a completely original album, and a good mix of pop and experimentation by the ones who do it best. 10/10 - Trevor e.y.
Wow. Wow. Wow. There IS classic stuff in the '80's underground. Fancy that.
I give it a 9.5--this is an imperfect album, but it all fits together so well. Like you, I'm amazed they managed to throw this all together in four days--I don't think they'd have recorded a better double LP given four MONTHS. Mixing? Cursory, but sure-as-fuck better than the Velvet Underground. Song order? Logical and cohesive. Songwriting? Catchy and emotional. Guitar tone? GODLIKE. If all guitarists were as innovative, multi-talented, and posessed as many kickass pedals as Mr. Mould, we wouldn't have the need for overdubs. Sure, it can't hold a candle to Mellon Collie or Quadrophenia, but beats the dickens out of probably every other double album from the '80's. London Calling is not an '80's album.
Highlights? All of side three, "Something I Learned Today", "Turn on the News", most of the hardcore explosions on side 2, and one of the best psycho avant-garde jam sessions ever, "Reoccuring Dreams." My favorite song on the album, that. And I'm a Def Leppard fan. Am I insane?? We'll never know.
Still, there is one thing I must disagree with. This is NOT the most emotionally intense band on the planet, as some might say. Black Flag is. If you dig this, pick up Damaged, Black Flag's 1981 debut. THAT is probably the most frightening punk rock album ever. As well as the foundation for the entire alt-metal scene of the '90's. Shiver
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Celebrated Summer, New Day Rising, Books About UFOs, I Apologize, Terms Of Psychic Warfare, Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill. LOW POINTS: Plans I Make, Whatcha Drinkin'.
As the Zen Arcade liner notes detailing the album's information attest, the SST label already wanted another new album from the band after its' completion, and as a result, the followup effort was recorded in the same month as Arcade's release and was officially released just six months later. Now that's productivity! This time, though, we're back to a single album, 40 minute format, and as such New Day Rising inevitably lacks the big epic, emotional vibe that overwhelmed the listener before, but it makes up for that in a few other areas - in my opinion at least, this is pretty much the most realized fusion of hardcore and pop ever to come from Husker Du, as a lot of the songs here are just as fierily energetic and white-hot intense as that 'rock opera' about the arcade, but yet combine that intensity with really great, well-written pop melodies that just about any modern band would murder for - the last album, awesome as it was, didn't have an overall quality of vocal melodies and songwriting smarts this high. Yup, never before or after would those two elements be so balanced, as previous works were pushed more toward 'hardcore', and later work much more toward 'pop'.
Once again, however, I'll have to defend this album against its' critics (some of which include those who love Zen Arcade but aren't big fans of this one) without even really going into the usual 'bad production' complaints, which is a given for this band's discography anyway. Some say it sounds 'half-assed' and 'unfinished', but other than maybe the last 8 or 9 minute chunk which does clearly sound tossed off (I'll get to this in a minute though), I just don't hear it at all. How are these songs generally any more 'half-assed' musically and melodically than, say, any random hardcore track on the first half of Arcade (not that I'm putting those down)? The sound and melodies still sound just as and in some cases more powerful and well-defined to me, and while I'll concede there perhaps is less emotional venom and more 'optimism' in the lyrics, the excellent usage of vocal phrasing particularly on Mould's songs and the actual guitar sound both still roar at the listener with great conviction (supposedly the guitar tone isn't very convincing on here, but I just can't figure that out either). Plus, there's still a share of good angry, compact stuff like "Powerline", the typically pessimistic "Folklore" and the searing, therapeutic chorus of "59 Times The Pain".
