Customer Reviews

Warehouse: Songs and Stories [Vinyl]

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By the time this record came out, it was clear that Husker Du was doomed. While Hart and Mould were on different artistic pages on Candy Apple Grey (Hart more poppish, Mould more personal), they don't even sound like they're reading from the same book in Warehouse. In any given song, the songwriter overdubs his own voice rather than getting backing from the other. Also, as on the Beatles' fragmented White Album, almost every songwriter alternates: Mould/Hart/Mould... And finally, the lyrics contain many frank elusions to the onrushing split -- Mould cries out "The biggest thing to me / Is making this thing work for life / We gotta turn it around," while Hart grimly states "Things didn't go exactly as they planned... There's a vacancy between them every day." Ultimately, the split seems inevitable to the listener -- Mould is simply too depressed and angry, Hart too screwed up and stubborn. However, this record stands as their final collaboration and artistic swan song.

The primary reason that this record is so good is simply the songs -- it is twice as long as their other records but is the most consistent set of their career. Warehouse plays more like an extended single album than an artsy, ambitious double LP such as Zen Arcade -- the songs are almost all straight ahead pop-as-punk, but are more forthright with their debt to 60's rock: Songs such as "Turn It Around" or "No Reservations" carry a singer-songwriter twist, while "She's a Woman" is pure pop and "Tell You Why Tomorrow" is an invigorating hit of psychedelia. In general, Hart experiments more but the overall quality of his songs are lower than Mould's, whose contributions are universally excellent -- he turns in not a single weak track, while several of Hart's tunes are simply a basis for having a good time in the studio.

Which brings me to the second strength of the record -- its production. Much like Pet Sounds, this album matches the band's more mature songwriting with a gorgeous, adventurous, broad-ranging sound, complete with cleaner multitracked guitar and vocal, various percussion techniques and endless studio effects, from the chiming clocks closing "Tell You Why Tomorrow" to the shimmering reverb carrying "Up in the Air" into "You Can Live at Home."

However, due to the fierce rivalry and tension between the band at the time of recording, the album is emotionally a mixed bag -- Hart tends to be more simplistic sad-pop or happy-pop as on the bubbly "Charity, Chastity, Prudence and Hope" or the grim but uptempo "She's a Woman", whereas Mould delivers a broader palette of veiled admonishments and pleas to Hart ("Friend You've Got to Fall," "Turn It Around") as well as incisive self-examination ("Bed of Nails," "No Reservations") and clear-eyed philosophizing ("These Important Years"). The album's closers are majestic and amzing: "Up in the Air" (which is Mould's veiled entreaty to Hart not to leave) and "You Can Live at Home" (which is Hart's epic jam declaring "I can be beautiful without you torturing me / Walk, walk away").

Ultimately, this album is a collection of 20 songs of the first order, fabulously produced and driven by one of the best songwriting teams since Lennon and McCartney. It stands as their final statement, and what an eloquent statement it is.

I'm a Husker Du fan. I was lucky to see them live and then to see Bob Mould solo live (Sugar is a different beast altogether). I like so many have been a fan from the first blast of Land Speed Record. Their last studio recording really is beautiful, and it really does show the way that Grant Hart and Bob Mould challenged each other to the very end of the band. Norton's bass and presence held them together. Each release was a bit different from the other, but it is obvious that Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey complete a story of a sound. This sound is infectious. The assault of guitar and voice is without a doubt the strongest of American rock. I have always viewed them as something of an American folk band with the politics being a politics of the emotive soul. Why? The lyrics explore every emotion possible and then some. And the music stands right beside the words presenting each and every song as the continuing story of Warehouse Songs. This band was pure genius and Warehouse Songs stands tall today. It is fast and then melodious. It has violent emotions and then tender insights ("she lifted her arms and floated away.."). Once in the car CD player this is a difficult disc to take out unless it is replaced with the Ramones Anthology or Elvis Costello Girls Girls Girls. Because I am a fan of the band I can't dismiss one recording over another the way that the epic Zen Arcade is pitched against the boom/crash of New Day Rising, so as a musical essay on it's own Warehouse Songs is fairly perfect.

And that's the way this disc is: fast American rock/punk and emotive song crafting.

I miss the pairing of songs that Mould and Hart were so talented at putting together.

Songwriters Bob Mould and Grant Hart never tried to force the chemistry between each other, it was simply THERE. Like Lennon and McCartney, Mould and Hart tapped into the subconscious and made music that to this day hasn't dated the slightest bit. Together with Greg Norton, they simply blew away everyone by progressing from the raw aggression of "Zen Arcade" to the sublime maturity of "Warehouse". Maturity is a word I select because it shows people being forced to deal with their problems instead of simply yelling about them. "Warehouse" is an album to live by, and it only gets more rewarding as time goes on.

