1985: The Miracle Year

ミネアポリスの伝説的パンク・トリオHusker Du。1985年1月30日に行われたライブ音源と同年のツアーの音源を追加で20曲収録したボックスセット。歴史を塗り替えた1年間を詳細に綴ったブックレットが収録。

1985 truly was an amazing year for fans of Husker Du and anyone who liked their punk rock served up with a giant dose of compassion, barely contained noise, and hooks electric enough to power a mid-sized Midwestern city in the dead of winter. Not only did the band release New Day Rising, which saw them pushing past the boundaries of hardcore in even more exciting fashion than on Zen Arcade, they also saw fit to release Flip Your Wig. There they added even more melody and hooks to their approach with the result being a brilliant pop record with a serrated edge. In between releases and record sessions, the trio spent time taking their show on the road, bashing through back catalog classics and soon-to-be-in-stores tracks with paint-peeling abandon. They asked their sound person, Lou Giordano, to record some shows early in the year so they could listen back and make improvements as needed. 1985: The Miracle Year marks the first appearance of these tapes and shows a band at the peak of its powers, charging through songs in bursts of furious energy. Bob Moulds guitar imitates a rocket hitting the edge of the atmosphere, while Greg Nortons bass pummels the sides of the skull and Grant Hart merrily thunders along, the grinning jester to Moulds stern-faced intensity. Both Hart and Mould sing with all the passion one would expect, and thanks to the pretty decent recording set-up, they manage to cut through the miasma of sound more clearly than one might expect. Their entire January 31 performance at hometown club First Avenue makes up half the collection, the rest is a grab bag of recordings made during the rest of the year. The former caught them on a good night for sure, its hard to imagine another band of the time sounding as revolutionary and alive as the guys do here. Its yet another miracle that the tapes were saved and have been restored and presented in such a way. The other recordings feature more tracks found on Flip Your Wig, which is good, but the recording quality fluctuates a little, which is less good. Still, even when the sound leans more in the direction of a really good bootleg, its still worth the price of admission to hear the band at their best playing like their lives depended on it. The set, which is 100-percent essential for Husker Du fans, also includes a 36-page book that goes behind the scenes of an incredible year in the too-short life of an incredible band. ~ Tim Sendra