Customer Reviews

Everything Falls Apart & More

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've noticed that when it comes to talking about Husker Du's records, critics tend to label the "Everything Falls Apart" EP as dispensable and if you were gonna look to this for another "Makes No Sense At All" or "Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill", then just forget about it. But if you're looking for a dose of decent to great midwestern hardcore punk, you've come to the right place. The members of Husker Du may try to down play their origins now, but when they started they were a pretty good hardcore punk act and that's how they caught the attention of SST Records and if they weren't on SST they quite possibly would have faded into obscurity in Minnesota. This disc is actually a combination of the "Everything Falls Apart" EP (originally released on the band's Reflex label), the "In A Free Land" EP (originally on the Minutemen's New Alliance imprint) and the group's debut 7" (again, on Reflex), along with a couple unreleased songs from their early days. The only song on here that might give an indication of where the band was heading is "Everything Falls Apart". The two unreleased tracks, Greg Norton's "Let's Go Die" and Bob Mould's "Do You Remember?" are great. Beyond that, you got some great songs, like "In A Free Land" and "Everything Falls Apart", and handful of decent to good ones, and some you might end up skipping over, particularly the songs from the first single. "Statues" starts out ok, but then goes on forever and "Amusement" just didn't leave much of an impression with me.
The packaging is also very nice. Besides recording and discography details for music on the disc, it also features liner notes from Terry Katzman, the group's early soundman and partner in Reflex Records.
Perhaps not an essential disc, it'll still make an excellent addition to any punk rock CD collection.

i find it very funny that so many husker du fans call the early stuff unlistenable, sloppy, or amateur. first off, as with all young freshly started punk/hardcore bands in the beginning of the 80's, they were sloppy and intense. when you're new to your instrument and you play that fast you will be sloppy...and that's the beauty of it.
but what separates this from the other 80's american hardcore is that the music and especially the lyrics have far more heart and brains behind them than just angry young men barking out mindless violence. and here they are flirting with the melodies that would build them such a loyal following, and remember that melody was a big no-no in hardcore. they did it their own way and no one was going to tell them any different.
i love all of husker du's indie label stuff (i don't mean to sound like an indie snob here, but it sounds to me like warner de-clawed them before letting them record) and the early years are probably my favorite. not every song on this is great, but there are many amazing ones, but all are played with such conviction, heart, and thought that i can't help but still love it all.
this is indie rock and it's hardcore. the bands that are called indie now are anything but. none are DIY, yet call themselves indie. if you are fed up by today's "indie" i highly recommmend this. it's like a breath of fresh air.
if you want to learn more, get the book, "our band could be your life," immediately.

If you are curious about Husker Du, I would recommend buying "Metal Circus" or anything recorded after that. However, if you are interested in the band's formative years, this collection should satisfy. It basically consists of better-than-average ("From The Gut", "Blah, Blah, Blah", "In A Free Land", "Everything Falls Apart"), average ("Wheels", "Target", "Let's Go Die"), and totally forgetable ("Punch Drunk", "Bricklayer", "Statues") early-eighties hardcore. By the time "Zen Arcade" was recorded, Bob and Grant had matured considerably as songwriters. However, even if Husker Du's later material far outdistances the music on this collection, it's still worth adding to your collection, in my opinion.

I didn't listen to my friends who warned me about this record. "It's just *too* hard," they said, "You won't like it." They were right.

I like hardcore. I love Minor Threat's "Complete Discography" and Black Flag's "Damaged," and I liked HuDu's "Metal Circus" somewhat, too. But this record is just nutzoid, is a bad way. The recording quality is pretty crummy, and the songs are just minute-and-a-half (sometimes 2 minutes, sometimes 30 sec's) drills of thin warble and harsh screaming.

The best songs on here have actual grooves -- I'll admit that "In a Free Land" and "Everything Falls Apart" rule (although "Land" is better on the Living End live album) and that "Signals From Above" and "Do You Remember?" are ferocious but memorable.