Two examples of songs I really, really love despite their deceptive glaring weaknesses are the opening title track and "I Apologize". The former is pretty much just the song's title screamed over and over again with a repeating riff and incoherent backing vocal yells, but amazingly enough, it works - the chord progression is adrenalizing in how uplifting and anthemic it is, and like "Something I Learned Today", this is ultimate proof that it's not what Bob Mould sings but how he sings/screams it that does the trick for me, while I just love the way Hart's uncontained fast display of fills around the drum kit (not to mention his own backing vocal yelling) work with the sound. One of, if not the, best songs that contains only its' title in the lyrics ever written for sure. And the latter is exactly like its' title - lyrics of apology! From hardcore gods Husker Du, who are always supposed to be pissed off! But thanks to the pure power of the music, raging vocals (the lines 'Is it something I said when I lost my mind? / Temper too quick, makes me blind' are yelled with just as much passion as anything else) and awesome, again anthemic, melody (Hart chimes in wonderfully with his 'said I'm sorry...' backing vocals as well), it still becomes a hell of a great pop song anyway.
Those two are, of course, hardly the only great songs here. Although Hart is unfortunately limited to only three solo contributions (plus one co-write with Mould in the pretty effective miscommunication anthem "If I Told You"), they're all very much first-rate. The driving "Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" is slightly marred by almost unintelligible buried vocals in the verses, but more than redeems itself with a chorus that really defines... umm, I hate to use the word 'anthemic' again, but how can I not? The best songs on here are just that! Total ear candy! Also, the way the vocals in the last verse transform into uncontrolled screaming is an unbelievably great moment, and Norton's bass work on here propels the groove forward tremendously. The unexpected but welcome departure of "Books About UFOs" is a joyful, unbelievably catchy 60's pop-influenced song that sounds unlike anything they ever recorded (with very nice lyrics about a girl obsessed with UFOs and an upbeat saloon piano-style base), and "Terms Of Psychic Warfare" has a great bouncy, bass-driven march-style rhythm to go along with tremendously moving vocal melodies and guitar rock power.
My personal favorite, though, would be "Celebrated Summer", which hits upon a perfect combination of gorgeousness and depression in its' personal lyrics about lost youth and how those supposed 'celebrated' memories weren't really all that great. Plus, the song's melodic construction from moving, uplifting chords to sudden hopelessness in the last lines, as well as the contrast between the typical harder rocking moments and the softer acoustic section that occurs before the rest of the band goes back into heavier mode is near genius. The lyrics are of great quality (the lines 'Then the sun disintegrates between a wall of clouds/I summer where I winter at/And no one is allowed there.' pretty much say it all), Mould controls his vocal emotions to appropriate effect for the mood, and... man, I can't say enough about this one. It's awesome. I might also add the side closing "Perfect Example" does a great job in following that song and easing the listener of the first side with its' contemplative, jangly guitar pattern and intentionally calm and quiet, repetitive vocals - it's a song that may not be great on its' own but really works in context.
Had the album consisted of just these songs, I'd probably consider it a 9 despite a very short length as a result, but sadly, things stumble within the last four tracks (the 'half-assed songs' suite). Well, "I Don't Know What You're Talking About" is actually very catchy (the verse especially), but it's also awkwardly structured, with the verse and chorus melodies not really flowing together at all, while the avant garde "How To Skin A Cat" with its' loads of guitar noise, tempo changes, and spoken word lyrics about 'feeding cats to the rats' or some shit is slightly grating despite its' entertaining novelty value. Also, "Whatcha Drinkin'" does indeed sound like the kind of generic underwritten punk that sounds like it took no effort to write at all, and "Plans I Make" is an incredibly crappy, ear-hurtingly disappointing end to the album that's much worse than "Reoccuring Dreams" in my opinion - all tuneless 'feedback' noises, next to no discernable hooks or lyrics at all, apart from the almost amusing 'PLANS.... MAKE... PLANS...' bellowing near the end. Ugh. Ah, who cares about that iffy ending dip, though? Get this album to hear what hardcore pop can sound like when at its' best (as on several of the other tracks)!
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COMMENTS
Agree with the rating again, but I think this is the bands most overrated album. A lot of their best songs are on here, "powerline", "perfect example", and "terms of psychic warfare", but "59 times the pain" and "plans i make" suckkkk. And yeah, "what cha drinkin" is pretty sloppy, but no worse than the opener "new day rising" is when ya look at it. I don't know, this album just sounds kind of lazy at times to me, but that's only a third of it; 2/3 of greatness! 8.5/10 - Trevor e.y.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Divide And Conquer, Flip Your Wig, Makes No Sense At All, Find Me, Green Eyes. LOW POINTS: The Wit And The Wisdom, Every Everything, The Baby Song.
