Customer Reviews

Living End

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had just became a Bob Mould/Husker Du fanatic in the early-1990s and was buying up their back catalogue of stuff when this CD came out in 1994. Anything "new" from Husker Du was a BIG thing, so I snagged it as soon as it hit the record stores. This live CD was compiled from shows from 1987 when they were promoting Warehouse: Songs and Stories, their last studio release, so many of the tracks come from that album. That's OK by me, as I love that album.

I don't usually care for live records but there are a few track here that sound even better here than on the studio releases. "Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" is one example as Grant Hart doesn't scream it at the top of his lungs like on New Day Rising. "Keep Hanging On" (recorded on Bob Mould's birthday) is another example. This version makes me like the song even more. I also like how you can really hear Hart's backing vocals like on "Standing in the Rain" and "Ice Cold Ice." Sometimes the backing vocals sound lost on the studio albums, but Hart and Mould sound great together and it really adds to the tracks. Mould sings the chorus to "Ice Cold Ice" a little differently which I also like. "Everytime" is sung by Greg Norton, the bass player with the cool mustache. He has a rough, buzz-saw voice. The song is pretty good. I have it also on a Warehouse Interview record. Unfortunately, "She Floated Away" sounds a bit stale here as it's missing the backing vocals (Hart provided both lead and backing vocals on the studio version). "It's Not Funny anymore" also sounds great here. "Now That You Know Me" was a pleasant surprise. It was recorded on Grant Hart's Intolerance solo album. "Ain't No Water in the Well" is way too yeehaw for my tastes.

Fans can find a lot of omissions here: "Diane" comes to mind, as well as singles "Could You Be the One?", "Makes No Sense At all" (actually, I don't miss them that much), "I Don't Want to Know If you Are Lonely," "Pink Turns to Blue," "She's a Woman (And Now He is a Man)" (one of my all-time favorites), and "Charity, Chastity, Prudence and Hope," but I think it is a good mix of early stuff ("From the Gut", "Target," "Data Control" [great rendition here], "In a Free Land") and later material. It ends with an ode to the Ramones, "Sheena is a Punk Rocker." I remember Joey Ramones on MTV's 120 Minutes saying he thought Husker Du was a Ramones rip-off band. Husker Du may have been influenced by the Ramones, but they created a style all their own and developed their style with each album, and it shows here. The booklet has a history of the band and a few photos including a long colorized one from the "Could You Be the One?" music video.

Husker Du were and are one of the best bands ever, one of those bands I wish I was old enough to be into when they were around or that they never broke up. That being said, this live album from 1994, 7 years after they broke up, could be seen as a last-ditch cash-in by Warner Bros. if it sucked, which it doesn't! This is visceral, punch-you-in-the-chest hardcore rock played at full decibel volume! And wow, can they play. Mould's guitar buzzsaw's through everything, Norton's underrated bass playing is like an earthquake, and Grant Hart's drums have never sounded stronger.....he sounds like he's going to break all his drumskins, he hits them so hard. And the songs....awesome versions of Ice Cold Ice, What's Going On, Celebrated Summer, Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill, and more. Plus, three new songs they were working on before they broke up, Greg Norton's "Everytime" (a really heavy, savage rocker snarled by Greg Norton and Bob Mould), Grant Hart's catchy-as-hell and blistering "Now That You Know Me", and Bob Mould's "Ain't No Water In the Well" (which is actually the weakest of the 3 new ones...a romping blues stomper, nonetheless). All in all, even though Husker Du's entire catalog of studio albums are ESSENTIAL listening, after you've experienced those, you need to check this out!

and for good reason! Husker Du are one of those bands that are forever being cited as "seminal influences", especially during the early '90's grunge movement. Nirvana, and Green Day (especially pre "Dookie" Green Day) have molded their sounds, unsuccesfully I might add, to the power that was Husker Du, and this live album goes to prove this point even further. For those unfamiliar with the band, I have a hard time advising that you pick up this CD. It's not that it's bad, rather the power and energy of these live songs put their studio versions to shame. Hell, I bought most of the studio albums before hearing this, and I still have a hard time going back and listening to them the way I once did. The hollow, tinny drum sound of most studio Husker albums takes a while to get used to, but after hearing them live, you can never go back! As for the collection of songs on this CD, not a single one is worth skipping. From the insane hyper drum beat of "New Day Rising" to their cover of "Sheena is a Punk Rocker", this CD is a fine, career spanning colection of some of their best songs. Sure, some of the classics (or should I say singles) are missing ("Eight Miles High", "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely", "Makes No Sense At All", etc), but this doesn't matter. The near 77 minutes of fuzz, energy, and brilliant song writing will soon make you forget. This CD is, without a doubt, the way the Husker's were meant to be heard.

The versions of many of the songs here are so powerful that they crush their lo-fi studio versions. Which is an almost impossible accomplishment. "Celebrated Summer", "New Day Rising", and "Keep Hanging On" roar like a buzzsaw, and Mould and Hart's singing throughout is even more anguished and exhausted than on the originals. "Hardly Getting Over It" is re-invented as a slow,hard electric cry of desperation. So many live albums fall into the "canned" sound that renders even the best live bands impotent. This album cuts as sharp as anyone would hope it would.