But honestly. "Punch Drunk" and "Bricklayer" go at about 350 bpm and are utterly incomprehensible screaming rants. Most of the rest falls into a simple, clunky, rutting groove with dumb lyrics howled at the top of the band's voice. My advice? Borrow it from a friend and make a tape or something.

"Everything Falls Apart," although one of Husker Du's less illustrious early works, is nevertheless an excellent punk rock CD. In fact, in the pure punk genre, I rank it right up there with the very best, such as Minor Threat's "Minor Threat," and the Sex Pistols "Never Mind the Bollocks." Obviously, if you want groundbreaking punk rock, buy Husker Du's classic "Zen Arcade." But if you're in the mood for basic no-brain hard-hard-hard core, of underrated EXCELLENT quality, by this CD and play it LOUD and SCREAM ALONG with it. "In A Free Land" is one of most exhilarating punk songs ever, and many other songs on this CD give a wonderful adrenaline rush. No, this CD isn't one of Husker Du's masterpieces (like "Zen Arcade," "New Day Rising," "Flip Your Wig," and the transcendant "Warehouse-Songs and Stories,") but if you get off like I do on excellent basic hard core punk sound, this is a CD you really should buy.

I have to disagree with an earlier review, expressing their unhappiness with this cd. It's good old fashion hardcore, pure and simple. I personally think husker-du went downhill once signing to a major. Oh well, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Good CD

Everything Falls Apart and More is a collection of early Husker Du singles, the EP Everything Falls Apart, and previously unreleased tracks ("Let's Go Die," "Do You Remember?," and the extended 8:42 "Statues"). This CD is an excellent compilation of the band's alternative-punk days of the early 1980s before they made it big with Zen Arcade, New Day Rising and moved to a more mainstream sound with Flip Your Wig and (with Warner Bros.) Candy Apple Grey and Warehouse: Songs and Stories. What you get here are raw, "from the gut" numbers starting with the driving cadence of Grant Hart's drums opening the track by that name and ending with the rock out "Do You Remember?" which was recorded live in 1980 in a St. Paul basement. My favorites are the title track, "Gravity," "In a Free Land," "Amusement," and "Do You Remember?" but there are other gems on here too. The booklet includes a gushing testimonial to the band's early years by Terry Katzman (who provided the cassette for "Do You Remember?"), photos of the singles, and lyrics to a few of the tracks.

"From the Gut" Mould (1:40): Sounds like the title would suggest. That drum cadence gives it almost a marching off to war feel.
"Blah, Blah, Blah" Hart (2:12): Great punk track!
"Punch Drunk" (0.30) "Bricklayer" (0.34): Fierce, screaming tracks. Cryptic Slaughter had to have been influenced by early Husker Du. I don't like these, but they are short.
"Afraid of Being Wrong" Mould (1:24): Still fierce punk, but this settle down a bit.
"Sunshine Superman" Hart (1:51): Fun, fast cover song.
"Signals From Above" (1:39): Another fierce punk track, but this one has a cool bass line.
"Everything Falls Apart" Mould (2:14): One of my favorites. A very catchy track with an awesome guitar solo.
"Wheels" Hart (2:08): Grant Hart screaming about taking Sharon Tate for a spin: "I've got a real big engine and it goes vroom vroom. Could be a cradle, could be a tomb." Gotta love those lyrics.
"Target" Mould (1:43): Also played on the live album The Living End. Killer power track.