Warehouse: Songs and Stories was the last Husker Du studio album. It was released in 1987. They are one of my all-time favorite bands and they seemed to get better and better with each album they made. In Warehouse they left their fans with a double-album filled with great tracks and absolutely no fillers. It's unfortunate that they broke up seemingly so soon, but both Grant Hart and Bob Mould continued with excellent solo records (I especially recommend Intolerance by Hart and Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain by Mould) as well as new bands Nova Mob and Sugar. Here is the warehouse-full of awesome tracks offered on this album:

"These Important Years" (Mould) 3:49: An excellent track to begin the album. Great rocker.

"Charity, Chastity, Prudence, and Hope" (Hart) 3:11: Grant Hart kept getting better and better as a songwriter and here he offers up some amazing rockers that even have a slight country rock sound. This track just flies and never lets up. The guitar solo is yeehaw good!

"Standing in the Rain" (Mould) 3:41: One of Mould's more popular tracks but it is not one of my favorites. It's good, of course, but seems a bit mundane.

"Back From Somewhere" (Hart) 2:16: Another country-style, yeehaw rocker by Grant Hart. I like Hart's vocals on this one (yeehaw style again).

"Ice Cold Ice" (Mould) 4:23: One of my favorite Mould tracks here. It begins with menacing guitar and then rocks. I wish Hart's backing vocals were clearer as I think it would have made the song even better. It sounds great on the live album The Living End.

"You're a Soldier" (Hart) 3:03: This song is just OK. I can actually take it or leave it. Anti-war songs are so prevalent and this one isn't very special. I don't like the backing vocals and the line "knocking over everything that's standing in your way. Can you tell me just how many did you kill today" line sounds like another song, but I can't put my finger on which song that is.

"Could You Be the One?" (Mould) 2:32: This is probably the most recognizable song from this album. They made a music video for it. I never thought I liked it that much but I find myself humming this track a lot, so it must be pretty addictive.

"Too Much Spice" (Hart) 2:57: Another yeehaw rocker by Hart. I love this stuff! I like the lyrics and Hart's vocals are crisp and clear and not barely audible like on some of his tracks. Definitely a sing-along-to song. And a rockin' guitar solo, too.

"Friend, You've Got to Fall" (Mould) 3:20: Catchy track. Up there with "Ice Cold Ice" and "Up in the Air" as my favorite Mould track on this album. Great guitar as always.

"Visionary" (Mould) 2:30: This track is OK, but is not a memorable as most of the others here. I don't care for the chorus that much.

"She Floated Away" (Hart) 3:32: A nice change-of-pace. It has a hard, pulsating beat between the verses, but at the verses and chorus it has a transporting almost gospel-like quality (well, not as gospel as "She Can See the Angels" off Hart's solo album Intolerance). Interesting track.

"Bed of Nails" (Mould) 4:44: Rough Mould rocker that bites like a rusty saw. The "Please don't drive your nails into this heart of mine" line always bugged me as it seems very contrived.

"Tell You Why Tomorrow" (Hart) 2:42: A track that builds with intensity and also has a groovy bass line.

"It's Not Peculiar" (Mould) 4:06: Starts out with this pulsating riff which if OK but when Mould actually sings to this riff "It's not peculiar, there's nothing to devise at all-a-a-a-a-a-a-all right." Yuck. The verses leading up to it are actually pretty good, and Hart's higher backing vocals help it a little but it just bugs me.

"Actual Condition" (Hart) 1:50: Another Hart rocker, but my least favorite. This one is a bit too yeehaw for my tastes.

"No Reservations" (Mould) 3:40: Nice, slower-paced track.

"Turn It Around" (Mould) 4:32: This song is the only one on this track that I really do not like. It is almost embarrassing to listen to. I'm surprised Mould wrote it. It is just so contrived, silly, and mundane. I like the line "But the biggest thing to me is making this thing work for life." That really hits it home but most of the other lyrics and the musical aspect of the song I can definitely leave. Oh well, one ringer out of 20 is not bad.

"She's a Woman (And Now He is a Man)" (Hart) 3:19: I LOVE THIS SONG!! It may be my all-time favorite Grant Hart track! Great lyrics, great vocals, rocks, never lets up! I can't praise it enough!

"Up in the Air" (Mould) 3:03: Mould turns it around (so to speak) with this track. Excellent, catchy track. The chorus with the backing vocals is superb.

