copper blue

Sugar made their triumphant debut with the shimmering power pop and post punk angst of this melodic alternative gem.  'Copper Blue' saw Hüsker Dü's Bob Mould returning to the power-trio format after releasing two solo albums. Mould remembers:  "I was in transition. You kind of always are, really, but in my case, at the beginning of 1991, I had left Minneapolis and moved to New York City. My first solo record, 'Workbook', had come out in 1989, and it was very well received. My second one, 'Black Sheets Of Rain', came out in the fall of '90, and it was a darker record, a little bit heavier...I was ready to change things. The spring of '91 found me back to square one in many ways, business-wise and record company-wise. Prior to this, I had spent a lot of time in Europe, toured all over, and I was writing a lot. I played new songs live before I recorded them, so I could see what was working for people. It was a very interactive period...In my mind, I was going in to make the third Bob Mould solo record. Sugar wasn't even a band in my head at first. The songs were probably more melodic and immediate than on the other solo records. I had played the material a lot in various settings, made some pretty elaborate home demos, so when it was time to go into the studio and make a record, I was very prepared."

Mould joined forces with the bassist from Mercyland David Barbe and the drummer from the Zulus Malcolm Travis:  "I spent nine months writing new material and playing all these shows and in the fall of ’91 I was targeting record companies trying to get a deal and it turned out that Alan McGee was the first person who was honestly and truly receptive to the idea. Meeting at the Creation offices was really great and I was gathering things for what was supposed to be my first solo record. I knew a couple of musicians that I knew would make for a great rhythm section - I knew David Barbe through a lot of mutual friends in Athens, GA, and he had just finished up his band called Mercyland. I reached out to David and played him some demos and he was really excited at the prospect. The other musician was Malcolm Travis who was the drummer with a band called The Zulus and I’d produced a record for them in 1988. Malcolm was great guy and a really good drummer and The Zulus had just wrapped up so he was available...We all got together in late January or early February of 1992 and spent three weeks rehearsing in the Athens, GA, for these nebulous recording sessions. It wasn’t a band at that point but what made it a band was before we were ready to leave Athens and head to Massachusetts to record these songs, Barrie Greene who was a booker at the 40 Watt club in Athens asked us to fill a last minute vacancy and play and show and we were like, 'Oh sure. Why not?' And that was the moment we were like, 'Ooops! What are we going to call this?' So the three of us and my then-partner - who was on the management side of things - were eating at a waffle house and there was pack of sugar on the table and that’s how it all happened!"

Mould and Lou Giordano produced the sessions at the Outpost in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Mould says:   "I had a history with Lou. He had been Husker Du's live sound engineer for the last three years of the band, and I had used him for the basic tracking of 'Workbook'. He did a great job on 'Copper Blue'. He kept me focused and got good performances out of David Barbe...The band never really played in the room together at any point on the record. It was put together with drums and guide guitar, then bass, and then I piled on all the guitars, vocals, keyboards and percussion. It was an intense month of recording, but we had a great time. Ten songs became 'Copper Blue', six went to 'Beaster' – it was a very fruitful time in the studio...I tried to reinvent myself...The last thing I wanted to do was re-create Husker Du with other people. It would have been flimsy, and people would've seen through it. Plus, after eight years of playing in that style, I wanted to become a better musician. I wanted to work on my technique, and I approached songwriting in a different way. There were more free verses instead of structured rhyme."

The album went to number ten on the British album charts and became the greatest commercial success of Mould's career.  It sold over two hundred and fifty thousand copies and was voted Album of the Year by the New Musical Express (NME).  Mould says:  "I love 'Copper Blue'.  I loved recording it, playing it, and I love knowing that other people love it, too."







http://bobmould.com/








'If I Can't Change Your Mind'  went to number thirty in the UK.

Tears fill up my eyes
I'm washed away with sorrow
And somewhere in my mind
I know there's no tomorrow
I see you're leaving soon
I guess you've had your fill
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will
And all throughout the years
I've never strayed from you my dear
But you suspect I'm somewhere else
You're feeling sorry for yourself
Leaving with a broken heart
I love you even still
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will






'The Act We Act'

If affection holds you back 
Then what is left to hold 
If I could find the answer to that 
Question then I'd know 
The thoughts that 
Clutter up your mind 
And leave me feeling drained 
And walking pacing up the walls 
Across the floor again 
All the things I haven't seen 
Once the final curtain has been raised 
The act we act is wearing thin 
The act we act we under my skin 
The words the words we said goodbye 
The words left choking in my mind 
The act we act is wearing thin 
I think we wear it out again 






'A Good Idea'

They went down to the river 
On a warm summer night 
The air was think with the 
Smell of temptation 
He said why don't we lay in the water 
Let the water run over me 
And she grinned and she said 
Now she said now she said 
Now that's a good idea 





'Changes'

I want somethin' like I remember
And I want somethin', that lasts forever
I remember times you said
That you'd be true to me
Look at how the weather's changin'






'Helpless'

Time after time what's on your mind
You make me feel so helpless I
You never tried what's on your mind
You make me feel so helpless I
I feel so helpless I
You're left alone with something
And I hope for you it's one thing
That something you and yours can
Hold and hold as something special
And now you find as time goes by
You're left with nothing meaning much
The meaning I will have to try
What's on your mind so helpless I
I feel so helpless I







'The Slim'
Mould says:  "‘The Slim’ is was what AIDS was called before it was called AIDS. The song is fictional and based on the experience of so many other people. At the time, I didn’t fully understand those ten years of grief. I saw it but I walked through it. I wasn’t touched by it as much as other people that I knew and especially people that I’ve come to know since who have lost dozens and dozens and dozens of people. I was writing from a sort of visceral, accidental and naïve spot and it wasn’t informed by years of experience; it was just observation and feelings.  As far as responsibility goes, no; I didn’t write it to be anything other then an emotional song that just happened."

Do you know where you're going
Do you know where you've been
Is it simple is it simple
The chances seemed so slim
In a cloud is it cloudy
You've clouded up again
Your perception your decision
Your decision
Behind I'm left behind
Oh, I'm left behind, I'm left behind
It's a matter of time













'Copper Blue' full album:



All songs written and composed by Bob Mould

1. "The Act We Act"   5:10
2. "A Good Idea"   3:47
3. "Changes"   5:01
4. "Helpless"   3:05
5. "Hoover Dam"   5:28
6. "The Slim"   5:14
7. "If I Can't Change Your Mind"   3:18
8. "Fortune Teller"   4:28
9. "Slick"   4:59

10. "Man on the Moon"