The Replacements - Great or Kinda Dull?

[sloopjohnc]

I think bands like Tom Petty, Bob Seger and the Replacements...

Ugh, what a list! Very much a "one of these things is not like the others" thing, in my view.

Just look at the tour, later on, when the Replacements supported Tom Petty. The Petty crowd hated the Replacements, hated, hated, hated them. And the Replacements reflected and amplified the hate right back at them.

They would.

If they were idiots. The Replacement would be considered too punk for latter day Petty fans. People forget that Petty was definitely considered "New Wave" when Breakdown hit the radio. It seems kinda laughable, but it was true.

[The Write Profile]

I think the Replacements can be both great and dull, and often for the same reason. Westerberg's early, snotty material, particularly on their debut album, is artless but somehow hits the spot (although there aren't many songs, there are many great riffs), while on Hootenanny, Let It Be and Tim, he stretches out and almost embraces a form of articulate angst. When it works- "I Will Dare", "Left of the Dial" ,"Within Your Reach", "Unsatisfied"- there's an undeniable power of its expression. When it doesn't- "Androgynous" is a big offender here, as is Here Comes A Regular- is basically sounds like he's pouring all his emotion and effort into something that is barely worth the effort. They're one of those bands that I'm sure I would have loved to see live, if I was around at the time. I guess the closest UK analogue would be the Smiths, but they were more crystalline and melodic, and also better or at least defter and funnier, in chronicling the maladjusted.

[Darkness_Fish]

Heck, they did KISS covers with no irony.

Just as I was thinking of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

It's a lively and lovely discussion, folks -

in fact it is one of the best in quite some time. Knowledge, taste, personal anecdotes, excellent.

Is there a decent anthology, BTW? I'd love to hear stuff from albums I don't own.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

Heck, they did KISS covers with no irony.

Just as I was thinking of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[The Write Profile]

Is there a decent anthology, BTW? I'd love to hear stuff from albums I don't own.

Yup, this is a good summary of their work, it collects their most famous tracks,and manages to pick the best bits from the later stage of their career. It sounds really good too, they've cleaned the tracks up quite a bit. But I'd recommend getting Let It Be first.

[fange]

I think the Replacements can be both great and dull, and often for the same reason. Westerberg's early, snotty material, particularly on their debut album, is artless but somehow hits the spot (although there aren't many songs, there are many great riffs), while on Hootenanny, Let It Be and Tim, he stretches out and almost embraces a form of articulate angst. When it works- "I Will Dare", "Left of the Dial" ,"Within Your Reach", "Unsatisfied"- there's an undeniable power of its expression. When it doesn't- "Androgynous" is a big offender here, as is Here Comes A Regular- is basically sounds like he's pouring all his emotion and effort into something that is barely worth the effort. They're one of those bands that I'm sure I would have loved to see live, if I was around at the time. I guess the closest UK analogue would be the Smiths, but they were more crystalline and melodic, and also better or at least defter and funnier, in chronicling the maladjusted.

Thanks TWP, you've pretty much captured my feelings spot on here. Though I like 'Androgynous' ok.

At the heart of their music and PW's lyrics there is a LOT to love, and that beating heart - if you're the type to feel it and fall for it - can make the stuff that doesn't work as much less troubleseome.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

Is there a decent anthology, BTW? I'd love to hear stuff from albums I don't own.

Yup, this is a good summary of their work, it collects their most famous tracks,and manages to pick the best bits from the later stage of their career. It sounds really good too, they've cleaned the tracks up quite a bit. But I'd recommend getting Let It Be first.

Ah - thank you!

Done.

[George P. Smackers]

I think the Replacements can be both great and dull, and often for the same reason. Westerberg's early, snotty material, particularly on their debut album, is artless but somehow hits the spot (although there aren't many songs, there are many great riffs), while on Hootenanny, Let It Be and Tim, he stretches out and almost embraces a form of articulate angst. When it works- "I Will Dare", "Left of the Dial" ,"Within Your Reach", "Unsatisfied"- there's an undeniable power of its expression. When it doesn't- "Androgynous" is a big offender here, as is Here Comes A Regular- is basically sounds like he's pouring all his emotion and effort into something that is barely worth the effort. They're one of those bands that I'm sure I would have loved to see live, if I was around at the time. I guess the closest UK analogue would be the Smiths, but they were more crystalline and melodic, and also better or at least defter and funnier, in chronicling the maladjusted.

I'll stick up for "Androgynous" and "Here Comes a Regular" as masterpieces.

The former goes from a politics of "what's the big deal?" to a kind of triumphant gender transcendence by the end. The latter, well, it's just so beautiful, sad, and powerful, best bar song ever. "Everybody wants to be someone's here / Someone's gonna show up, never fear." The turn on the word "someone's," from sentimental self-pity to self-mocking resignation, is typical PW brilliance, "never fear" is a dagger--and the rest is as good. (On my recent Minneapolis trip, I went to the CC Club where the song is set, and a real live regular--a woman about 55 and quite wasted at around 4 pm--told us Replacements, Husker Du, and Soul Asylum stories from the old days.)

Truth be told, "Within Your Reach" I back away from a bit--a bit too high on the sentimental scale without enough undercutting. And "Sixteen Blue" has things about it to love, but it's a little wet.

But all the LPs are great except for Don't Tell a Soul which is a horrible and fascinating failure. The last one, All Shook Down, is brilliant but full of the feeling of its being over. And there are very impressive highs in Westerberg's solo stuff.

[sloopjohnc]

Heck, they did KISS covers with no irony.

