Elliott Childs delves into archival releases from a couple of the American Midwest's most notorious bands.
Husker Du, from left: Greg Norton, Grant Hart and Bob Mould Photo: supplied
This September was a month of somewhat mixed emotions for fans of legendary St Paul, Minnesota punk band, Hüsker Dü. First came excitement at the announcement of Savage Young Dü, an amazingly in depth, 3 disc boxset devoted to the band’s early years and produced by the Numero group, a label that specialises in high-end reissue packages.
Savage Young Du Photo: supplied
But that excitement was soon overshadowed just a few days later with the sad news that Grant Hart, drummer, singer and songwriter for the band had died of cancer aged 56.
So what of Savage Young Dü? Well for one thing, it seems long overdue. For a band who are often cited as hugely influential to any number of musicians, there is very little available in the way of reissues of Hüsker Dü material. This is due in part to disagreements between band members but also the fact that the bulk of their catalogue lies with the revered but notoriously hard to deal with SST Records.
However Savage Young Dü side-steps that issue by focusing on the pre-SST years, utilising live recordings, demos, singles released on the band’s own label and alternative takes. All of these recordings have been carefully digitized and remastered at Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and considering most of them have come from cassette tapes that are 30 odd years old, the results are very impressive.
With Hart’s passing it seems clear that Hüsker Dü is gone for good, all the more poignant when you consider that this final project is the first that all 3 band members have worked on since 1987. With that said, it’s a rather wonderful way to conclude those creative relationships. Aside from the care given to the music itself, this boxset is exhaustive in its detail and there are even notes on the individual shows and cassettes that the recordings are sourced from. Savage Young Dü is a careful and loving document of Hüsker Dü and its fitting that their story is brought full circle with something that gives the band’s music the attention to detail it deserves.
While Hüsker Dü were perfecting their hard and fast style of punk rock, in the neighbouring city of Minneapolis, the Replacements were working on a much looser sound.
For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986 Photo: supplied
Known almost as much for their sloppiness as their incredible song craft, the Replacements never quite had the commercial success they should have but, again, have been named as an inspiration by too many bands to mention. Their live shows, often chaotic and drunken, were the stuff of legend, but aside from a cheaply made, hard to find cassette release, aptly titled The Shit Hits The Fans, there has never been an official Replacements live record or even much of an attempt to try and make one.
The story behind this album starts in 1986, when Warner Records sent a mobile recording studio to Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey to record a Replacements gig. The project was planned as a promotional release but was promptly cancelled when lead guitarist Bob Stinson left the band not long after. After a few unsuccessful attempts to revive the album in the last 30 years, the recordings are finally out in the cold light of day and they go a long way to dispelling the myth that the Replacements were a complete shambles live.
Sure, there are some noticeable bum notes here and there but for the most part, the show simply sounds like a lot of fun. The band are loose and energetic throughout the 29 tracks and you can practically hear them bouncing around the stage. The enthusiasm on display also goes a long way to showing off how great the Replacement’s songs really are, as well as breathing new life into the various covers on the album.
Savage Young Dü is available on Reflex/Numero Group
For Sale - Live At Maxwell's 1986 is available on Rhino
