Bob Mould / Distortion 1989-1995

Alex Petridis reviews the new vinyl package for SDE

In 1989, Bob Mould released his solo debut album, Workbook. It was precisely the kind of album you might have expected the former frontman of an acclaimed, influential but commercially unsuccessful alt-rock band such as Hüsker Dü to make for a major label in 1989, an era when artists seldom crossed over from rock’s leftfield to the mainstream without a few pragmatic adjustments to their sound.

Workbook was polished, it was grown-up: a million miles away from the hardcore punk scene that had spawned Hüsker Dü, but which the band had long outgrown in favour of a melding of ferocious distorted guitars and gorgeous pop melodies. Workbook didn’t even sound much like Husker Du in their later stages. It was heavy on acoustic guitars and classic songcraft, it had a potential hit single in the shape of the breezy ‘See A little Light’. If you wanted to know where Mould’s head was at musically – as they used to say in the ’60s – there was a cover of a Richard Thompson song on the b-side of one of its singles. Here, it seemed was the new, mature Bob Mould making music that might well turn him into the kind of star he’d failed to become in Hüsker Dü.

Or perhaps not. A year later, Bob Mould released Workbook’s follow-up, Black Sheets Of Rain, an album so depressing, so monolithic in its misery, so heavy both in sound and tone that it almost defied anyone charmed by Workbook’s lightness of touch to listen to it all the way through. It sold virtually nothing – 7000 copies, according to Creation boss Alan McGee, admittedly not the world’s most reliable witness – and ended Mould’s dalliance with major labels for good. It also suggested that Bob Mould’s solo career was not going to pan out in the way anyone expected.

How ‘Black Sheets of Rain’ is presented in the new Distortion vinyl box (click image to enlarge)

That proved to be true: by the time Mould released 2006’s Blowoff, an album of electronic dance music made with house producer Richard Morell and inspired by the gay club night the pair ran in Washington DC, it was fair to say he had reached a musical space that not even the most eclectically-minded Hüsker Dü fan could ever have anticipated. In fact, Mould’s solo career has proved so storied that trying to digest it in one go feels overwhelming: the 24CD version of Distortion, which contains virtually everything Mould has recorded over the last 30 years, will clearly appeal to completists, but the 8LP vinyl version, which breaks his career down into smaller chunks, feels more manageable.

The first in a series of four vinyl boxes covers 1989-1995. Aside from Workbook and Black Sheets Of Rain – the latter still a tough listen, although the melody of single It’s Too Late sparkles amid the funereal tempos and lyrical howls of despair – it takes in Sugar, the trio Mould formed in the wake of the latter album’s commercial failure. A lot had changed in the two years that separated Black Sheets Of Rain from Sugar’s debut, not least the rise of Nirvana, a band who audibly had Hüsker Dü in their DNA: in the wake of grunge, one no longer needed to polish up one’s sound in order to get radio play or mainstream attention. Moreover, the shift in public tastes coincided with Mould writing more direct music than he had in years, building on the melodic punch of Hüsker Dü’s hits-that-should-have-been ‘Makes No Sense At All’ and ‘Could You Be The One?’, although the production was brighter and cleaner than his former band’s murky fuzz: as if to underline that its mastermind was in a sunnier mood than anyone familiar with his oeuvre might expect, Copper Blue’s standout was ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind’, on which the author of temper tantrums such as ‘I Apologize’ and ‘Never Talking To You Again’ improbably wrote a song about the benefits of cheerily agreeing to differ. Snapped up by Creation in the UK, it was both the biggest commercial success of Mould’s career and the NME’s 1992 Album Of The Year. It still sounds fantastic.

