This record is a bullshit detector of sorts. Ask a fan what the best Du albums are in order. If they immediately dismiss this and Candy Apple Grey as the weakest material and place Zen Arcade anywhere higher than EVERYTHING that came after it, they are not Husker Du fans, they are elitist hardcore nerds who only listen to Husker Du because history tells them to. Obviously Zen Arcade boasts some of the band's best songs. Too bad they are wedged among too many tracks of amphetamine-fueled (literally) hardcore that doesn't even read at the same level as Die Kreuzen, Negative Approach, Minor Threat... etc.
In my opinion, Husker Du are a pop band. They played hardcore because it was initially inspiring but these boys always flirted with melody and when they did, it yielded their most compelling results. Go figure that by the time of their 1985 one-two New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig (HERE) there were almost no remaining traces of hardcore. Why then does this band hold so much weight in the mythos of American Hardcore? Well, they were on SST, their brand of hardcore was thee fastest you could get for '81... and really, most of the hardcore acts they played alongside, who were largely responsible for championing the boys, were fans of all music, not just the hardcore exploding across the country. No one of any musical worth likely criticized the band for writing pop songs, probably because those songs were so fucking good. Besides, if you watch live footage from the mid 80's, Husker Du were clearly a force to be reckoned with even when playing a mid-tempo ballad like 'Dianne' or a straight pop tune like 'Terms of Psychic Warfare'
All that aside, this is their final album and it sounds it. The production sounds flat and unfinished, there are too many songs to warrant a double-LP and some of the performances leave something to be desired (Bob, where are the solos?) BUT like Zen Arcade this set has some amazing songs, with Bob's pop-mastery finally starting to take the shape it would in Sugar and his solo work. If you like pop and guitars then hey, this'll be a cool listen. If not, just keep telling yourself Landspeed Record is better than Damaged
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