Newspaper Page Text
Mould, Young produce moody masterpieces
By NOEL MURRAY
Contributing Writer
ALBUM REVIEW
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Entry’s sound is eclectic,
witty and definite hardcore
Bob Mould: “Black Sheets of
Rain" (Virgin)
Nell Young and Crazy Horse:
“Ragged Glory" (Reprise)
Usually, when a critic speaks of an
artist’s latest album as a “mood
piece,” he or she is referring to a
work that is low-key, solemn and
more concerned with sculpting a
continuous mood than presenting
memorable songs. Two recent re
leases, however, by two highly in
fluential rock figures, redefine the
phrase “mood piece” radically.
Both Bob Mould’s “Black Sheets
of Rain” and Neil Young’s “Ragged
Glory" sculpt continuous moods,
but the moods these works evoke
cannot be described as low-key or
solemn. Better adjectives might be
loud and angry, with a major dose
of bitter sadness.
Bob Mould’s “Black Sheets of
Rain” continues the obsession with
heartbreak and loss that has col
ored his work since his days with
the seminal hardcore band Husker
Du. In that time (1983-1988), Bob
and the boys wrote short, fast
tunes with killer rifTs and played
them with such noise and vigor
that it was easy to forget the gui
tarist was wailing about tragic
breakdowns in communication.
Their music was a rush — an
adrenaline high — and despite
their premature demise (due to “in
ternal tensions”), Husker Du has
become the stuff of legend to ga
rage bands and rock critics every
where.
After the breakup, Bob Mould
put out last year’s “Workbook,” a
collection of mournful acoustic
songs with just enough pop to keep
potential suicides at bay. In con
trast, this year’s “Black Sheets of
Rain” doesn’t seem to care if you do
yourself in.
Mould’s new album is the
darkest, saddest, bleakest, most
powerful work to be released on a
major label since, well, possibly the
latter works of Roger Waters’ Pink
Floyd (“The Wall”, “The Final
Cut"). Once again, our man has
turned up the amps and punched
the distortion pedal, but this time
he’s not aiming for an adrenaline
rush. The pace is funereal, and the
guitar riffs spiral down into a
whirlpool of despair.
Bob Mould seems to be dabbling
a little in the heavy metal genre
here, but he’s much more inventive
and impassioned than most practi
tioners of the craft. If conventional
heavy metal ever came up with a
moment to match the dark power
of Mould’s guitar solo on the title
track, parents would have a reason
to be worried. And few genres have
produced a song as mighty as ‘The
Hanging Tree,” an anthem for de-
pressives if ever there was one.
It may sound as if “Black Sheets
of Rain” would be an awful experi
ence. Yet, somehow, listening to
this much rage and pain is pur
ging. Like the ancient Greeks who
used high tragedy as a catharsis,
Mould lets us journey through his
dark tunnel so we can see the light
more clearly. “Black Sheets of
Rain” is a stirring work.
Neil Young’s “Ragged Glory” is
not as intense as all that, but it’s a
fine piece of work regardless. The
boy is on a serious roll. After a de
cade of lackluster, drifting albums,
Young hit the mark last year with
the practically flawless “Freedom.”
“Ragged Glory” carries this mo
mentum.
Like Mould’s album, “Ragged
Glory” bombards the listener with
glorious distortion and feedback.
Though over 40 years old, Neil
Young has not forgotten what at
tracted him to rock and roll in the
first place. He even covers a sixties
garage-rock chestnut, “Farmer
John.”
Musically, Young and his band
Neil Young: scuipis ms mooa ana passion skillfully
with his band Crazy Horse on “Ragged Glory”
Crazy Horse are concerned with
rifling hard. Lyrically, though,
Young is dealing with his own anx
ieties — his fear of growing old and
his worry that he may not be the
ideal man for his wife and children.
Crude though it is, the record’s
most potent song is “F***in’ Up,”
an anthem of self-doubt to rival
Bob Mould’s “The Hanging Tree.”
What it comes down to, for both
of these albums, is passion. Thesp
guys have passion to burn. N
Young has been dripping with it
since his early classics “After the
Gold Rush” and “Everybody Knows
This is Nowhere.” He actually
inspired Bob Mould, who covers
Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” in con
cert. Here are two men who don’t
use noise to cover lack of compe
tency, but rather to enhance their
inner rage. In a world of production
values and soulless synths, Mould
and Young wield their guitars like
weapons...and they do draw blood.
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1 • The Red and Black « Tuesday. September 18. 1990
SOUND
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By RAE CURRY
Entertainment Writer
Token Entry: “Weight of the
World” (Roadrunner)
“Weight of the World,” the re
cent release by New York based
Token Entry is definitely hard
core. What type of core lies be
neath the pounding sounds this
foursome puts out is not immedi-
ately evident.
Sometimes they sound like
The Red Hot Chili Peppers,
sometimes Metallica, and some
times TSOL. Whoever they sound
like at any given time, they
sound good. Even though their
influences are very obvious, their
music is inventive and very en
tertaining.
Token Entry’s tunes are a defi
nite collaborative effort. The only
guy in the band that doesn’t write
songs is bassist Matt Citarella.
Vocalist Tim Chunks, drummer
Ernie Parada and guitarist
Richie Acham all contribute to
writing efforts. And they are hila
rious efforts.
“Beautiful People,” a spoof on
attractive cliques, is a wonder
fully funny selection that in
cludes the lines:
“I wanna dress sharp and act
■ ALBUM REVIEW
Whoever Token Entry
sounds like,
sometimes The Red
Hot Chili Peppers,
Metallica, or TSOL —
they sound good.
real mean/And an attitude for out
on the scene/Do the right things
and hate the right people/I
wanna be one of the beautiful
people.”
The title track .“Weight of the
World,” features backing vocals
by Priscilla Brown. It’s softer
than most of the songs on the
album, but it’s still one of the
best.
“Weight of the World” is a fine
collection of witty hardcore and
Token Entry is one of the most
promising hardcore bands
around. Even if you don’t like this
type of music, I think you’ll like
these guys.