Distortion: 1989-2019

by Bob Mould

Overview

Everyone expected Bob Mould to have a strong and fascinating solo career after Huesker Due broke up at the end of 1987, and that's just what happened, though not in the ways most fans would have expected. After traveling through hardcore into fierce but emotionally rich indie rock during Huesker Due's eight years, most observers expected a whole lot more of the same. Instead, Mould followed his muse into introspective semi-acoustic musings (1989's Workbook), venomous guitar-based commentary (1990's Black Sheets of Rain), pop-conscious indie rock (Sugar's 1992 Copper Blue), solo efforts with Mould on all instruments (1996's Bob Mould), detours into electronic music (2002's Modulate), and a return to guitar-based music that was initially wary (2005's Body of Song) but matured into ferocious confidence (2012's Silver Age and 2019's Sunshine Rock). To say Mould's post-Hueskers career has been exciting and unpredictable stretches the boundaries of understatement, and Mould has decided to document his journey with an exhaustive 24-disc box set, Distortion: 1989-2019. Distortion includes every album he released during that 30-year span and adds four discs of live recordings and two more of rare materials and collaborative tracks. If you're looking for an in-depth study of Mould's ever-satisfying blend of rage and melody, Distortion quite literally gives you everything you could ask for, or at least so much that anything missing is ultimately trivial. Along with all his best-known albums, you get a few worthwhile lesser-known items (most notably 2006's Blowoff, an offshoot of his long-running DJ gig that blends rock and electronics with a lot more vigor than Modulate) and some sublime live moments (his cover of Richard Thompson's "Shoot Out the Lights" from the Workbook tour is pure catnip for fans of Mould's guitar style). However, the sheer size and scope of Distortion makes it something of a paradoxical proposition for his audience: the superfans who would consider buying a 24-disc set will doubtless own a sizable majority of this music already, and it's hard to imagine many people looking to explore Mould's music for the first time would plunk down enough money to buy nearly everything at once. Distortion is an anthology that's intensely obsessive in its concept and execution, but it also presents a lot of fine, inspiring music from a guitarist and songwriter who has never stopped being relevant since the late '80s and counting as an artist, and that's absolutely an accomplishment worth celebrating. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/30/2020
Label:	Demon Records
UPC:	5014797903159
Rank:	74553

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Mould   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin,Sampling,Keyboards,Percussion
The 6ths   Primary Artist
Bob Mould & Vic Chesnutt   Primary Artist
The Golden Palominos   Primary Artist
Foo Fighters   Primary Artist
Vic Chesnutt   Primary Artist
Butch Walker   Primary Artist
Sugar   Primary Artist
Throwing Muses   Primary Artist
Blowoff   Primary Artist
Loudbomb   Primary Artist
Bob Mould Band   Primary Artist
Tony Maimone   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Alison Chesley   Cello
Chris Stamey   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Jon Wurster   Drums,Percussion
Jason Narducy   Bass,Vocals,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Matt Hammon   Drums
Anton Fier   Drums,Percussion
David Barbe   Bass,Vocals
Jane Scarpantoni   Cello
Amy Domingues   Cello
Brendan Canty   Drums
Mikel Toms   Conductor
Malcolm Travis   Drums,Percussion
Jim Wilson   Bass,Sampling,Vocals (Background)
Rich Morel   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Prague Tv Orchestra   Cello,Viola,Violin

Technical Credits

Alison Chesley   Score Transcription
Taylor Hawkins   Composer
Stephin Merritt   Composer
Steve Boyer   Engineer
Andy Katz   Mixing Assistant
Steve Haigler   Engineer
Bob Mould   Loop,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Management,Programming,Orchestral Arrangements
Bob Buchanan   Composer
Frank Marchand   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Ben Fowler   Assistant Engineer
Don Zientara   Engineer
Lou Giordano   Engineer,Producer
Pat Smear   Composer
Dave Grohl   Composer
Greg Norton   Composer
John Keene   Composer
Richard Morel   Composer
Nate Mendel   Composer
Mark Tanzer   Assistant Engineer
Richard Thompson   Composer
Nicky Skopelitis   Composer
Anton Fier   Composer
Butch Walker   Composer
Timothy Powell   Engineer
Eliot Bishop   Licensing
David Barbe   Composer,Engineer
Dan Gellert   Assistant Engineer
Jeff Lipton   Mastering
Kristin Hersh   Composer
Ryan Adams   Composer
Robbie Van Leeuwen   Composer
Phil Magnotti   Mixing Assistant
Jon San Paolo   Assistant Engineer
Blowoff   Producer
Tom Bender   Mixing Assistant
Brendan Canty   Engineer
Gram Parsons   Composer
Heidi Hanschu   Engineer
Christopher Shiflett   Composer
Martin Colley   Producer
Jim Merlis   Publicity
Nathan Winter   Assistant Engineer
Beau Sorenson   Engineer
Keith Cameron   Interviewer
Paul Martens   Transcription
Paul Hilcoff   Photo Archivist
Jim Wilson   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Damien Shannon   Engineer
Loudbomb   Mixing,Producer
Dan Walton   Project Manager
Nic Pope   Assistant Engineer
Peter Shelley   Composer
Maria Rice   Mastering
Ben Stanley   Project Manager
Jan Kosulic   Engineer
Simon Marchner   Cover Illustration
Alex Cull   Publicity