Just as I was thinking of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

I think I fixed the Martha link. I really really like them, bless their vegan anarchist queer hearts. Their Westerberg tribute is slight and winning. Both their lps (from 2014 and 2016) are great pop punk.

The Replacements are very much one of my bands, so I'm happy to keep making the case. And I'm down with Westerberg as a great writer.

Their eight records are all different. It's not just me, everybody says so.

Nice post.

I've been looking around a bit. I can get the Complete Studio Albums for € 15.

Is that a bagain of sorts?

(2nd hand, used one time for ripping or something.)

[George P. Smackers]

I think I fixed the Martha link. I really really like them, bless their vegan anarchist queer hearts. Their Westerberg tribute is slight and winning. Both their lps (from 2014 and 2016) are great pop punk.

The Replacements are very much one of my bands, so I'm happy to keep making the case. And I'm down with Westerberg as a great writer.

Their eight records are all different. It's not just me, everybody says so.

Nice post.

I've been looking around a bit. I can get the Complete Studio Albums for € 15.

Is that a bagain of sorts?

(2nd hand, used one time for ripping or something.)

This is vinyl or CD? I would grab it either way, it is a bargain, but then I love the band more than most.

The 2008 CD reissues have a lot of bonus tracks--some truly great songs not on the albums, must haves for real fans.

The two recent vinyl boxes (TwinTone years, Sire years, four records each) don't have the extra tracks, and aspects of the production are a little shabby, but they sound fine. They weren't exactly an audiophile band.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

OK - I'll get it. Its not risky at all, and I'll get totally won over, I'll go for the bonus cuts one way or another.

[take5_d_shorterer]

When it doesn't- "Androgynous" is a big offender here, as is Here Comes A Regular- is basically sounds like he's pouring all his emotion and effort into something that is barely worth the effort.

No and no. "Androgynous" may not be as good a song as "Sixteen Blue" or "Unsatisfied", but on that album, it fills an important role as a more blunt expression of things that are hinted at more subtlely in those two. There is a reason you have recitative in opera.

"Here Comes a Regular" is a tricky song to critique. The simple assessment is that it lacks Bob Stimson, but I really don't know if Stimson could have figured out what to do with this tune. It's too good to throw away, but it doesn't fit with the previous edition of the band.

[take5_d_shorterer]

But all the LPs are great except for Don't Tell a Soul which is a horrible and fascinating failure.

I honestly don't know this album well enough to assess it in total, but "Achin' to Be" is a great tune. Maybe not in the studio rendition, but here's a live cut:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKKjyWetvIc

(The song is about halfway through the clip above at 3:10.)

It's hard for performers (especially guitarists) to borrow elements of country music without seeming to ape the style, hard enough that when someone is able to do that, you really notice. There are certain riffs in "Little Wing" that show a direct lineage to pedal steel. I can't remember specific things in Townshend's playing, but you can find them especially on the solo albums.

This is Westerberg's/The Replacements's interpretation of country music, and it sounds inventive and personal in a way that I would put above the way, let's say, Mick Jagger appropriated country music.

[The Write Profile]

No and no. "Androgynous" may not be as good a song as "Sixteen Blue" or "Unsatisfied", but on that album, it fills an important role as a more blunt expression of things that are hinted at more subtlely in those two. There is a reason you have recitative in opera.

"Here Comes a Regular" is a tricky song to critique. The simple assessment is that it lacks Bob Stimson, but I really don't know if Stimson could have figured out what to do with this tune. It's too good to throw away, but it doesn't fit with the previous edition of the band.

Fair call. I guess my issue with "Androgynous" is the fact that Westerberg is really stretching to reach something he can't quite grasp, and what he's trying to grasp is rendered so clumsily. Westerberg's talents don't really lie in gender ambiguity, and besides glam rock and the Smiths talked about those things more eloquently. "Sixteen Blue", "Unsatisfied" and "Answering Machine" are all full-throated expressions of emotions that he closely identifies with- and Stinson's guitar is crucial too- it gets to the heart of the songs.

Yeah, "Here Comes A Regular" needed Stinson on guitar, I feel. It sort of exists inbetween two versions of the band, as you say.

[George P. Smackers]

No and no. "Androgynous" may not be as good a song as "Sixteen Blue" or "Unsatisfied", but on that album, it fills an important role as a more blunt expression of things that are hinted at more subtlely in those two. There is a reason you have recitative in opera.

"Here Comes a Regular" is a tricky song to critique. The simple assessment is that it lacks Bob Stimson, but I really don't know if Stimson could have figured out what to do with this tune. It's too good to throw away, but it doesn't fit with the previous edition of the band.

Fair call. I guess my issue with "Androgynous" is the fact that Westerberg is really stretching to reach something he can't quite grasp, and what he's trying to grasp is rendered so clumsily. Westerberg's talents don't really lie in gender ambiguity, and besides glam rock and the Smiths talked about those things more eloquently. "Sixteen Blue", "Unsatisfied" and "Answering Machine" are all full-throated expressions of emotions that he closely identifies with- and Stinson's guitar is crucial too- it gets to the heart of the songs.

Yeah, "Here Comes A Regular" needed Stinson on guitar, I feel. It sort of exists inbetween two versions of the band, as you say.

Won't belabor this, but I can't find the clumsiness in "Androgynous" at all, except for the intentional piano-bar keyboard fumbling.

It's blunt at moments, but not clumsy. And the bluntness is balanced by an exceptionally high level of eloquence, to my mind. The moral of "future outcasts, they don't last" repays ample consideration.

P.S. Only Westerberg played guitar on "Answering Machine."