Continuing on their road of productivity by following the release of New Day Rising by just months (and Zen Arcade by just over a year!!), Husker Du decided to become pathetic asshole sellouts here. Nah, just kidding on that one, but Flip Your Wig definitely does have a somewhat more accessible air and somewhat more 'clean' production to it than their previous work, especially in the guitar sound (the band produced it themselves this time out, instead of using their old producer Spot). In some places, it doesn't sound all that far removed from your typical pop/punk (a genre which has stagnated pretty badly in recent years), though the melodies and energy level are still of pretty high caliber, and there's definitely a noticeable injection of personality, still often raging emotion and some songwriting experimentation throughout that distinguishes it from, say, New Found Glory or Yellowcard or whomever.
Whatever be, though, aside from a couple shorter tunes under two minutes (Hart's underwritten and generic 'cock-rock' anthem "Every Everything" only slightly redeemed by great screams at the end, and the not bad but quite middle-of-the-road sounding singalong "Hate Paper Doll"), the first half of this album is pretty much all awesome. The brilliant opening title track has one of my absolute favoritest subtleties in all of music - two vocalists (Mould and Hart) trading off verses together, which is the only occurence of that in the Husker's catalog, I believe. Add in a couple great melodies in the uplifting vein of "I Apologize" and some awesome soloing in the middle, and you've got yourself a compact classic! The single "Makes No Sense At All" (its' accompanying video I saw on either MTV2 or VH1 Classic was actually my first real exposure to the band) is also a difficult one to get out of my head, and it should have made a way bigger splash than it actually did commercially. It's just about a perfect direct and melodic 80's power pop song, one that really benefits from the cleaner, poppier guitar sound. Maybe a few years later it would have done so....
The other three songs on side one are up to the standards of those two as well, including Hart's top highlight on here "Green Eyes", which hits upon a nice dreamy atmosphere with its' overtly romantic lyrics and gorgeously harmonized chorus, perhaps better illustrating that he was the poppier, more 'laid back' and immediately appealing one of the group than any other song. The anthem of borders and communication "Divide And Conquer", meanwhile, is probably the peak of the album in terms of energetic fury, with a triumphantly powerful (especially when played loud) distinctly Mould-style riff over awesome raging screams that are certainly some adrenaline rush, while "Games" closes the first half in style, with yet another very good quality, shifting power pop melody particularly come chorus time (they were just pulling them out of their ass during this period, weren't they?), and especially melancholic, disappointed lyrics.
Unfortunately, just like New Day Rising the album slips rather badly in the second half. There is one more great song in the soul-searching, personal and slowly building "Find Me", whose atmosphere (wall of guitars, I guess, maybe a keyboard in there as well?) really vividly brings to my mind some sort of neverending emotional tunnel, but the rest just doesn't knock me off my feet anywhere near as much as the highs. The fact that Hart's "The Baby Song" is one of the most baffling, out-of-place things to be found on any album ever (yes, it's only 46 seconds long, but it disrupts the flow with its' extremely annoying and ugly 'baby toy' sounding melody) and they throw not one, but two pointless instrumentals at the end this time (well, the closing "Don't Know Yet" is admittedly kind of a neat psychedelic swirl of backwards guitar and piano, but the noise racket "The Wit And The Wisdom" is only marginally more listenable than "Plans I Make" from the last album) doesn't help matters.
The other three songs on the second half do keep Flip Your Wig from falling too far from really great heights, though - "Private Plane" is more energetic pop/punk style, while "Flexible Flyer" and "Keep Hanging On" are two more good if not exactly great Hartsongs, the former being an engaging uptempo pop groove with strong lyrics, and the latter another one of his passionately sung love songs (dig the way he yells his lungs out at the chorus). I probably should only give this album a strong 7.5 on account of its' inconsistency, but the unbelievably good highs on here allow me to raise the rating a bit. Consider it a lower 8 as opposed to the near 9 of New Day Rising (not that it makes a difference anyway).