"You Can Live at Home" (Hart) 5:25: Appropriate ending to an incredible double-album. A long rocker that sounds like everyone is involved in the vocals and fades out. The bass really drives this one.

This was Hüsker Dü's swan song (Abbey Road), the sound of a divided band (The White Album "The Beatles"), and their raw sound (Let it Be) all wrapped in one.

Having seen this tour (amongst 5 previous Hüsker Dü shows and later various Bob Mould solo shows) it was amazing to see them play the entire album in its entirety and then do some of the most amazing encores of their greatest hits and covers.

The production is crisp. They are finding their sound-and using effects. It was a rip-roaring album with memorable pop songs to intense anthems, vintage Hüsker Dü recorded cleanly. You can hear that this is two albums, one written by Grant Hart and one by Bob Mould with Greg Norton's bass the stepchild of the relationship...

The album is one of those great ones to put on after not listening for a while. Once you do put it on again however, you won't stop playing it for a while.

Do yourself a favor and buy this album. Then listen to some more Hüsker Dü-you won't regret it.

If you like melodic rock that combines fantastic songwriting with high energy performances and insightful lyrics, then this album is for you. However, be warned that this is not your father's Husker Du. Gone are the brief noisefests played at breakneck speed. With 'Warehouse' you have a slew of catchy rock songs that are wonderfully diverse in their structures. The production is good, and although there is only one guitar, Bob Mould creates a wonderful droning wall of sound with his open tunings that allow him to strum all the strings while fingering individual notes. Both Mould and Grant Hart contribute solid numbers, with Mould clearly the songwriting leader. The emotion and energy in numbers such as "Up in the Air" "Turn it Around" "No Reservations" "It's Not Peculiar" and "These Important Years" cannot be described in words - you just have to listen to the album. Old-school Husker Du fans may resent the bands shift from post-punk to rock, but music lovers will appreciate the fruits of this transition immensely

Husker Du can be compared in many ways to the Beatles. This release really highlighted such a comparison. Mould, Hart and Norton pack this double album with very catchy, memorable, poppy tunes, while offering the listener their respective vocal and songwriting styles, both equally powerful and pleasant.

Unfortunately, by the time this was recorded both Bob Mould and Grant Hart were at odds with each other and the end of the band was in sight. Its as if there were two Husker Du's, with Hart and Mould each leading a different band. The best track on the CD is Bob Mould's "Ice Cold Ice" (with near-perfect back up vocals by Hart). Other standouts are Mould's "Visionary" and Hart's "She's a Woman."

At this point in the short, but prolific career of Husker Du, the over the top guitar distortion and feedback had been toned down, and gave way to more melodic offerings. That style was more compatible with Hart's vocal style than Mould's. The pefect ending to this double album is "You Can Live at Home" which recalls the sometimes sloppy, but always powerful style that made Husker Du the best of their time.

Husker Du was a great rock band, arguably one of the best of all time. Although a reunion is most likely never going to happen as there has been very little communication between the members, we can always hope for a miracle. In the meantime, there are plenty of releases to enjoy, and Warehouse is at the top of that list.

There are some albums that I think are truly great and inspired but that I sometimes can't listen to because they are too intense. Examples would be Rid Of Me by PJ Harvey, Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and this one. This is my favourite album by Husker Du and I will be carrying songs like No Reservations and Turn It Around with me to my grave. I find the songs on this album particularly affecting because they are infused with such intense passion.

I must have listened to every note Husker Du ever released, and in the end decided that "Warehouse" is the best of them all. There are certain days when I seriously consider that this might have been the best music ever made in the rock era. However, it took me about a hundred listenings for "Warehouse" to grow on me to that extent. For the first couple of years I considered it a disappointment in comparison to Husker Du's earlier (and also brilliant) work. But repeated listenings reveal the magnificence of this music, and by now, 12 years after its release, in answer to that cliched question "If you were on an island and could have only one CD" the answer is "WAREHOUSE." The final song on the album (and the final studio song Husker Du ever released) "You Can Live At Home," is their magnificent white-noise equivalant to the Beatles "A Day In The Life"... except better. Be patient with this CD, be very patient, and you will be rewarded with not only alt-rock at its peak, but music at its peak.

a sort of refined, mature version of the Zen Arcade double album; Wharehouse has some fine songs, but suffers from a scattered sense of unfocused vision. apparently, things were kind of shakey in the band at this point in time and this would be Husker Du's final release. most of these songs have been burned into my brain and hold alot of sentimental value...so i find this record to be rather special. but i would not recommend this album to those who are curious about this great band. start with the sprawling and brilliant Zen Arcade.