"Obnoxious" Mould (0.55): Speedy, punk track but no screaming so I like it better.
"Gravity" Mould (2:40): This track is awesome. One of my favorites on this album. The bass, the guitar, the rockin' guitar solo, the drums, the vocals-everything falls together (well, it is gravity).
"In a Free Land" Mould (2:54): Killer single and a powerful track. I love the guitar here.
"What Do I Want?" Hart (1:15): Just Grant Hart screaming "What do I want? What will make me happy? Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!"
"M.I.C." Mould (1:11): Stands for "military industrial complex" that President Eisenhower warned us about. Fierce punk track. Not bad but not too special either.
"Statues" Hart (8:45): Yes, this extended version is almost 9 minutes! Great song, but it does go on here. I like the lyrics but I wonder what Hart now thinks of the line "You act like you're 18, but you're closer to 50. You ain't got no reason to express rage. Why don't you hang around people your own age." I'm in my early 30s, but I feel anyone close to 50 has every reason to express rage.
"Let's Go Die" Norton (1:54): Rocker written by Greg Norton.
"Amusement" Mould (4:58): Another favorite of mine. Slower tempo with excellent bass and drums. It sounds like it was recorded in a musty basement. It has a murky sound but, to me, that is part of its appeal as are Mould's angry vocals: "I'm not easily amused by YOU! Not easily amazed. Don't you do something different. I won't even be PHASED!"
"Do You Remember?" (1:55): The album ends with an amazing rocker the title of course being the meaning of Husker Du in Norwegian(?) or is it Swedish(?). Anyway, the song kicks fanny from the word "Go!"

This album combines Husker Du's debut single (Statues), their single In a Free Land, and their mini-album Everything Falls Apart, all of which were released in the early 1980's on their own Reflex Records label. This is RAW, savage, and hardcore Husker Du. While there is a lot of filler (that's still fun to listen to), there is some really cool stuff on here. From the Gut, Blah Blah Blah, Bricklayer, Let's Go Die, Target, and Gravity are all great punk songs. They do a demented and enjoyable cover of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman", and the songs In a Free Land and Everything Falls Apart hint at what was to come. Statues is a LONG single at 9 minutes, and gets sort of grating at the end, but is still a great listen and a fascinating document. Even at this early stage, Husker Du was pushing the envelope. While not essential for the casual fan, for the true fan, this makes great listening and is a slice of Husker history.

I remember reading a review of this, and they called it "mind-numbing ultracore". When it came out, it was such an improvement over "Land Speed Record" in sound quality that it felt great to blast the speakers as loud as one could. Here's the sound of a band that practiced and honed their sound, and tightened their delivery. Now, with the wonderful early singles added, you have almost the complete recipe for what was to come later.
Let me break it down in another way: They combined all the speed of the hardcore punk era with an aggressive melodic-ism that few could even comprehend, let alone expect. Bob Mould's shredding guitar sound and style was largely ignored perhaps until he was in Sugar, but the evolution of his sound really stood out early on and is a joy to hear evolve throughout the Hüsker catalog. The wall of sound in the early single "Statues"/"Amusement" is something similar to Flipper's or The Melvins' slow slog that later was labeled grunge, and the bridge riff in 'From The Gut' reminds of Alex Lifeson of Rush with a lot of distortion: Two distinct examples of what Bob was putting together in his compositional tool box. If there is one thing that would sum up what Hüsker Dü was shooting for, this collection could have included their incredible cover of "Eight Miles High" that was an SST single. This EP/single collection and the "Metal Circus" EP printed the early blueprints of Bob Mould's sound, but more importantly, the speed with which they deliver these songs here is NOT sloppy or haphazard. They worked their tails off for years to get where they reached, and you the listener get to sit back and soak it in. Good luck trying not to jump to your feet blasting these tunes.

Husker Du's first studio mini album, two singles, and unreleased stuff are the contents on this CD. I really enjoy it now, but it's not as good as the later stuff Husker Du did after "Zen Arcade". Instead of the pop filled Husker Du we hear on "Flip your wig", we hear an energy filled hardcore band that will make the blood rush to your head. "Punch Drunk" and "Bricklayer" are prime examples of what I'm talking about. Yet, there are some normal songs like "In a free land" and the eight minute "Statues". I really dig this album a lot, but it's no where near Husker Du's best. If you're looking for a hardcore album you may like to check this out.