Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

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Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Molony » 23 Dec 2008, 18:30



This is the kind of song that makes you feel alive. It is all energy and melody and it is finely crafted. My Sixth Form band did a pretty mean version of it as well so it has sentimental value. 'Copper Blue' is an enjoyable listen too. This one stands out for me though.

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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby The Write Profile » 23 Dec 2008, 22:55

I've posted this before, but the opinion still stands:

I like Copper Blue a lot, there's a real clarity to the sound that Mould could've never got with the Huskers and as a result the songs really have the tendancy to hit the spot, but the actual material sometimes isn't quite there. And that's where the huge, buffered sheen comes in, it helps makes a track as epic as "Man on the Moon" really soar and something like "If I Can't Change Your Mind" actually stick. Actually, what's interesting is how oddly baroque a lot of the arrangements are, some of it reminds me of a hardcore version of the Move, but in a good way, especially "Hoover Dam." (And Mould has admitted that he was trying to go for something like that)

But while it's ultimately a very satisfying record, I can't help but prefer the hurricane-like force of the best melodies on, say, New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig, not least because Mould a lot of the time seemed to be in a direct song-for-song fight to the death with Hart, so whatever problems there are with the production, you can really feel the passion and sense of abandon on every track. Copper Blue works, on the other hand, because, in its own way, it's far more single-minded than anything the Huskers did- it's just aiming to be a record of tunes that hit the spot, which they do. There's greater dynamics and force in the best Huskers work, but this has the self-assurance of someone knowing how to finally go his own way and setting out his store exactly.

Incidentally, I know that Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters has always gone on about how big a Huskers fan he is, but his band seems to have taken the template of Sugar and just cleaned it up to non-existence. Seeing that it was already smoothed out to an inch of its life, it explains why so much of the Foos material is overpoweringly ordinary.

But yeah, Copper Blue is really satisfying for the most part. Every tune hits exactly where it should and I even really like the Pixies-baiting "A Good Idea". A very good record.
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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby BARON CORNY DOG » 24 Dec 2008, 00:50

I like Copper Blue more than I used to -- I like Profile's Move comparison, but I still prefer File Under Easy Listening, just because it was part of the woozy MBV copycat wave.

I've said it before, but I was lucky to see Sugar in Philly and they were great. I mean, like, astounding.
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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby trans-chigley express » 24 Dec 2008, 01:42

Have Yourself a Merry Little Griffmas wrote:It's a decent record but I've never quite understood the appeal - It fails to speak to me. It's a critics' record, really, isn't it?


Is it? It grabbed me immediately when a friend played at his home with no knowledge of who it was or whether they were critical faves. Loads of great tunes with Helpless, Changes and Hoover Dam among my favourites. I was disappointed with File Under East Listening and found that I got into Beaster more when I bought that earlier this year. Copper Blue is the one that I played to death though.

I've never really got round to investigating the Bob Mould or Husker Du albums.

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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Balboa » 24 Dec 2008, 17:37

Stille Baron wrote:
I've said it before, but I was lucky to see Sugar in Philly and they were great. I mean, like, astounding.


I saw them on this tour and I thought they were lousy - maybe they had a bad day.
Of course, I was mostly stoned at the time.

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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby tweetybird » 24 Dec 2008, 18:40

While I prefer Husker Du to Sugar, their material was mostly excellent. Besides Copper Blue, which has been mentioned, I'm really fond of the A Good Idea Ep which, besides the studio recording of the title track, has live versions of Helpless, Where Diamonds are Halos, Slick and the Who's Armenia City In The Sky (better than the original, I say).

I think that by the time Mould formed Sugar, he has mellowed, hence the different temperament of his Sugar material to the Husker one. It is slicker, more polished. He seems to hold back. Increasingly - and more so later on in his solo career - production considerations take precedence over free expression. (And even here, Hart beat him at his own game in Good News for Modern Man, in 1999)

Interesting that TRGP mentioned the Move, as Roy Wood seems to be a huge influence on Hart, especially in Good News.
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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Neil Jung » 24 Dec 2008, 18:47

Even I like Copper Blue and Workbook. Shame about Black Sheets Of Rain though.
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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby hookfinger » 25 Dec 2008, 23:21

After HD, I never liked anything Mould or Hart did beyond the occasional song. And there is a 12" version of Hart's 2451 that was different from the lp, that I liked the best. Sadly i have not heard that recording in years and it may be false memories i am holding onto.


Anyway this seems like a good place to post one of my favorite lp covers....

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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Shagger Dave » 26 Dec 2008, 03:55

Sugar is no way, shape or form remotely as good as the Huskers. I still think Sugar were a great band, so that should tell you my opinion of the Du. Anyway, Copper Blue was great meld of the hardcore with pop hooks he had been doing on the last few Husker Du records with the more accessible stuff off of the first two solo records, with a pinch of MBV thrown in. I dig pop music, I dig volume, so this was right up my alley.

I saw them on the Beaster tour and they were fierce- "JC Auto" tour the place down. Also saw them in New Haven on the File Under Easy Listening tour and they were solid and enjoyable, despite my needing to heavy on some ass-hat "mosher" who gave my brother a bloody nose during opener Magnapop's set (really, "moshing" to Magnapop?????)

Now, Mould's post-Sugar records (self-titled and Last Dog And Pony Show) are Mould by numbers, a few moments but not many. And don't get me started on Modualte.
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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Shagger Dave » 26 Dec 2008, 03:57

tweetybird wrote: I'm really fond of the A Good Idea Ep which, besides the studio recording of the title track, has live versions of Helpless, Where Diamonds are Halos, Slick and the Who's Armenia City In The Sky (better than the original, I say).

The version on that EP is a scorcher, isn't it?
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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Piggly Wiggly » 26 Dec 2008, 03:59

They were an impossible group for me to dislike, but an impossible group for me to love.

Mould seemed to have finally turned his strengths into a winning formula (they were everything I wanted at the time - in theory), but...somehow always failed to satisfy me.

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Re: Molony's Blast from the Past Pt5: Sugar

Postby Beebsy » 27 Dec 2008, 00:34

I love this song and the rest of Copper Blue. And I saw them on the Beaster tour too (which I like but not as much) and they were fantastic.

This is really not the kind of thing I should, on paper be into but I was browbeaten into listening to it by a friend who was friends with Therapy? and so I went through a bit of a phase of all of this stuff. And out of everything, it was this album that I loved most of all. It takes me back to a time of Belly, Frank and Walters and all that lovely poppy grungy-type stuff.

And I came to Husker Du only after all of this, through my ex-hubbie, who was mad into them. It's not cool to say, I'm sure, but I loved Sugar more. That's the pop girl in me, I guess.

I'm going to dig this out again, as soon as I get away from my parents - I mean, home from a lovely family Christmas. :D


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