Beaster

Beaster is Sugar's 1993 EP. Its songs were recorded at the same time as the band's acclaimed first album, Copper Blue. However, the EP has a much denser, heavier sound, closer in spirit to frontman Bob Mould's earlier band Hüsker Dü than to Copper Blue.[3] "Lyrically it's so unnerving for me to listen to it…" said Mould. "Musically it's harder, it's a little looser. Lyrically, it's a lot wilder than Copper Blue… Copper Blue was such a great pop record that I just saw this as like the evil twin."[4]

For other uses, see Beaster (disambiguation).
Beaster
EP by
Sugar
ReleasedApril 6, 1993
StudioThe Outpost, Stoughton, Massachusetts
GenreAlternative rock
Length30:51
LabelRykodisc, Creation
ProducerBob Mould, Lou Giordano
Sugar chronology
Copper Blue
(1992)		 Beaster
(1993)		 File Under: Easy Listening
(1994)
Singles from Beaster
  1. "Tilted"
    Released: August 9, 1993[1]
  2. "JC Auto"
    Released: 1993[2]

The loosely conceptual work is built around religious imagery, and was even released during Holy Week before Easter in 1993.[5] "I still don't know what it's all about," said Mould after its release. "The Jesus thing everybody picks up on – those are words that are not used lightly. Just the notion of somebody who can do no wrong who eventually gets hung [sic] for doing no wrong. I think that everyone feels like a martyr sometimes."[6]

Background

Bob Mould said of Beaster:

I'm sure some people are going to perceive this as some sort of step backwards from the previous album. Some people will say it's self-indulgent. Almost anything short of community service usually is. People who have seen the band live will know this is not the case. This is the other side of Sugar that some people haven't seen yet, a style that we really enjoy. The presentation of the material is very demanding, very open to extrapolation, very fresh to us. You can make whatever you want out of it, that's what music is supposed to be about. Sometimes the experience of making music, or listening to music, shouldn't be overanalyzed and dissected. To me, that's what this piece of work is about.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Chicago Tribune[9]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[10]
Mojo[11]
NME9/10[12]
Orlando Sentinel[13]
Pitchfork9.0/10[14]
Q[15]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[16]
Select5/5[17]

"Audibly a disciple of Hendrix, McGuinn and Page, and propelled by the supreme engine room of bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis, Mould's sound is dense but never turgid," wrote Mat Snow for Q. "Better still, his melodic instinct to head for the heights of epiphany remains intact; though on the face of it not a song here should raise even the thinnest wintry smile, tune-wise they beam with vitality and engagement."[15]

A retrospective review in Q maintained the 4|5 rating. "Mould called Beaster 'the bad Sugar' (destined, sadly, to be followed by the 'crap Sugar' of File Under: Easy Listening)," wrote Danny Eccleston, "and alongside his solo Workbook, it's about the best thing in his bulging portfolio."[18]

"It starts with an acoustic guitar," wrote David Cavanagh for Select, "achieves limitless levels of beauty in its 30 minutes and ends with the most gorgeous piece of music Bob Mould has been involved with since his heart-stopping solo on 'Green Eyes' off Flip Your Wig."[17]

"Rarely has a band rocked out with such bleak intensity and utter conviction," opined The Times. "A vast cathedral of noise and despair, erected and demolished in half an hour flat, this is an album which has to be heard to be believed."[19]

"Sugar are about the turmoil of the interior life," observed Melody Maker, "which is maybe why an album like Beaster is best listened to loud on the headphones at home rather than live."[20]

"The dark but insidiously catchy companion to Copper Blue confirms what those in the know had predicted," concluded The Daily Telegraph, "Sugar are definitely The Next Big Thing."[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bob Mould; except where indicated

Original album (2012 edition - Disc one)
No.TitleLength
1."Come Around"4:52
2."Tilted"4:08
3."Judas Cradle"6:15
4."JC Auto"6:13
5."Feeling Better"6:22
6."Walking Away"3:00
2012 edition - Disc two - DVD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tilted" (Promo video)  
2."The Act We Act"  
3."A Good Idea"  
4."Changes"  
5."Beer Commercial"David Barbe 
  • DVD tracks 2 to 5 were filmed live At Finsbury Park 13 June 1993

Personnel

All songs written by Bob Mould and published by Granary Music (BMI)

Produced & engineered by Bob Mould and Lou Giordano. Recorded at The Outpost, Stoughton, MA. Mixed at Carriage House, Stamford, CT

  • Mix assistant: Tom Bender
  • Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York
  • Art direction: Bob Mould/Kevin O'Neill
  • Photography: Sandra-Lee Phipps & Russell Kaye

Charts

Album
Chart performance for Beaster
Chart (1993/2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 94
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 68
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 18
UK Albums Chart[25] 3
US Billboard Pop Albums[26] 130
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[26] 4
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[26] 8[A]
US Billboard Independent Albums[26] 46[A]

Note

  • A^ Chart placing refers to 2012 release Copper Blue/Beaster.

Single
Chart performance for singles from Beaster
Title Chart (1993) Peak
position
"Tilted" b/w "JC Auto (Live)" (Limited edition 7") UK Singles Chart[25] 48

References
  1. "Sugar – Tilted (1993, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  2. "Sugar (5) - JC Auto". Discogs.
  3. Bogdanov, Vladimir; Thomas Erlewine, Stephen; Woodstra, Chris (2001). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (4th ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books/All Media Guide. p. 370. ISBN 9780879306274. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  4. Cavanagh, David (July 1993). "Sidewalking". Select. p. 72.
  5. Earles, Andrew (2010). Hüsker Dü : the story of the noise-pop pioneers who launched modern rock. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. p. 220. ISBN 9780760335048.
  6. Cavanagh, David (July 1993). "Sidewalking". Select. p. 68.
  7. Granary Music; Bob Mould; Sugar; Husker Du (1999-03-15). "Sugar Complete Discography - Beaster". Granary Music. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  8. Rabid, Jack. "Beaster EP – Sugar". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  9. Kot, Greg (April 9, 1993). "All Dressed Up..." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  10. Browne, David (April 16, 1993). "Beaster". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  11. "Sugar: Copper Blue / Beaster / File Under: Easy Listening". Mojo. No. 224. July 2012. p. 100.
  12. "Sugar: Beaster". NME. April 3, 1993. p. 27.
  13. Gettelman, Parry (April 30, 1993). "Sugar". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  14. Harvey, Eric (July 30, 2012). "Sugar: Sugar Reissues". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  15. Snow, Mat (May 1993). "Sugar: Beaster". Q. No. 80. p. 94.
  16. Kot, Greg (2004). "Sugar". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. p. 790. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  17. Cavanagh, David (May 1993). "Praise Bob!". Select. No. 35. p. 93.
  18. Eccleston, Danny (June 1996). "Sugar: Beaster". Q. No. 117.
  19. The Times, c. May 1993, precise date unknown
  20. Melody Maker, c. May 1993, precise date unknown
  21. The Daily Telegraph, c. May 1993, precise date unknown
  22. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 271.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sugar – Beaster" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  24. "Charts.nz – Sugar – Beaster". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  25. "The Official Charts Company - Sugar". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  26. "allmusic ((( Sugar > Awards )))". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
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