Copper Blue

This limited edition LP is pressed on 180 gram vinyl and includes specially-compiled liner notes from Bob Mould as well as David Barbe (Sugar), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), Samuel Fogarino (Interpol), Paul Banks (Interpol), and Lou Giordano (co-producer/engineer). The critics lauded the album and to this day their top-ten lists are packed with bands who would never have gotten there unless there was Mould and his Sugar.

Bob Mould realized his career goal--a rock & roll trio like Hüsker Dü, only without another strong personality to compete with him--most completely with Sugar's 1992 debut. It's mixed strangely, with little bass and lots of treble, but that gives it a buzzing power, especially on heavy-guitar songs like "Hoover Dam" and "If I Can't Change Your Mind." By the end of "A Good Idea," the narrator inexplicably drowns the woman he loves and Mould's voice assumes a frightening monotone. The only real relief from Copper Blue's intensity is the constant flood of catchy melodies. --Steve Knopper