Hüsker Dü. Live. 1985. The transcendent punk trio from Minneapolis in their most explosive year, recorded live on stage at First Avenue, in what is perhaps the best-sounding recording of the band's acclaimed SST era. This 4xLP/2xCD edition features Beau Sorenson's restoration of the 21 songs from the complete set on January 30, 1985, plus 20 additional live tracks from later in the year's tour and a deluxe booklet with detailed information on Hüsker Dü's twelve momentous months. What does a legend sound like in the moment it is being written? Viewed through the dynamic lens of independent/DIY music, 1985 saw Hüsker Dü make a powerful and undeniable leap from the raw punk institution of SST to the artistic empathy of Warner Bros. The New York Times hailed them as "the best to emerge from the hardcore scene." In keeping with this praise, Hüsker Dü displayed a creative pace unmatched in any musical era before or since. Having blasted the burgeoning alternative rock movement with the double album "Zen Arcade" in July of the previous year, the band released the epochal "New Day Rising" just six months later, on January 14, 1985, never ceasing to chase the sunrise over Hidden Beach that graced the album's cover. On the evening of January 30, 1985, Minneapolis reached -11°C at the time of the concert, a merciless temperature drop of 19 degrees from the day's high of 8°C. The 1,500 attendees at First Avenue, however, didn't need a T-shirt, let alone a down jacket: From the first dazzling moments of "New Day Rising," it was clear that Bob Mould, Grant Hart, and Greg Norton were determined to set every molecule in the room ablaze. Their setlist offered a nighttime cascade of fireballs from the albums "Everything Falls Apart," "Metal Circus," "Zen Arcade," and "New Day Rising," as well as five new songs that would later reappear on "Flip Your Wig." They also paid tribute to their rock forebears: with a blistering version of The Byrds' "Eight Miles High," a riotous rendition of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" featuring Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, a pop-punk remake of The Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," and their signature cover of Sonny Curtis's Mary Tyler Moore title track "Love Is All Around" to close the set. The 1985 First Avenue tapes showcase Hüsker Dü at their peak, performing already popular songs a few years before they cemented their status as a blueprint for the coming alternative rock boom. This box set celebrates these recordings, which are perhaps the finest Hüsker Dü recordings produced during the band's legendary SST years. "When I think back to that time," Greg Norton comments, "these were three guys doing what they loved, having fun, and basically showing other people that you can stay true to yourself, stay true to your music, and not bow to fashion or expectations in order to create something truly great."