‘Copper Blue’ from the new Distortion box set (click image to enlarge)

At which point, Mould felt impelled to throw a spanner in the works again, at least commercially. 1993’s Beaster was Copper Blue’s evil twin: a half-hour burst of songs recorded at the same time as Sugar’s previous album, but of a significantly darker hue. If it was a return to the bleak emotional terrain of Black Sheets Of Rain, the music was stronger, more varied: ‘Come Around’ bore the influence of shoegazing (Mould was a huge fan of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless), the sheer force of the playing on ‘JC Auto’ and ‘Judas Cradle’ drags the listener along, closer ‘Walking Away’ offered an unexpected detour into celestial-sounding synths. Bolstered by the success of Copper Blue, it reached the UK Top Ten, but the fate of its follow-up, File Under: Easy Listening, suggested fans of Mould’s poppier side had taken a once-bitten approach to its contents: it was another Top Ten album, but this time seemed to come and go quickly without leaving much of a trace. Its recording was fraught – Spin magazine publicly outed Mould, whose sexuality had been an open secret since the days of Hüsker Dü, an early version of the album was scrapped, Mould expressed misgivings about the finished version – and it remains the least well-regarded of Sugar’s albums, which isn’t entirely fair. Neither an out-and-out triumph in the manner of Copper Blue, nor a punishing but rewarding trawl through the dark recesses of the soul à la Beaster, it nevertheless has its moments: ‘Explode And Make Up’, ‘Your Favourite Thing’ and ‘Gee Angel’ are fabulous songs; it might have been hailed a classic had a couple of the lesser tracks been replaced by ‘Mind Is An Island’ or ‘Going Home’, both inexplicably relegated to b-sides, and present here on the off-cuts set Besides, which also offers zippy takes on four Copper Blue tracks from a BBC Session and a ferocious live reading of Beaster’s ‘JC Auto’.

File Under: Easy Listening spelt the end for Sugar, and this box set leaves Mould’s story there: a final album (Distortion Plus) mops up some leftovers, including collaborations with Throwing Muses and The Golden Palominos and a great cover of Gram Parsons’ ‘Hickory Wind’ recorded with the late singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt. If the new artwork that replaces the original sleeves feels slightly at odds with some of the box set’s contents – the slick-looking graphics belying the sound of Beaster or Black Sheets Of Rain – then the albums themselves sound and look superb, pressed onto clear vinyl with a different coloured splatter for each. An accompanying 12”x 12” booklet adds lyrics and memorabilia, although the essay by actor Fred Armisen is clearly intended for the more complete CD version, and keeps discussing tracks that aren’t actually on its vinyl counterpart. But these are minor quibbles: Distortion provides a rewarding summary not just of Mould’s early solo career, but of American alternative rock in a period of transition.

Reviewed by Alex Petridis for SDE.

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Distortion 1989-1995 is an 8LP coloured/splatter vinyl box set which is released today. Distortion 1989-2019, a more expansive 24CD variant, is also out today.

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Distortion 1989-1995 8LP vinyl box set

LP 1 – Bob Mould – Workbook (1989)

Side A

1. Sunspots
2. Wishing Well
3. Heartbreak A Stranger
4. See A Little Light
5. Poison Years
6. Sinners And Their Repentances

Side B

1. Brasilia Crossed With Trenton
2. Compositions For The Young And Old
3. Lonely Afternoon
4. Dreaming, I Am
5. Whichever Way The Wind Blows

LP 2 – Bob Mould – Blacksheets Of Rain (1990)

Side A

1. Black Sheets Of Rain
2. Stand Guard
3. It’s Too Late
4. One Good Reason
5. Stop Your Crying

Side B

1. Hanging Tree
2. The Last Night
3. Hear Me Calling
4. Out Of Your Life
5. Disappointed
6. Sacrifice / Let There Be Peace

LP 3 – Sugar – Copper Blue (1992)

Side A

1. The Act We Act
2. A Good Idea
3. Changes
4. Helpless
5. Hoover Dam

Side B

1. The Slim
2. If I Can’t Change Your Mind
3. Fortune Teller
4. Slick
5. Man On The Moon

LP 4 – Sugar – Beaster (1993)