I saw the Huskers on the Candy Apple Grey tour and they were simply the best band I have ever seen in over 20 years of watching live bands. Thjis live album(Along with Lynddales Burning Bootleg) are as close as you will get to the sonic tornado that was Husker Du. Some of the real favourites are missing of this, but they were that good a band that they could not play everything. The 'New Day Rising'(My Favourite Album of All-Time)intro is awesome, as are so many others on this CD.
This is the real deal. This is what punk rock was, is and will always be merasured against!!

Husker Du came along at just the right time for me - their music's mixture of punk's power and pop's melody, the mighty incomparable guitar noise of Bob Mould, and Mould and drummer Grant Hart's songwriting genius. Their music affects me in the same way that the great bands of 60's pop did for older folks - music that just becomes part of your mental vocabulary.

That said, I'm only 17, and was born the year Metal Circus came out - I'd honestly give a finger off my right hand to see them live at the tour either from which this was drawn, or maybe circa New Day Rising or Flip Your Wig.

Anyway, less about me, more about the record. This is an awe-inspiring live document. Some favorites are missing -- the early hardcore choices are occasionally spotty ("From the Gut" and "Target" could have been happily replaced by "Blah Blah Blah" and "Everything Falls Apart" IMHO), and we don't have The Hits - "Could You Be the One?," "Makes No Sense at All," "8 Miles High," "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely, etc. However, for the most part, it doesn't matter in the slightest, because the album's strongest points are unexpected ones.

For instance, "Standing in the Rain." A great Warehouse track, it is impeded on album by the thin production and restrained feel. Here, however, Hart doubles Mould on vocals and knocks the song into the stratosphere, Hart's sweet harmonies encouraging Mould to step forward with a deeper, stronger bellow. (BTW, if you can, look for the "Up in the Air" boot - the band does the same thing to "These Important Years."). I could go on and on about just that song, but I'll cite other examples -- in retrospect, the production was often weak on HuDu records, but the band overcomes that here with sheer passion of delivery: "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" and "Powerline," "In a Free Land" and "Data Control," "Keep Hanging On" and "Books About UFO's," these songs are incredibly stronger than their recorded counterparts.

Prepare for liftoff, HuDudes!

This is a great introduction to Husker Du, who in a perfect world
should have been Nirvana big. Bob Mould's guitar sounds like a
chainsaw cutting through a eucalyptus tree. Beautiful. I like the
front of house mix sound too, appropriate for this band, who never sounded quite right on studio recordings in my opinion, except for Zen Arcade, what an awesome record! Anyway, this is
great pummeling rock n roll and if I could paraphrase Robert Fripp,"Albums are like a love letter, concerts are like a hot date" This is a hot date.

The previous review enjoys no merit beyond the fact that it is a string of words. Although I do not entirely agree with the song selections, this album captures the essence of Husker Du live. Listen to Bob Mould singing with reckless abandon on Celebrated Summer or the pounding rendition of Terms of Psychic Warfare. I was lucky enough to see them many times throughout the 80's, I also have a large collection of live recordings but this a great CD and a DEFINATE starting point, along with Zen Arcade, for anyone just getting into the band. Some people only like the live versions of the songs on this CD when exposed to the studio CDs for the first time. While not one of the best live cd's of all time, it shows the Huskers at their very best but, unfortunately, at the very end

It's no great accomplishment for a band to go on stage and make a deafening noise. Any hacks can manage that. But to harness that kind of overwhelming power and volume into a hummable 3-minute pop song is a miracle achieved only by the magnificent Husker Du (find me another hardcore outfit that sings in 2-part harmony). The Living End is 77 minutes of the most breathless rock ever laid down on a CD and certainly stands in the narrow circle of the greatest live albums ever made; a mindbending wash of distorted guitar and frenetic drumming so relentless that there is no time to waste on song intros or crowd banter. But what truly sets Bob Mould and Co. apart from other hardcore bands is that there are actual recognizeable songs here to go with the astounding noise. With breathtaking renditions of Husker classics like 'Powerline', 'Celebrated Summer', 'Divide and Conquer', 'Ice Cold Ice', et al, it will be a while before you reach for the studio albums again. And lest anyone think that Husker Du appeals only to the punks, post-punks (or whatever you want to call it), songs like 'Books About UFOs', 'It's Not Funny Anymore', and 'Friend You've Got To Fall' could pass for power-pop (without compromising any of their volcanic power). And in a fitting show-closer, the Huskers even tip their cap to their forefathers, the Ramones, with a thunderous shot of 'Sheena Is a Punk Rocker'. What the heck else could you want!

In the absense of a suitable Husker Du "greatest hits" compilation, this is certainly a fine substitute.

Plainly stated, much (most?) of what is heard over the airwaves these days simply wouldn't exist without the influence of Husker Du. I've always regretted that I didn't descover these guys until years after their breakup; but at least now I've got this excellent document to remind me of what was! The Huskers (Bob Mould-guitar,voc., Grant Hart-drums,voc., Greg Norton-bass,voc.) are presented here in their final tour at the peak of their powers. From the opening power-mantra of 'New Day Rising" to the three & a half minute visceral rush of "Standing in the Rain" to the frantic, un-hinged renderings of "Friend, Your Gonna Fall" & "Devide and Conquer", the band's intensity never falters. The album closer, a rabid cover of the Ramone's "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" actually approaches the intensity of "da brudda's" original!