Search - Husker Du :: Living End (Jewl)

AWESOME Live Epitaph from this classic band

Sakos | United States | 03/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

"Nostalgia is the symptom of a dying culture"---Grant Hart

mwreview | Northern California, USA | 04/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."