The Last Dog and Pony Show by Bob Mould

The Last Dog and Pony Show, Bob Mould's fourth solo album, came out on Rykodisc on August 25, 1998, and the title was a farewell of sorts: Mould meant it as his last go-round with a full electric band on tour, a promise he kept until Body of Song sent him back out in 2005. At 37, with the better part of two decades behind him from Hüsker Dü through Sugar, he'd had enough of months on the road at full blast.

He liked to say his records swing between bright and dark, and after the claustrophobic gloom of his self-titled album this one throws open the windows. The stories are plainer and more universal, the mood lighter, though the guitars still ring out in that thick, singing roar he's been honing since his Hüsker Dü days. "Who Was Around?" is the one rock radio held on to, and Modulate came next.

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