JOHN WILLIAMSON on the culturing of John Mould who makes his first
appearance in Glasgow since going solo
WHILE Glasgow's indiscriminating multitudes will be scrumming-down
before Chris Rea, Status Quo, and the Farm, real music-lovers will be
swooning for Nirvana, Curve, and Nanci Griffith. Meanwhile, another more
intimate gig may actually turn out to be the highlight of a busy week.
The Sub Club on Sunday stages a show by Bob Mould, last here with Husker
Du for their legendary Mayfair appearance in 1986.
It would be hard to underestimate Husker Du's importance in
the grand scheme of late eighties American rock, especially when you
consider that their success paved the way for the acceptance of bands
like the Pixies and Dinosaur Jnr. Mould's relevance did not, however,
end with the acrimonious demise of Husker Du and in many respects his
subsequent solo work has shown a greater breadth of vision.
His two albums, Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain, were different both
from each other and from just
about everything else that was out at the time.
''I still think they're both great albums,'' says Mould. ''Workbook
probably has more staying power, and in 10 years time it should still
sound like a great album. Black Sheets of Rain, on the other hand, was
more of a reaction to the acoustic sound of Workbook. It was much more
live and quicker to record. Although I still love the second side of the
record, I sometimes wish that I had spent more time writing the songs on
it.''
It's a mistake that Mould won't be making again, as his third solo
album is some way off, and 16 months have already elapsed since the
release of Black Sheets of Rain. He is now without a record deal, having
parted company with Virgin, and has taken to touring as an acoustic act.
''It had reached the time where I had to renegotiate with Virgin, and
it became obvious things weren't working out. A lot had changed at the
record company, and they probably felt the same
about what I was doing. The last two albums were so different that
they could hardly be called
marketable. From their point of view, I wasn't like Poison or some
godawful band whose albums all sound the same.''
It may seem strange that Mould is making his first solo visit to
Scotland without a new product to promote, but this is the financial
reality for a cult act.
''In the past, touring with a band was prohibitively expensive. We
were losing money with
every gig. There's only so long you can go on like that and continue
to pay
people. Playing acoustically was
originally a one-off but it has turned into 10 months of touring, when
I realised it was financially possible. I am considering a few record
deals at the moment, and ideally I would like to have separate deals for
Europe and America, which would allow me to travel more. I certainly
wouldn't want to be on a major label again -- I have made that mistake
and wouldn't want to repeat the experience.''
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