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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Razor-Sharp, 16 April 2000
This was one of the first Husker Du albums I bought. In my opinion, it's the best. It captures the band as they were moving from the hardcore speed of their "early records" (just two years' previous) towards the more melodic "poppier" albums to follow.Opening pretty much as we'd come to expect - loud, fast and shouty - "New Day Rising" is an excellent (and prophetic, in term's of Mould's career) statement of intent. The production is pretty thin, the razor-sharp guitar sound, if anything, adding to the tension. They were re-writing the rules on pop, hardcore and punk in one fell swoop. Songs like "...Heaven Hill", "I Apologise" and "If I Told You" prove that melody and dissonance can live happily ever after and "Folklore" is probably as political as the Huskers got at that point - the band always seemed to write personal songs. "Celebrated Summer" is a case in point and one of the best songs Husker Du recorded. It's brilliantly written and played. You get that sense of being a teenager again... Amazon should get an excerpt on its site - you really have to listen to it. Grant Hart's wicked sense of humour makes appearances on "...Warfare" and "...UFOs" - again, two stand-out songs in an impressive back catalogue. The songs even sit well with Mould's tortured "Perfect Example" and "59 Times The Pain", which show that, for all the loud bravado, they're vulnerable too. "Powerline" is a good track, even though I can't fathom what the song is ABOUT... The last three songs are pretty much Husker Du wig-outs in the style of their previous opus "Zen Arcade" and round off the album in a suitably off-beat manner. Three years and three albums later (the last two on Warners, the final one a double), it was all over for the band, undone by drink, drugs and suicide. Mould came back with solo releases and the moumental band Sugar. Hart formed Nova Mob and quickly became irrelevant. Bassist Greg Norton became a chef. Hmmm... However, the band's legacy will remain in the namechecks of cool alt-rock bands and more importantly, in recordings like this. Everyone with an interest in great songs needs to hear this album.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the best underground rock album of the 1980s, 17 Mar 2003
After the double-album opus that was Zen Arcade, Minneapolis trio Husker Du released 2 entirely seperate albums in 1985. This stands not only as their best, but also the best album of their careers - no wonder famous fan Dave Grohl namechecked the album on Times Like These.The sound is essentially punk, very rough-and-ready in the production style, and with lots of angers and frustrations vented, but, even in their relatively young days, strong melodic pop sensibilities were also visible - the influence on groups from Nirvana to Ash is clear. Celebrated Summer and I Apologise, both penned by Bob Mould, are perhaps the best of all, the latter exerting a great shuffling chorus amidst all the anguish, seemingly talking of a relationship indiscretion, while the former pounds through its verses and chorus before a mellowed bridge - curiously, metallers Anthrax once covered this. Among the other highlights include If I Told You, 59 Times the Pain and Terms Of Pyschic Warface, the latter perhaps their most radio-friendly track up to this point, but there's nary a duff track here, except perhaps the rather throwaway one-line opener. A classic album, then, the influence of which is still being heard today.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Husker Du's Revolver equivalent, 6 Feb 2004
If ever you wanted to pick up an era defining album, then this is it.
It's literally shattering. It took up where Zen Arcade left off and simply soared. The speed of the tracks was slightly slower, but the intensity of the flow never ceases.
Guitars sound like they're made of shattering glass and the singing of Bob Mould and Grant Hart seem so charged with emotion that you suspect that at the end of the brief sessions that created this epic, that they must have needed time in mental rehab.
If there was ever an album that sets pulses racing better than this, then I have yet to hear it.
To me this is as era defining as Nevermind, in fact, I would go as far as to say it's even more important.
They're a band that had few peers during their peak. I would suggest this was their zenith.
Dive in and see for yourself, I guarantee satisfaction.
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