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COMMENTS
Ohhh, come on man! Flip Your Wig is the most atmospheric Husker album, and one of the most often underrated. You don't like "the baby song"? Well, it is stupid as hell, but it comes after 8 pretty serious songs, and i think it adds a sense of humor that is much needed. And the last two instrumentals? Avant-garde songs after an album full of mostly pure pop? Showing diversity man, and they aren't bad songs at all, anyway I find them relaxing. And you prefer "keep hanging on" to "every everything"? Hmmmm, which one of those songs is more grating now, come on?!? Well, I am glad you like the album, cause I do too, and "green eyes", "find me" and "flexable flyer" are among the finest songs in the Husker Du cannon. 9/10 - Trevor e.y.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely, Hardly Getting Over It. LOW POINTS: Too Far Down.
Husker Du finally move toward the big time, as this album marks their major-label debut (with Warner Bros.), but as far as the overall quality here goes, I'm not a real big fan of this one. Not because it's a 'sellout' or anything like that (it isn't, really), but, and maybe this is subjective, the melodic and emotional quality of these songs just isn't up to par with the last few albums. Sure, most of the songs are still good, but they're just that - good, rarely great. I dunno - maybe the fact that this is a full-length Husker Du album with only 10 songs on it has something to do with it, and their songs tend to have more impact at a 2-1/2 to 3 minute average than at 3-1/2 to 4 minutes? Or the guitar sound is a bit too mushy and bright? I will say, though, it's probably a good thing that this time there aren't any 'experimental' instrumentals like the endings of the last few albums (I guess the label didn't care for stuff like that), making things more consistent.
However, at least Hart does better in songwriting on here than his overall slightly disappointing contributions to Flip Your Wig (and Mould on this album, for that matter). He writes the easy top highlight "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely", a surging dark power pop number with both a captivating chord progression / vocal melody and failed relationship lyrics, as well as another passionate anthemic track "Sorry Somehow" (which really makes great use of organ in the background on the chorus). As for his other two songs, "Dead Set On Destruction" is a pretty good grinding riff rocker lyrically dealing with the frustration of not being able to get back home on a flight, and the piano ballad "No Promise Have I Made" has at least a good bit of emotional impact and sorrowful beauty for awhile before getting a bit dull (despite the song later adding some neat violin-sounding keyboards to the fold).
Speaking of ballads, Mould actually has two lengthy ones right in the middle, both of them considered to be among the best things on here. I gotta confess, though - while I'm not questioning the emotional sincerity and totally depressing subject matter of loss on "Too Far Down", something about it just really rubs me the wrong way. It's probably partly due to the monotonous and generic-sounding acoustic arrangement, maybe also due to the way he delivers his vocals that sounds more like self-pitying whining than something that gets under your skin, including a couple points where he sings offkey. I dunno, I just find it very hard to take. His other ballad of loss, the 6 minute "Hardly Getting Over It", is much better and actually a highlight to me, though - this time the arrangement includes the whole band and actually builds somewhere, the vocals are more subtle, the melody and guitar/piano patterns are much more captivating and beautifully sorrowful, plus there's a nice synth solo near the end (it's worth noting both Mould and Hart are credited with keyboards on this album) and almost anyone can relate to lyrics like 'my parents, they just wonder when they are both going to die / and what do I do when they die?'
Mould's other four songs on here, though, are exactly what I'm talking about when I say the album's just 'good' and nothing more, nothing less. The opening "Crystal" has more sheer vocal rage than anything else on the album, and is quite effective, though something to me seems slightly 'off' about the melody and guitar sound. "Eiffel Tower High" might be another really good power pop anthem if that fun harmonized chorus wasn't overly repetitive, while "I Don't Know For Sure" and "All This I've Done For You" are certainly good and enjoyable, but a little tired-sounding and not as melodically riveting as similar stuff they've already done. Don't get me wrong, though, this first shot at a major-label album is quite good by a normal band's standards (I'd even consider it a 7.5 if a couple songs, particularly "Too Far Down", were more striking), though a bit of a letdown by the standard set by the three previous SST albums.
