Customer Reviews

Black Sheets of Rain

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This isn't so much a review as a story - I loaned my copy of this cd to a co-worker, a very optimistic and sunny type (on the back of a tape that I actually thought he'd be interested in), and told him that when I really got depressed I'd put this on full volume and blast all the ugliness out of my head. He returned the tape, and told me he kinda liked the other side, but regarding Black Sheets of Rain he looked at me with a worried expression and said "I never get that depressed". That may tell you whether you want to buy this.

If depression could play a '66 Strat [constantly on the verge of feeding back], it would sound just like this. Easily the darkest of his solo efforts, this album lacks for no high energy hooky material or throw myself off something high angst. Best played at 11 when the wife is at her sister's for the weekend. A keeper until your kids ask you why.

To listen to "Black Sheets of Rain" you need a good set of ears. Then, you have to crank your stereo up to high volume. Anything less, and you won't get it.

I would imagine that this CD is probably a high point in Bob Mould's career. This is powerful stuff. A great songwriter and technically proficient guitarist, Mould's lryics are sometimes apocalyptical and thought-provoking:

So don't send me invitations to your big parade
Place of residence unknown
In my eyes there is no confidence
There is no calm before the storm

I agree: Anton Fier's drumming really makes "Sacrafice (Let There Be Peace)" take on a life of its own - because it's not straight 4/4 time - The rythm really drives.

"Black Sheets" and "Workbook" are really companion pieces. Both are great CD's and I am sure that these great recording will stand the test of time.

Black Sheets of Rain is my favorite Bob Mould solo album. It is the darkest and heaviest album of his brilliant repertoire. Lyrically, it consists of the typical Bob Mould cynicism but also sports many environmental references. Musically, it is the hardest rock Mould has ever put out and, judging from his recent musical direction, will probably remain so. The first six tracks are the best. Definitely five-star material. The title track, "Stand Guard", "One Good Reason" and "Stop Your Crying" are some of the best songs Mould has ever recorded. His music significantly matured since the Husker Du days. "It's Too Late" was the single from Black Sheets. It is a nice song without being overly commercial, however, it gave no indication to the radio listener or MTV viewer how powerful most of the album is. Unfortunately, things get rather mundane with the next four tracks. Lyrically and musically the edge is softened almost to jelly. "Out of Your Life" is the best example. On the same album where a listener experiences the darkness of "Hanging Tree" one hears the singy verse "If you want me out of your life now all you gotta do is tell me". The listener is saved at the end, though, with perhaps Mould's most powerful number "Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace". It is the screaming last track like the one found on Workbook ("Whichever Way the Wind Blows") only this one is much more effective. There is not just seemingly pointless yelling, but brilliant direction with powerful lyrics: "When words become weapons there'll be peace in the valley of death."

Bob Mould's first solo release, "Workbook," defined Mould as an intelligent, complex songwriter and musician. "Black Sheets of Rain," while fiercer and more electric guitar-driven than the folk-oriented "Workbook," is no less intelligent - stylistically and lyrically. Mould manages to capture his trademark reflectiveness and still tear the house down with quality heavy punk and rock and roll. Mould, in my book, is the thinking person's guitar god with vision: brains with brashness, depth with D chords, soul with the sound and fury of pure rock and roll. Amen!

'Black Sheets of Rain', a rockin' old Mould release, is superb. From the folky angst of 'Hangin' Tree' to the frontal assault of 'Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace', this Husker to Sugar transition album rocks! I am a guitarist who am very impressed with this works. This, my friends, is music to my ears. I am the Ratmouse. In German its 'Rattenmouse'.

Bob Mould's music spans many categories and often within one album. But this one is pure distortion at its best. "Hanging Tree" is among my all-time favorite songs, and many others on here, such as "Stop Your Crying" and "Stand Guard" are amazing as well. I've seen many of these songs done both electric and acoustic, and while both have their qualities, these songs deserve the distortion treatment. Buy this cd - you won't regret it.

First off, Anton Fier's drumming, especially on "Sacrafice (Let There Be Peace)" is absolutely ferocious. Truly amazing. Must have been a sight to see.

To be honest, this is one of my favorite albums of all time. That, and "Workbook" are too good to pass by. Husker Du was okay, but technically, this stuff is lots better. The stuff Bob did with Sugar was technically better, but "Black Sheets" and "Workbook" will hold up over time much better than "Copper Blue" and "File Under..."

This is a cult-level CD, yet it surpasses classic cult stuff, like classic LPs by the 13th Floor Elevators, Chocolate Watch Band, Music Machine, MC-5.

"Black Sheets of Rain" is a masterpeice.

Bob Mould's "Black Sheets Of Rain" is one of the best recordings I've ever heard. From beginning to end, every song is powerful and moving in its own way. The stuff Bob does now is okay, not bad, I still dig it. But Black Sheets, Workbook(1989) and Copper Blue (with Sugar, 1992) are just amazing recordings.

Until "The Last Night," track 7, this is a competent but not stellar album. The first six tracks churn along, with angst and anger as expected, but they sonically do not make much of a distinctive impression on me, compared to the Sugar "Copper Blue," the later Bob Mould solo LPs such as the underrated "The Last Dog & Pony Show," or Husker Du's "Warehouse." Merely placing "Black Sheets" in this esteemed category of great Bob Mould records, however, shows what a high level of craft he can achieve at his driven best. "Black Sheets," however, leaves behind the pretty good and enters the inspired as his voice hits the tender mix of longing colored by the tincture of regret in the well-constructed narrative of "The Last Night." This song is told from the perspective of a lover who knows that his encounter will be the final one of the relationship he plans to break off the next day. Here the CD is redeemed.

The next three songs kick in smartly. Mould loosens up and finds what listeners to "Workbook" or later Huskers will recognize: the combination of wistful nostalgia and fierce pain. Not easy to carry off, and this master shows how it's done fifteen years before emo rules the charts of whatever passes for alternative rock these days. The last song, "Sacrifice/ Let There Be Peace," returns to the more angry snarl of the earlier, first six tracks, but winds the album down smartly in its spiral guitar figure. The best of the more Richard Thompson like, guitar-based but more folksy & acoustic, debut solo record, "Workbook," and this second one, curiously, were issued by WB as a separate CD, "Poison Years."