Peter’s fine Bob Mould post reminded me of…Bob Mould.
Like Steve I was a fan of Husker Du, and then Sugar, but I was more than surprised when Mould appeared as a contributor to Beat the Retreat, a compilation/tribute (ugh, I hate that word in this context) to guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson.
I am pretty out there as a huge Thompson fan. He is my favorite live performer and songwriter, and well, he was my favorite guitar player till I got turned on to Bill Frisell and appreciated Mick Ronson as much as I do now. Still top three with some pretty good company.
Anyway, Mould covers this fine Thompson tune, and kills on guitar, but he also really nails the timbre of Thompson’s voice. Best of all, I found a couple of other Mould covers of Thompson, so more to come!
Perhaps this is the kind of different stuff I’d always heard about. This seems more Replacements than Husker.
Great find! I like to think I’m as big a Richard Thompson fan as Lawr, and I’m no expert on Bob Mould’s solo career after Sugar, but his cover of Turning of the Tide gets extra points for toughening up what always seemed to me a nice but negligible tune. Look how far Mould brings it forward from 1988.
https://youtu.be/63mkAyU4PLQ
But saying something is more Replacements than Husker is hardly an insult. We’re talking delicious Granny Smith’s versus delicious Pink Ladies. Both great, but different.