The Living End (Hüsker Dü album)
The Living End is a Hüsker Dü live album recorded at various venues in October 1987 but not released until 1994. It spans the band's entire recorded output, from "Data Control" off Land Speed Record, the band's debut, to a number of songs from the band's last studio album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories. There are also some unreleased tracks and a cover of the Ramones' "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker."
| The Living End | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | On tour, October 1987 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 76:44 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Hüsker Dü, Lou Giordano | |||
| Hüsker Dü chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[3] |
Recording and reception
Guitarist Bob Mould and drummer Grant Hart handled the overwhelming share of songwriting duties in the band. Greg Norton has solo credit for "Everytime" . The track listing is reflective of the band's set lists. "New Day Rising" was a common choice to open shows. As explained in the liner notes, the band preferred to group like-minded songs into what they called "packs of three." Examples of these "packs" include "Standing in the Rain" followed by "Back from Somewhere" and "Ice Cold Ice," as well as "Terms of Psychic Warfare" followed by "Powerline" and "Books About UFOs."
Over half of the songs were recorded at Le Spectrum in Montreal. Songs from seven different performances were compiled by producer and long time Husker Du sound man, Lou Giordano.[4]
The album was deleted from the Warner Bros catalogue in 2003, and reissued through Rhino Entertainment's Encore imprint in June 2008. In an interview with Spin magazine in January 2008, Bob Mould stated that he had never heard this album.[5]
The liner notes were written by rock critic David Fricke and discuss the band's disintegration. The liner notes also mention several songs that were considered for inclusion on the album, but were left off due to space reasons.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "New Day Rising" (Washington 10/21/87) | Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Greg Norton | New Day Rising (1985) | 3:06 |
| 2. | "Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Hart | New Day Rising | 3:08 |
| 3. | "Standing in the Rain" (Toronto 10/13/87) | Mould | Warehouse: Songs and Stories (1987) | 3:35 |
| 4. | "Back from Somewhere" (Washington 10/20/87) | Hart | Warehouse: Songs and Stories | 2:25 |
| 5. | "Ice Cold Ice" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Mould | Warehouse: Songs and Stories | 4:19 |
| 6. | "Everytime" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Norton | "Could You Be the One?" single (1987) | 2:39 |
| 7. | "Friend, You've Got to Fall" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Mould | Warehouse: Songs and Stories | 3:11 |
| 8. | "She Floated Away" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Hart | Warehouse: Songs and Stories | 3:30 |
| 9. | "From the Gut" (Providence 10/16/87) | Mould, Norton | Everything Falls Apart (1983) | 1:33 |
| 10. | "Target" (Washington 10/20/87) | Mould | Everything Falls Apart | 1:46 |
| 11. | "It's Not Funny Anymore" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Hart | Metal Circus (1983) | 2:11 |
| 12. | "Hardly Getting Over It" (Toronto 10/13/87) | Mould | Candy Apple Grey (1986) | 5:54 |
| 13. | "Terms of Psychic Warfare" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Hart | New Day Rising | 2:01 |
| 14. | "Powerline" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Mould | New Day Rising | 2:27 |
| 15. | "Books About UFOs" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Hart | New Day Rising | 2:25 |
| 16. | "Divide and Conquer" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Mould | Flip Your Wig (1985) | 2:56 |
| 17. | "Keep Hanging On" (New York City 10/17/87) | Hart | Flip Your Wig | 3:23 |
| 18. | "Celebrated Summer" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Mould | New Day Rising | 4:36 |
| 19. | "Now That You Know Me" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Hart | unreleased; later appeared on the Grant Hart album Intolerance (1989) | 3:31 |
| 20. | "Ain't No Water in The Well" (Toronto 10/13/87) | Mould | unreleased | 2:47 |
| 21. | "What's Going On" (New Haven 10/18/87) | Hart | Zen Arcade (1984) | 3:21 |
| 22. | "Data Control" (Providence 10/16/87) | Hart | Land Speed Record (1982) | 5:09 |
| 23. | "In a Free Land" (Toronto 10/13/87) | Mould | "In a Free Land" single (1982) | 3:35 |
| 24. | "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" (Montreal 10/14/87) | Joey Ramone | Ramones cover | 3:13 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]
- Hüsker Dü
- Bob Mould – guitar, vocals
- Greg Norton – bass, vocals
- Grant Hart – drums, vocals
- Technical
- Hüsker Dü – producer
- Lou Giordano – producer, engineer, sequencing, editing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Fake Name Graphx – art direction
- Kirsten Turbenson – artwork
- Daniel Corrigan – photography
- Doug Myren – project coordinator
References
- Raggett, Ned. "allmusic ((( The Living End > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
- Brackett, Nathan. "Hüsker Dü". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 398, cited March 18, 2010
- Christgau, Robert. "Hüsker Dü". robertchristgau.com, Retrieved on March 18, 2010.
- Earles, Andrew (2010-11-15). Husker Du: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock. MBI Publishing Company. pp. 286–. ISBN 9781616739799. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- Steve Kandell (January 28, 2008). "The Spin Interview: Bob Mould". Spin magazine.
- The Living End (CD). Hüsker Dü. Warner Bros. 1994. 9 45582-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
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