Bob Mould is pissed off. You could feel the anger when he released the first video for the song American Crisis from his new album “Blue Hearts” (Merge Records), released yesterday, September 25th. The video is consistent with the black, white & blue album packaging and modern-day Zoom-like remotely filmed boxes, and the song is RAGING.
I never thought I'd see this bullshit again - To come of age in the '80s was bad enough
We were marginalized and demonized - I watched a lot of my generation die
- American Crisis
This is Bob’s fifth album with his current band featuring Superchunk/Mountain Goats drummer Jon Wurster and Verboten/Split Single/Superchunk (road) bassist Jason Narducy (familiar to Pencil Storm readers from his Quarantine Blues episode!). While fans of Bob’s earlier work with bands like Hüsker Dü and SUGAR are thrilled with the consistently solid, rocking and loud, guitar-based output, it’s been coming so fast and furious that it can get a little tough to keep track of each album and song. That changed with 2019’s “Sunshine Rock” – a refreshingly upbeat and (gasp) largely positive collection from the notoriously brooding songwriter.
Silver Age (2012), Beauty & Ruin (2014), Patch The Sky (2016), Sunshine Rock (2019)
Blue Hearts isn’t that. It’s probably the most overtly political record Bob has made since the earliest days of Hüsker Dü, though he’s often delved into social and political matters to some extent. Out of the gate come the pops of a dirty vinyl record and a dark, clean acoustic guitar with Heart on My Sleeve. Lyrics about the burning west coast, going to war-going to die, the winds of climate change, and the unflinching refusal by the people in charge to acknowledge the legitimacy of any semblance of real science that might inconvenience them in the slightest way, regardless of consequences.
From there it gets back into familiar territory quickly, at least sonically. The band forges forward aggressively and comfortably with fast tempos, driving bass lines, and LOUD guitars. Every few bars you get that nugget of melody that fans of Bob Mould gravitate to. The themes remain consistent – this is a fucked-up time, the people we look to for leadership couldn’t possibly be worse at providing it, and we are simultaneously frustrated, pent-up, motivated, and (again) pissed off.
At times the material on “Blue Hearts” sounds more like Hüsker Dü than anything he’s done since. At other times the chord progressions and melodies recall some of his more recent work. Occasionally, as with my initial and current favorite track – Little Pieces – it sounds oddly close to, and frankly better than some of the SUGAR stuff. That track stands out as one of the [slightly] more positive - lyrically - and the hooks are especially sharp.
If I had my way I’d turn the guitars down just a little to give the rhythm section and vocals a little more breathing room - and my ears a little less abuse. Yeah, Bob is at his best when the guitars are screaming, and it’s hard to find fault with this recent direction, but just a little space would be welcome. Still, it’s a great record – his best in some time, especially as the Yang to “Sunshine Rock”’s Ying, and we love it.
If you don’t have your fill of Bob Mould after the new album, or if you find yourself yearning for some earlier material, you might be interested in checking out “Distortion: 1989-2019” – a 24-CD or 8-LP box set that includes virtually every song he’s released or had a hand in since he left Hüsker Dü in 1988. It starts with the Virgin Records releases “Workbook” and “Black Sheets of Rain,” works it’s way through the SUGAR years, the “Last Dog and Pony Show” records, the techno phase, and his gradual transition back into guitar rock, ending with “Sunshine Rock.” Also included are 2 CDs of rarities, and a couple titles previously available in limited numbers or as parts of other collections. It’s exhaustive.
Distortion: 1989-2019 - 24 CD set
I wasn’t quite able to get through all 24 CDs, but I made it into a few of them, and I can tell you that they sound AWESOME. I believe (fact-checking is welcome) that this is the first time “Black Sheets of Rain” has been remastered, and that is way overdue. It’s always been one of my favorites, and it’s never sounded this huge. The guitars are sitting up just a hair, maybe a slight mid-boost that gives them a welcome punch. It’s not a remix but it almost sounds like one. I am really hoping BSOR gets the deluxe-package treatment that “Workbook” got with the remaster and some bonus material.
The extra’s on the the last 2 CDs are great too. I’ve always loved his cover of Richard Thompson’s Turning of the Tide, featuring the rhythm section from X, and the remaster sounds fantastic. Another lost rarity is “All Those People Know,” seemingly the only studio outtake from “Workbook” (again, fact-checking welcome). I all but wore that out as the B-side of the cassette-single to See A Little Light in my Dodge Omni, driving home from my job at the mall, on those hot, summer of 1989 afternoons in Ann Arbor. There are guitar parts in there that I’ve never heard.
Also included are contributions to songs by Throwing Muses, The Golden Palominos, Foo Fighters, and Butch Walker. There are four complete live shows – the `89 Chicago “Workbook” show, SUGAR’s “The Joke Is Always On Us, Sometimes,” the “Last (Live) Dog and Pony” show, and “Live at ATP” – an under-the radar limited release from 2009. There are other B-sides, live tracks, and collaborations too lengthy to list as well. It goes on and on!
Distortion: 1989-2019 - 8 LP Set
The package includes new artwork for each piece, a decision I find both interesting and strange, to abandon the original album covers everyone knows. The new art is cool, and might be a selling point to some. The LPs, reduced in range from 2019 to 1995, are the 2 Virgin albums, the 2 Sugar LPs + Besides, and the Beaster EP, then a disc of rarities. The CD collection might be missing just a couple deep tracks that were officially released, but it’s difficult to find fault with the extensiveness. It’s been released in very limited quantity, which makes sense, as I can’t imagine there are many fans fanatical enough to buy it, but who at the same time don’t already have most of it at least once. I don’t need a 4th copy of “Copper Blue” after all. I would, however, welcome something that I don’t already have or have heard – some demos, something live, anything really…..I also struggle with the limited scope of the the LP set, but a vinyl box that big would tough to market, so I understand the decision.
In the end it’s the amazing job that Peerless Mastering did and the material that hasn’t been properly collected and/or remastered that makes this collection great. If you haven’t bit on the previous remasters, or you want the catalog with a new, fresh sheen (and cover art), it’s perfect - and just waiting just for your ears (and wallet)!
Order “Blue Hearts” and “Distortion” on Bob’s website. Blue Hearts is out now. Distortion is slated for October 2nd, though I believe the vinyl has been pushed back.
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