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COMMENTS
this is often looked at as the worst HD album, but I don't think it is any 'worse' than New Day Rising. "Crystal" is great after about the 10 listens it takes to absorb it, and "dont wanna know if you are lonely" and "sorry somehow" would be popular hits in a perfect world. And talk about structure, was there really a song structured like "eiffel tower high" or "all this i've done for you" before 1986? I have never heard one. With songs as diverse as "crystal", "hardly getting over it", and "eiffel tower high" (and that is just Mould), I think this album is under appriciated. But ah, "don't know for sure" does suck. 8.5/10 - Trevor e.y.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Turn It Around, Up In The Air, She Floated Away, Ice Cold Ice, These Important Years, Bed Of Nails, Actual Condition. LOW POINTS: None, really.
So it turns out Husker Du fell into the 'bands with so much inner tension, they couldn't hold together too long' category, as is so often the case with bands that have two conflicting songwriters. But still, with that going on among other things (like Hart's serious drug addiction), it's amazing they were able to churn out another double-length album for release in early 1987 - and it turned out to be their most consistently very good effort of their career. Yup, 20 songs here, and not a single weak link in sight. By now, their musical direction had shifted even more toward the pop/punk school of songwriting than the hardcore one, and Mould and Hart's melodic strength was getting even stronger, so it would make sense they'd keep building on the Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey formula to its' natural conclusion through these 68 minutes. Indeed, Warehouse: Songs And Stories is just about their zenith in hook-writing, with addictive and well-written melodies throughout.and an often great drive in the playing. So it should be their all-time peak, right?
Well, not exactly. While all of Warehouse is quite good on an individual song scale, these individual songs are also very similar to each other, following basic pop/punk structures with big anthemic choruses, direct and simple chord sequences, all the traits of particularly accessible Husker Du (which is still more distinctive in personality, especially in Mould's inimitable playing style, than other bands in the same vein) on almost every one, so that makes listening to the whole thing in one sitting quite hard, and doing a song-by-song discussion almost as such. Hardly the epic scope of Zen Arcade, is it? Mould and Hart for most of the album alternate songs with each other (with it being an 11 to 9 split in favor of Mould), and I've heard some say that they don't even sound like they're writing for the same band, or that each track is meant to have nothing in common with the previous one, but if you ask me, that's pretty much blown way out of proportion. Again in accordance with the general 'stereotypical' approach towards both, maybe Mould's songs are more emotionally 'intense' and downbeat and Hart's are more immediately accessible, but that's about the only noticeable difference between them.
I won't really go through all 20 of these 'stories' in huge detail, but really, all of them deserve mention. As far as a few of Mould's highs go, the opening "These Important Years" may seem kinda disconcertingly 'sugary' and 'happy' to early listeners so used to, say, the complete insanity of "Punch Drunk" or "Masochism World", and maybe it is, but regardless, it's a wonderfully written and addictive song with an optimistic lyrical message that anyone can take hold of (taking advantage of the 'important years' of your life, of course). "It's Not Peculiar" has a similarly affecting poppiness (with a potentially grating yet to me charming 'ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-alright' singalong chorus), while "Ice Cold Ice" and "Bed Of Nails" do retain some of the old anger and bitterness that in the former is complemented very well by chorus harmonies and unforgettable vocal hooks (don't forget that false fade-out and sudden fade-in at the end that always scares the crap out of me), and the latter with a tense darkness to it - there's something Ian Curtis-like about the way Mould yells 'drive these nails into this.... heart of mine' that's tremendously moving.
