Originally released circa 1994 to acknowledge the debt the Grunge generation owed to this loud, proud Minneapolis power trio, 'The Living End' remains as good a testament as any to the power and intensity HUSKER DU were capable of onstage.
Often overshadowed by the commercial success of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and splitting too early to earn the Godfathers of Grunge tag meted out (laughably) to Sonic Youth, Husker Du's back catalogue remains one of rock's most envious bodies of work. Though hardline hardcore types still swear by the furious blitzkreig that was their 1981 debut 'Land Speed Record', this hack is personally still staggered by the sonic progress the band made over the following six years and the genius contained within records like their brain-flaying 1983 double set 'Zen Arcade' and the near-perfect trail leading from it that gave us 'New Day Rising' (1984), 'Flip Your Wig (1985) and finally led to the Huskers' dalliance with the majors which birthed the celebrated 'Candy Apple Grey' (1986) and their final album 'Warehouse: Songs & Stories': another towering double which merely demonstrated how much life they should have had left in them.
This writer must confess he was initially a bit wary of 'The Living End' considering it was recorded at a series of venues during the Huskers' final US tour in October 1987: a time when negative emotions were running high in the camp. The band's manager David Savoy had committed suicide around the time 'Warehouse...' was released in the spring of that year, rumours were rife of drummer/vocalist Grant Hart's heroin addiction and – perhaps worst of all – the normally prolific somgwriting duo of guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould and Grant Hart were struggling to come up with new material.
At the time, the band had spoken with near-embarrassment of digging into the back catalogue to present something akin to a greatest hits set, while hoping to road test new material. In the event, 'The Living End' features live versions of only two new songs: a robust run through 'Now That You Know Me' which would later become a highlight of Hart's 'Intolerance' solo debut and a great Bob Mould tune called 'Ain't No Water In The Well' which the author dismisses as merely “OK” in the sleeve notes, but to these ears sounds excellent. Imagine Creedence Clearwater signing for SST and sharing stages with Mission Of Burma and you're almost there.
Nonetheless, despite the miserable stuff casting shadows over Husker Du at the time of these recordings, the inherent power and driving intensity of the band at their best still shines through, ensuring that 'The Living End' remains an essential adjunct to the studio catalogue. Yes, there are the inevitable muffs, the sound quality can be a bit variable and the harmonies are ragged in places, but who cares! The spine-tingling exhilaration's all present and correct and as soon as they build the simmering intensity to fever pitch and Mould and Hart are simply bawling the title at each other on the opening 'New Day Rising' you know you're in for a treat.
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And so it proves, as they wheel out hungry versions of 'Warehouse..' highlights such as 'Standing In The Rain', 'Friend, You've Got To Fall' and a particularly venomous 'She Floated Away' before slowing down and taking stock with a heart-wrenching take of Mould's grimly beautiful 'Hardly Getting Over It'. As always, some of their best stuff comes in threes with a gleeful 'Terms of Psychic Warfare' being pursued by its' 'New Day Rising' compadres 'Powerline' and 'Books About UFOs': still one of Hart's finest and the sound of the Huskers at their most unashamedly playful and poppy. There are a few surprises, too, not least a chance for under-rated bassist Greg Norton to get into the act vocally on the menacingly throaty 'Everytime' and his bug-eyed howl on the Hart-penned 'What's Going On?'
Sure it ain't always perfect. Although the conviction's never lacking, the tracks from 'Land Speed Record' and 'Everything Falls Apart' still sound like looming migraines to this writer and it's a shame the encore's their (admittedly spirited) rendition of The Ramones' 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' rather than their great cover of the Mary Tyler Moore theme. Ah well, you can't have everything, can you?
Nevertheless, even allowing for its' obvious flaws, 'The Living End' more than ably demonstrates why Husker Du's legacy demands wider scrutiny. As Bob Mould says in David Fricke's detailed sleevenotes, “the music was so strong...it was easy to say “fuck all this other shit” for an hour” even when storm clouds were massing around the band and it shows in spades here. Even after all this time, it's sad to think there'll probably never be more where this comes from, but as epitaphs go, 'The Living End' is pretty damn incendiary.
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