Workbook by Bob Mould

Workbook, Bob Mould's first solo album, came out on Virgin in 1989 after the breakup of Hüsker Dü, and anybody expecting another blast of hardcore noise got a surprise. Mould turned toward folk, letting acoustic guitars and cello carry much of the weight, with the heavy electric guitar crashing through only now and then. Anton Fier on drums and Tony Maimone on bass, both from Pere Ubu, made up the rhythm section, on the record and on the road after it.

"See a Little Light" was the hit, a bright, chiming song that found a home on modern rock radio. "Poison Years" carries a sharper edge: Mould later hinted it was aimed at his old bandmate Grant Hart, though back then he said it was about himself. Those acoustic textures and cellos pointed to where alternative rock was headed, with echoes on R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People and Nirvana's In Utero.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.