Sugar - Besides

This is a request. Enjoy!

Few bands released as many smokin' B-sides as Sugar, and here are 12 of those songs, plus some of the live versions and solo versions that also appeared on the EPs. If you've never heard such ashen cuts as "Mind Is an Island," "And You Tell Me," the live cover of the Who's "Armenia City in the Sky," and Barbe's "Anyone," you have them all served up on a single platter for you. It's fair to consider this a fourth Sugar LP, as without a doubt it is commensurate with the quality and greatness of the other three. The first 25,000 or so of this compilation came with a bonus CD recorded on the File Under: Easy Listening tour. Far from being just some ho-hum nicety, the live CD is ungodly. What a punishing trio! The opening "Gift" alone is enough to stop the heart stone-still dead; Bob Mould's opening guitar squeals are so revved up you feel like someone put his amp against your ear. "Changes" is almost unrecognizable and takes on an entirely new dimension as a speed-burner. "Gee Angel" sounds as if the entire stage will explode at its rocket launch. "Going Home" seems twice the speed of the original, and twice as cruel too -- it feels like being thrown from a car! Barbe's McCartney-ish booming bass is the perfect, supple support. Drummer Malcolm Travis' thunder-slam of a snare drum and anvil-dropping 16th-note rolls are as devastating as a 400-pound weight dropped on your head, whipping so furiously. After 100 to 150 plays, this recording still captivates like the Kennedy-assassination Zapruder film, only the gore here is the broken down and painful human relationships that come spilling out of Mould's mouth and the viciousness of the band's tight playing and air raid attack. (AMG)


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Sugar - Beaster

Sugar's Beaster is actually outtakes from their previous dynamite album, Copper Blue. It comes off as some kind of deranged, ugly sister of that sparking album, a yin to Copper's yang, a violent, angry, and seething wall of aggression with (this time) little concession to Bob Mould's pop prowess. Perhaps the most densely recorded, heavy trip the man has produced since Hüsker Dü's Metal Circus in 1983, Beaster is what you might get if Mould had been in the mood to construct a full album of songs like "Slick"'s insanity instead of "Helpless" and "Changes"'s monster hooks. Not that it doesn't still make for great listening once one gets used to the change in focus. "Feeling Better" could have made Copper, with its hooky base (more so than the others here), and the best song, "Titled," is ferocious, fast, furious, and a total knockout, the most aurally exciting post-Hüsker Dü track yet. Again, David Barbe and Malcolm Travis are such a superior rhythm section to Grant Hart and Greg Norton, Sugar is a better update rather than nostalgic reinvention, and bits of Zen Arcade and Black Sheets of Rain aside, Mould has never come off so twisted and out of his gourd. "Come Around"'s "vocals" are all but demonic, and "Judas Cradle" matches metal pounding with MBV/Sonic Youth brutal tones slashing out of the guitars, which gives way to "JC Auto"'s meld of "The Act We Act"-style pounding into a thundering, insane, heavy chorus. When Bob starts seething "I'm your Jesus Christ, I know, I know, I know," you wonder what exactly inspired these straitjacket fits! Man, that's something. Now, there is one major flaw: all the songs need an editor, as with excessive length they approach overkill from too much repetition. Never mind. This is a pretty killer experience more than a record. Whereas Copper Blue made you want to sing along, Beaster makes you hide under the bed. Can't say they didn't warn you; Beaster is well-titled.

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Sugar - File Undeer: Easy Listening

Given Bob Mould's reputation for searing electric rock & roll, it may be easy to think that the title of File Under: Easy Listening is ironic, and it is to a certain extent. But beneath the loud guitars lie the friendliest, most relaxed pop songs Mould had ever written. "Your Favorite Thing" and "Can't Help You Anymore" are two of Mould's most direct, pop-oriented songs, driven by instantly memorable melodies and hooks; they are also the most conventional songs on the record. The best moments come when Sugar push the boundaries a bit, whether it's on the country-rock of "Believe What You're Saying," the swirling "What You Want It to Be" and "Company Book," the searching ballad "Panama City Motel," or "Explode and Make Up," which bristles even at its most delicate moments. Mould throws in one classic spite-fueled rocker, "Granny Cool," but the record's finest moment is "Gee Angel," a powerhouse melodic scorcher.

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Sugar - Copper Blue

I will never forget this record. Why? Because my sister liked it! Yeah, you heard it right, my eldest sister, a fifty something elementary teach actually liked it. It's not usually a good thing if your sister which is 20 years senior to you actually liked what you're listening. But I will make an exception with this record, because it's a really, really good record! It all started when I asked her to buy me COpper Blue since she's going to the mall and I'm too lazy to go out myself. It was in the early 90's and I was listening heavily on crossover/thrash metal thing, with occassional Sonic Youth, Pixies, Black Flag & Minor Threat on the side. When she came back, I immediately played it. And you know what she said? "That's a good record, unlike what you're listening daily. You should listen to that record more often." I was totally blown away by her remark, I was totally caught unprepared by it. I wouldn't normally listen to my sister's musical recommendations but I think this time she's right. It's not I'm going to abandon Slayer, Nuclear Assault, DRI, Black Flag, Bad Brains & Descendents, but I will surely take her advice into consideration. Afterall, it's really, really good.

Take my sister's advice: "Listen to Copper Blue more often."

Enjoy!


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