While Hart's songs aren't quite as impressive overall, they're still up to the 'consistently very good' standard set here, and it's also important to note that he contributes the two songs that most resemble welcome depatures in the sea shanty-style ballad "She Floated Away" (one of the most terrifically captivating vocal melodies he ever wrote, and the tinkling percussion that sounds like he's drumming on glasses is a subtle but excellent addition to the song) and probably the closest the band ever got to pure rock n' roll in "Actual Condition" (the melodic pace and swing of this one is total 50's all the way, and it's a way entertaining gas to listen to, in contrast to the decidedly personal 'actual condition' of Hart's mind/soul/heart lyrics). The really creepy minor melody of "Tell You Why Tomorrow" (achieved by neat backwards effects and a sequence of sharp chords in there) also stands out, as does "She's A Woman (And Now He Is A Man)" about the troubled times a man and a woman go through in relationships, hitting upon a great bass-driven chorus groove in the process.
Actually, I don't know if it's the advance knowledge that I know they're breaking up here that takes hold, but the final side of this album is one of my favorite stretches of Husker Du music, as all these songs seem to ride on these life-affirming chord sequences where it just seems for one final time, the band comes together as a unit to make some tightly-played great pop music. This feeling really gets captured on the singalong to end all singalongs "Turn It Around", my favorite on here. It has such a classic, effortless melodic flow not captured quite as effectively anywhere else in their catalog, while Hart always chimes in wonderfully on backing vocals especially in answering with the title and during the 'now is the only time...' part, the chiming guitar lines (and synth embellishments) are just gorgeous, and the shifting swing of the 'simple times... simple ways' chorus is just icing on the cake of a jaw-droppingly good tune.
"No Reservations" and "Up In The Air" also milk this style really really well (the latter with awesome 60's pop styled quiet-to-loud dynamics and a pure majesty to the 'up in the aiiiiiiiiir..' backing vocals), and with "You Can Live At Home", Hart adds the big 'career-ending coda' to the Husker Du catalog, a coda which might be overlong, but still highly effective especially in context, with that 'walking' bassline that drives most of the song being near priceless and the tight jam over it. Hey, I just realized how much I like the second half of the album, as I've mentioned everything there! Not that the first half is bad by any stretch, though that's where the slightly less recommendable songs like the catchy if overly repetitive "You're A Soldier" and "Visionary" lie, and maybe where the formula isn't as strong, but trust me, just because I didn't namecheck "Could You Be The One?" and "Charity, Chastity, Prudence, And Hope" doesn't mean they're not good. They are, very much so, even if when taking all these songs together, this Warehouse full of melodies is a bit worse than the sum of its' parts. Only slightly, though, as it's a simply excellent way to bow out, and a really underrated one by some people, I might add.
P.S. After their breakup, Mould and Hart would go on to solo careers (both of them also formed short-lived bands, Sugar and Nova Mob, respectively), and Norton and his cool moustache would pursue a career as a chef, but none of them individually would capture the magic of Husker Du's best work ever again, even if some of Sugar's stuff comes kinda close. I recommend burning a really really good career spanning compilation CD-r, which I'm almost done with myself. Oh, and one last thing - what were they thinking playing the entirety of this album in order on some shows during their final tour?
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"really underrated by a lot of people" you say. Yeah......like you?!? This is the best Husker album by far, not a single weak song. WHAT MORE DO PEOPLE WANT? Sorry, but this is one of my favorite albums EVER, and I don't see why 20 great songs in a row is such a hard thing to absorb, what do people want? Hard to absorb songs? Oh yes. What a concept!!! Forgive the Huskers for making excellent accessable music, I mean come on. Recomended to anyone who enjoys rock and roll, and I am not kidding. Pointless to list favorites, cause they really are all great. ALLGREATALLLGREATALLGREATALLLGREATALLGREATALLLGREAT! Husker Du really are one the greatest bands ever, and sadly, it sometimes seems they will never be honored of this title by 'music lovers'. Sit down people, if you get the chance, and take Nicks and my advice and get these albums and enrich your life. 10/10 +++ - Trevor e.y.
[added on a few minutes later:]
Also, if you know of someone who has recorded a tape or anything of HD playing Warehouse in its entirty live, I would love to know. It is one of my top 5 favorite albums, so I would love it! Also, on this album, Mould wrote 12 songs and Grant wrote 8. Love your reviews though, keep up the good work! It brings the joy to the little girls. - Trevor e.y.
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