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Hüsker DüAlbums ReviewedZen Arcade (1984)New Day Rising (1985) Flip Your Wig (1985) Candy Apple Gray (1986) Warehouse: Songs And Stories (1987) Land Speed Record(1981)Everything Falls Apart And More(1982)Metal Circus(1983)I have all of these and I'll get to them sometime, but I'm not enough of a hardcore punk fan to really feel like tackling the first two in the near future. Zen Arcade(1984)Sometime in 1983, Hüsker Dü underwent one of the most staggering transformations in the history of popular music. Previously merely a decent hardcore speed punk band, they suddenly grew into a surprisingly eclectic trio, willing to attempt anything from psychedelic freakouts and gentle piano instrumentals to acoustic ballads and anthemic power pop without sacrificing any of their intensity. All three members, guitarist Bob Mould, drummer Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton, are excellent musicians, while Hart and Mould shared lead vocal and songwriting duties. Armed with two endearing songwriters and projecting an arresting emotional charge which gave almost all of their material added power, Hüsker Dü were arguably the most vital band of their era, particularly between 1984 and 1987 when they released an astounding fourteen LP sides of material. 1984's double album Zen Arcade, their artistic breakthrough and their most challenging and significant album, was recorded and mixed in an astounding 85 hours straight. Giving an even greater sense of the intensity and focus of the Zen Arcade recording session, all but two of the songs were recorded first-take. Even though some of the instrumentals drag on for longer than necessary and some of the hardcore punk material on the second side is initially inaccessible, Zen Arcade carries through on intensity and emotional impact. Unlike the somewhat romanticised version of adolescence on Quadrophenia or Born To Run, the world of Zen Arcade is gritty and realistic. The romantic breakup of 'Never Talking To You Again', the family disintegration of 'Broken Home, Broken Heart', the sense of political impotence of 'Turn on the News' and 'Newest Industry', the drug tragedy of 'Pink Turns To Blue'; the album portrays a disillusionment at events beyond the control of the young narrators. Despite this, Zen Arcade is far too spontaneous and convincing to be labelled as a concept album; you could count on one hand the number of recordings which are more emotionally charged than this statement of urban alienation. The album's opening line, "Something I learned today/Black and white is always grey", is an adequate synopsis of the ensuing confusion. The first and third sides of the album are dedicated to the more conventional material of the set; the second side has the hardcore punk, while the fourth side is dominated by the lengthy instrumental 'Reoccuring Dreams'. The punk material is initially unapproachably abrasive, and even when it's absorbed fully by the listener, it's not as transcendent as the material on the two adjacent sides. It's still super-charged with tension; Mould, who dominates the side, can hardly control his vitriol at times, cursing and screaming himself hoarse. As often happens on Hüsker Dü albums, Hart steals the show with his more direct material; the bitter acoustic ballad 'Never Talking To You Again' is the first indication of the surprising diversity of the album, while 'Pink Turns To Blue' and 'Turn On The News' are two of Zen Arcade's most accessible entry points. Mould turns in the lo-fi delight 'Chartered Trips', with a gorgeous melody that belies the spiky nature of the song, as well as the cartharthic 'Broken Home, Broken Heart'. The creepy semi-instrumentals, the chanted 'Hare Krisna' and 'The Tooth Fairy and the Princess', are engrossing in their own right, while the two short linking piano instrumentals are absolutely gorgeous. There's also a couple of interesting antecedents to 1990s alternative rock on the disc; it's not hard to believe Pearl Jam lifted the riff to 'Indecision Time' for Vitalogy's 'Spin The Black Circle', while 'What's Going On' has more than a passing similarity to The Smashing Pumpkins' '1979'. It's not the most coherent of records, despite the thematic consistency, but the driving emotion and ambition hold Zen Arcade together as one of the best and most significant double albums in the history of rock music. 
