sst records. 027 / 23 tracks / jul 1984

(promo LP): sst records. psst e27 / 8 tracks / 1984

UK: sst records. 027 / 1984

D: aggressive rockproduktionen. ag 0036 / 1984

Fold out cover. First US pressing in heavy cardboard sleeve, and no bar code on back cover. In 1990 various reissues on colored vinyl were pressed, 1000 each (according to PunkVinyl.com): Red, blue, gold, lime green and orange vinyl. US radio promo (“Zen Arcade Sampler”) is a single LP in stickered white sleeve with 7 songs selected from the album on side A plus 8 Miles High on side B along with an etching of the HD logo in the vinyl; 500 made.

I guess it’s fair to call this their breakthrough album; the critics of the bigger music magazines finally took note of what was going on in the underground, and the major label execs started to reach for their checkbooks. Musically, this is a blend of 60s pop and psychedelia, 70s rock and punk and 80s hardcore that simply didn’t exist before Hüsker Dü; and while their previous releases shows them looking for their sound, this double LP (another innovation in the hardcore scene) shows them handling all the twists and turns with ease. Rough, noisy, melodic, complex and emotional, a classic. [10]

Mit dieser Doppel-LP spielte sich die Band praktisch über Nacht in die Herzen der Independent- und Wave-Journalisten; es wurde eine fast revolutionäre Synthese aus Punk und Pop vorgestellt, die einerseits die rauhe Welt des Hardcores noch nicht hinter sich gelassen hatte, aber andererseits schon ein bisher unbekanntes Maß an Gefühlen zeigte, auch wurden viele Einflüsse der ’Hippie’-Musik verarbeitet - der Post-Hardcore war geboren. Auch wenn die Hüskers Legionen von Nachahmern gefunden haben - dies ist das Original, und jeder sollte es zumindest mal gehört haben. Bewegend.

Tracks: something i learned today / broken home, broken heart / never talking to you again / chartered trips / dreams reoccurring / indecision time / hare krsna // beyond the threshold / pride / i’ll never forget you / the biggest lie / what’s going on / masochism world / standing by the sea // somewhere / one step at a time / pink turns to blue / newest industry / monday will never be the same / whatever / the tooth fairy and the princess // turn on the news / reoccurring dreams