Side A

1. Come Around
2. Tilted
3. Judas Cradle

Side B

1. JC Auto
2. Feeling Better
3. Walking Away

LP 5 – Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening (1994)

Side A

1. Gift
2. Company Book
3. Your Favorite Thing
4. What You Want It To Be
5. Gee Angel

Side B

1. Panama City Motel
2. Can’t Help You Anymore
3. Granny Cool
4. Believe What You’re Saying
5. Explode And Make Up

LP 6 & 7 – Sugar – Besides (1995)

Side A

1. Needle Hits E
2. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (Solo Mix)
3. Try Again
4. Where Diamonds Are Halos (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
5. Armenia City In The Sky (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)

Side B

1. Clownmaster
2. Anyone (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
3. JC Auto (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
4. Believe What You’re Saying (Campfire Mix)
5. Mind Is An Island

Side C

1. Frustration
2. Going Home
3. In The Eyes Of My Friends
4. And You Tell Me

Side D

1. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (BBC Radio Session)
2. Hoover Dam (BBC Radio Session)
3. The Slim (BBC Radio Session)
4. Where Diamonds Are Halos (BBC Radio Session)

LP 8 – Distortion Plus:1989 – 1995

Side A

1. All Those People Know (Bob Mould)
2. No Water In Hell (Bob Mould)
3. Dying From The Inside Out (The Golden Palominos)

Side B

1. Dio (Throwing Muses)
2. Hickory Wind (Bob Mould and Vic Chesnutt)
3. Can’t Fight It (Bob Mould)
4. Turning Of The Tide (Bob Mould)

Distortion 1989-2019 24CD box set

CD 1 – Bob Mould – Workbook (1989)

1. Sunspots
2. Wishing Well
3. Heartbreak A Stranger
4. See A Little Light
5. Poison Years
6. Sinners And Their Repentances
7. Brasilia Crossed With Trenton
8. Compositions For The Young And Old
9. Lonely Afternoon
10. Dreaming, I Am
11. Whichever Way The Wind Blows

CD 2 – Bob Mould – Blacksheets Of Rain (1990)

1. Black Sheets Of Rain
2. Stand Guard
3. It’s Too Late
4. One Good Reason
5. Stop Your Crying
6. Hanging Tree
7. The Last Night
8. Hear Me Calling
9. Out Of Your Life
10. Disappointed
11. Sacrifice / Let There Be Peace

CD 3 – Sugar – Copper Blue (1992)

1. The Act We Act
2. A Good Idea
3. Changes
4. Helpless
5. Hoover Dam
6. The Slim
7. If I Can’t Change Your Mind
8. Fortune Teller
9. Slick
10. Man On The Moon

CD 4 – Sugar – Beaster (1993)

1. Come Around
2. Tilted
3. Judas Cradle
4. JC Auto
5. Feeling Better
6. Walking Away

CD 5 – Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening (1994)

1. Gift
2. Company Book
3. Your Favorite Thing
4. What You Want It To Be
5. Gee Angel
6. Panama City Motel
7. Can’t Help You Anymore
8. Granny Cool
9. Believe What You’re Saying
10. Explode And Make Up

CD 6 – Sugar – Besides (1995)

1. Needle Hits E
2. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (Solo Mix)
3. Try Again
4. Where Diamonds Are Halos (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
5. Armenia City In The Sky (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
6. Clownmaster
7. Anyone (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
8. JC Auto (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 22nd July 1992)
9. Believe What You’re Saying (Campfire Mix)
10. Mind Is An Island
11. Frustration
12. Going Home
13. In The Eyes Of My Friends
14. And You Tell Me
15. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (BBC Radio Session)
16. Hoover Dam (BBC Radio Session)
17. The Slim (BBC Radio Session)
18. Where Diamonds Are Halos (BBC Radio Session)

CD 7 – Bob Mould – Bob Mould (1996)