New Day Rising(1985)Recorded in July 1984, continuing Hüsker Dü's breakneck schedule by coming only months behind Zen Arcade, New Day Rising takes the style of the most accessible pieces on that album into a cohesive single album statement. Hart continues in the same melodic vein as songs like 'Pink Turns To Blue', except this time they're positive and life-affirming - 'Terms of Psychic Warfare' and 'Books About UFO' are bouncy and quirky, only 'If I Told You' is particularly aggressive. Mould's also inching into more melodic territory with songs like 'Celebrated Summer' and 'I Apologise', although there's still an abrasive edge to much of his writing: '59 Times The Pain' jumps from guttural and cryptic verses to an open and catchy chorus. The production sounds awful, but generally it works in the album's favour; the thin guitar sound cuts through and gives the record an edgy quality. If it wasn't for the relatively weak ending, this would be recommendable as the band's best album; it's more accessible than Zen Arcade, lacking the diversity that characterised that record, and even the noisiest songs of New Day Rising aren't as abrasive as the harrowing second side of its predecessor. New Day Rising is arguably Hart's greatest moment as a songwriter in Hüsker Dü; after his efforts here and on Zen Arcade, he's disappointingly inconsistent on the group's subsequent albums. On 'The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill', he writes what could have been a sweet and innocent sixties pop song, then injects it with venom by playing it at breakneck speed and screaming his head off in the final verse. Norton's bass leads the funky 'Terms of Psychic Warfare', where Hart's mood is positively buoyant in the face of a breakup. 'Books About UFO' is even less punk, featuring a prominent piano part. Mould's more angsty, compared to Hart's easy going charm; even 'Celebrated Summer' is a cynical take on boyhood nostalgia, while '59 Times The Pain' and 'I Don't Know What You're Talking About' positively seethe with aggression. He does have a bit of a tendency on this record to only half realize brilliant ideas; the catchy chorus of '59 Times The Pain' is buried between the less accessible verses, while 'Folk Lore' starts wonderfully before jumping between about six different sections during its minute and a half of running time. The last three songs are the disappointment; while they're played with Hüsker Dü's characteristic intensity, they seem unfinished in comparison to the focused attack of the remainder of the album. Still, it's amazing that any band could make an album this great so soon after an exhaustive double set; it's a highlight even in Hüsker Dü's strong catalogue.
 Flip Your Wig(1985)Another step away from hardcore punk, this record's heading into decidedly pop-like territory, especially as Mould's songwriting becomes more accessible. Like New Day Rising, it's compromised by second rate material; unsurprising when the group were recording material at such a high speed. This time though, the bad material's becoming more irritating; Mould's ugly repetitive 'Hate Paper Doll' and Hart's bizarrely out of context vibraphone instrumental 'The Baby Song', a strong contender for the title of worst Hüsker Dü song ever, both have me divng for the skip button. But when the pop-centric approach works, it's terrific; there are plenty of searing melodic Mould rocker, while Hart's still contributing gems like 'Green Eyes'. The production and mixing is much improved from their earlier work, albeit still not that great, with Hart and Mould taking over from SST resident producer Spot. As enjoyable as most of the record is, it does suffer from the lack of a major song, while like New Day Rising it ends with a whimper with a pair of instrumentals. The opening title track is among the group's most innovative pieces, utilising the interplay between Mould's growling and Hart's boyish voice, a ploy they never explored elsewhere, and withholding the main chorus hook until late in the song. The other standout tracks are the mid-album run of songs from Hart's 'Green Eyes' through Mould's trio of 'Divide and Conquer', 'Games' and 'Find Me', which all maintain a moody and tuneful intensity and the former of which is a rare political song from a group which generally focused on the personal. Hart's other songs 'Every Everything' and 'Keep Hanging On' verge on being guilty pleasures due to their lack of sophistication, but his enthusiastic singing and melodicism make them somewhat enjoyable. In my book it's the worst of the SST trio, but Flip Your Wig is still a really enjoyable record, and just like last time it's amazing that they could make an album of this quality so shortly after its predecessor. By this point the mainstream was beckoning, and Hüsker Dü made history by signing with a major, a rarity for an Indie band at the time, for their next record.