1. Anymore Time Between
2. I Hate Alternative Rock
3. Fort Knox, King Solomon
4. Next Time That You Leave
5. Egøverride
6. Thumbtack
7. Hair Stew
8. Deep Karma Canyon
9. Art Crisis
10. Roll Over And Die

CD 8 – Bob Mould – The Last Dog And Pony Show (1998)

1. New #1
2. Moving Trucks
3. Taking Everything
4. First Drag Of The Day
5. Classifieds
6. Who Was Around?
7. Skintrade
8. Vaporub
9. Sweet Serene
10. Megamanic
11. Reflecting Pool
12. Along The Way

CD 9 – Bob Mould – modulate. (2002)

1. 180 Rain
2. Sunset Safety Glass
3. Semper Fi
4. Homecoming Parade
5. Lost Zoloft
6. Without?
7. Slay/Sway
8. The Receipt
9. Quasar
10. Soundonsound
11. Hornery
12. Comeonstrong
13. Trade
14. Author’s Lament

CD 10 – LoudBomb – Long Play Grooves. (2002)

1. Theme (It’s A Perfect Day)
2. Guys Like You
3. Devil v. Angel
4. I Cannot Reverse You
5. The Fall Collection
6. This Is The Way I Want It
7. BB DuBois
8. Factory Builders Convention
9. NumberNine
10. Heaven’s On Fire
11. We Need The Truth
12. Helium

CD 11 – Bob Mould – Body Of Song (2005)

1. Circles
2. (Shine Your) Light Love Hope
3. Paralyzed
4. I Am Vision, I Am Sound
5. Underneath Days
6. Always Tomorrow
7. Days Of Rain
8. Best Thing
9. High Fidelity
10. Missing You
11. Gauze Of Friendship
12. Beating Heart The Prize

CD 12 – Blowoff – Blowoff (2006)

1. Hormone Love
2. Here And Now
3. Overload
4. Saturday Night All The Time
5. Life With A View
6. Man Keeps Winning
7. Lemonade
8. Tag It
9. Fallout
10. Get Inside With Me
11. Beautiful
12. Ballad Of Mark Dirt

CD 13 – Bob Mould – District Line (2008)

1. Stupid Now
2. Who Needs To Dream?
3. Again And Again
4. Old Highs, New Lows
5. Return To Dust
6. The Silence Between Us
7. Shelter Me
8. Very Temporary
9. Miniature Parade
10. Walls In Time

CD 14 – Bob Mould – Life And Times (2009)

1. Life And Times
2. The Breach
3. City Lights (Days Go By)
4. MM 17
5. Argos
6. Bad Blood Better
7. Wasted World
8. Spiraling Down
9. I’m Sorry, Baby, But You Can’t Stand In My Light Any More
10. Lifetime

CD 15 – Bob Mould – Silver Age (2012)

1. Star Machine
2. Silver Age
3. The Descent
4. Briefest Moment
5. Steam Of Hercules
6. Fugue State
7. Round The City Square
8. Angels Rearrange
9. Keep Believing
10. First Time Joy

CD 16 – Bob Mould – Beauty And Ruin (2014)

1. Low Season
2. Little Glass Pill
3. I Don’t Know You Anymore
4. Kid With Crooked Face
5. Nemeses Are Laughing
6. The War
7. Forgiveness
8. Hey Mr. Grey
9. Fire In The City
10. Tomorrow Morning
11. Let The Beauty Be
12. Fix It

CD 17 – Bob Mould – Patch The Sky (2016)

1. Voices In My Head
2. The End Of Things
3. Hold On
4. You Say You
5. Losing Sleep
6. Pray For Rain
7. Lucifer And God
8. Daddy’s Favorite
9. Hands Are Tied
10. Black Confetti
11. Losing Time
12. Monument

CD 18 – Bob Mould – Sunshine Rock (2019)