Candy Apple Grey(1986)It's staggering to ruminate upon the quantity of significant music of the 1980s that originated from the two Ms: Manchester and Minneapolis. Manchester produced Joy Division and New Order, The Fall, The Smiths and The Stone Roses, while Minneapolis produced Prince, The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. Minnesota may have some ridiculous state laws (it's illegal to cross the border with a duck on your head), but they sure knew how to pump out alternative rock musicians; former R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry also hails from the state. Why Hüsker Dü never made more of a commercial impact is surprising; by the time of Candy Apple Grey, their major label debut, they had calmed down into an accomplished and accessible rock band. Hüsker Dü's speciality was writing melodic and thoughtful three minute songs, then dressing them in alternative rock arrangements with lashings of distorted guitars and sweet harmonies. Candy Apple Grey is generally acknowledged as the weakest of their major post-1984 albums, and it's an understandable conclusion; there are sparks of brilliance, but generally this album's tangibly unfocused and inconsistent. The best songs are Mould's two acoustic tracks in the centre of the album; 'Too Far Down' sounds uncannily similar to much of Pearl Jam's acoustic material, while 'Hardly Getting Over It' rides a lovely shimmering chord sequence. Both are slightly underpolished; 'Too Far Down' has a bizarrely irrelevant introduction while 'Hardly Getting Over It' could have easily been chopped down by a couple of minutes, but they're both absolutely gorgeous with emotive lyrics. Hart also gets on the acoustic bandwagon with his piano ballad 'No Promise Have I Made'; it's not an unqualified success, but it's one of the more entertaining tracks on the album with Hart's out of control singing. All's well, as it could have come across as an awful hair-metal ballad if Hart's vocals were more professional. The opener 'Crystal' is surprisingly abrasive for Hüsker Dü so late in their career, while Hart's 'Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely' is another convincing rocker. Some of the material is far too banal for Hüsker Dü's high standards, however; 'Dead Set On Destruction' and 'Eiffel Tower High' are two of the worst offenders, but lots of the other tracks are similarly anonymous. Candy Apple Grey isn't exactly a case of a punk band selling out when they reach the mainstream, but it is less inspired and more simplistic than a lot of Hüsker Dü's other material from the era.
Warehouse: Songs And Stories(1987)On this twenty track double LP (which fits onto a single CD), Mould is clearly the dominant songwriter, while Hart's material is a little hit and miss. The twenty tracks are relatively homogenous, but it's a becoming style and there are so many good songs throughout the album that the end result is highly listenable. In fact, it's a pleasure becoming acquainted with the album, and continuously finding great new songs that weren't evident on previous listens. The low points of the album are a handful of inane Hart compositions; 'Charity, Chastity, Prudence And Hope' is lacking in the melodic department, while 'You're A Soldier' suffers from facile lyrics ("Running around like an insane maniac/Anywhere that you please"). Elsewhere, Warehouse: Songs And Stories is virtually continuous listening pleasure. Hart turns in the catchy sea shanty 'She Floated Away', the infectious 'Actual Condition' and the satisfying closer 'You Can Live At Home' (with a funky Norton bass line) while Mould's highlights include the catchy hooks of 'It's Not Peculiar', 'Up In The Air' and 'Visionary'. With its overlength and lack of stylistic variation Warehouse: Songs And Stories is far from perfect, but listeners will get plenty of mileage from it regardless. With its catchy songs, rocking attitude and instrumental prowess, I can't understand how any rock fan could fail to appreciate this record. After making this record Hüsker Dü split up, factors including the suicide of their manager, Hart's drug addiction and tension between rumoured former lovers Mould and Hart; Mould formed Sugar, Hart formed Nova Mob and Norton became a restauranteur.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