1. Sunshine Rock
2. What Do You Want Me To Do
3. Sunny Love Song
4. Thirty Dozen Roses
5. The Final Years
6. Irrational Poison
7. I Fought
8. Sin King
9. Lost Faith
10. Camp Sunshine
11. Send Me A Postcard
12. Western Sunset

CD 19 – Bob Mould – Live At The Cabaret Metro, 1989 (1989)

1. Sunspots (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
2. Wishing Well (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
3. Compositions For The Young And Old (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
4. Heartbreak A Stranger (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
5. Dreaming, I Am (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
6. If You’re True (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
7. Poison Years (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
8. Sinners And Their Repentances (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
9. Lonely Afternoon (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
10. Brasilia Crossed With Trenton (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
11. See A Little Light (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
12. Whichever Way The Wind Blows (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
13. All Those People Know (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
14. Shoot Out The Lights (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
15. Hardly Getting Over It (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
16. Celebrated Summer (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)
17. Makes No Sense At All (Live At The Cabaret Metro, 14th May 1989)

CD 20 – Sugar – The Joke Is Always On Us, Sometimes (1995)

1. Gift (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
2. Company Book (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
3. Hoover Dam (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
4. After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
5. Where Diamonds Are Halos (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
6. Slick (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
7. Going Home (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
8. Running Out Of Time (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
9. Frustration (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
10. Changes (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
11. Can’t Help You Any More (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
12. Helpless (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
13. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
14. In The Eyes Of My Friends (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
15. Clownmaster (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
16. Gee Angel (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
17. Explode And Make Up (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)
18. The Slim (Live At First Avenue, 2nd November 1994)

CD 21 – Bob Mould Band – Live Dog 98 (2002)

1. Moving Trucks (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
2. Taking Everything (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
3. First Drag Of The Day (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
4. I Hate Alternative Rock (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
5. Stand Guard (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
6. Classifieds (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
7. Hear Me Calling (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
8. Art Crisis (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
9. Anymore Time Between (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
10. Skintrade (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
11. Eternally Fried (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
12. Roll Over And Die (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
13. Lonely Afternoon (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
14. Egøverride (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
15. Reflecting Pool (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
16. Disappointed (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
17. Hanging Tree (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)
18. Man On The Moon (Live At The Forum, 29th October 1998)

CD 22 – Bob Mould Band – Live At ATP 2008 (2009)

1. The Act We Act (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
2. A Good Idea (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
3. I Hate Alternative Rock (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
4. See A Little Light (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
5. Hoover Dam (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
6. Circles (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
7. Paralyzed (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
8. I Apologize (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
9. Chartered Trips (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
10. Celebrated Summer (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
11. Makes No Sense At All (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)
12. New Day Rising (Live At Kutshers Country Club, 21st September 2008)

CD 23 – Distortion Plus: 1989-2019

1. All Those People Know
2. No Water In Hell
3. Dying From The Inside Out (The Golden Palominos)
4. Dio (Throwing Muses)
5. Hickory Wind (Bob Mould And Vic Chesnutt)
6. Can’t Fight It
7. Turning Of The Tide
8. Dog On Fire (Demo)
9. Fort Knox, King Solomon (Live At First Avenue, March 1995)
10. I Hate Alternative Rock (Live At First Avenue, March 1995)
11. Wanted Was
12. Eternally Fried
13. Doubleface
14. He Didn’t (The 6ths)

CD 24 – Distortion Plus: 1989-2019

1. Castor And Pollux
2. Surveyors And Cranes
3. Love Escalator
4. Lowdown Ground
5. My Old Friend
6. Nihil
7. Could You Be The One? (Live At The 9:30 Club, 7th October 2005)
8. I Apologize (Live At The 9:30 Club, 7th October 2005)
9. Chartered Trips (Live At The 9:30 Club, 7th October 2005)
10. Dear Rosemary (Foo Fighters)
11. Father’s Day (Butch Walkers)
12. I Don’t Mind

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