The Replacements
All For Nothing/Nothing For All (1997)

review by: Mike Webb
Date: 11/14/01

Writing a review about the Replacements is like writing a review about why sex is good. Because it is.

But there's something about my beloved Mats that I don't quite understand. I firmly and unequivocally believe that they were the greatest American rock'n'roll band of all time. But they never sold over 100,000 copies of any of their albums, and in a way that disqualifies them from any kind of worldwide agreement on their greatness. Which I think is exactly why they're my favorite band.

Oh it could also be that Paul Westerberg wrote funny, and sometimes poignant songs. Or it could be that they had an unrelenting punk attitude. Or it could be that a band with a punk soul had the balls to try piano ballads, country-flavored acoustic numbers and even jazz-like nightclub standards. Or it could be the teenage anthems that came so easily to them (and that I can still relate to 'til this day sadly enough). But I really think it's because they never achieved R.E.M. or U2 type status among everyone. They're my band. My little secret that most of you probably don't know about. So when I actually hear one of their songs on the radio, I freak out. Or when I see someone wearing a "Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash" t-shirt, we instantly know that we have better taste in music than 99% of the world.

Sure they got softer as time passed by, but all bands start to lose their lustre if they last long enough. I guess they were my soundtrack from late college to moving out on my own, and there are barely 200,000 people who've met the Mats and and half of those are geeky music critics!?

So lay down some cash, and make sure you have at least one Replacements album in your collection. I couldn't pick just one to review, but the above applies to most of their work. If you want some advice, I'd pick up either "Let It Be", "Tim" or "Pleased To Meet Me". Or even their greatest hits if you want to fail the greatest hits rule. But rules are made to be broken, and quite simply, The Replacements rule.

review by: Chris Orcutt
Date: 12/6/01

Webb has nailed it for sure. Though this Greatest Hits only covers their Sire years (none of their insane Twin/Tone punk stuff is included) it shows what incredible songs these guys had. The only reason most of the songs on disc one weren’t hits is because the Mats never wanted to be a big deal, and in fact did just about everything they could to make sure success didn’t happen. I mean, a three-minute video for "Bastards of Young" (which is one of four included on the two CDs as extra multimedia) of a speaker playing the song? I can’t think of a better statement of contempt for videos. As the liner notes say, "They were commercially self-defeating and completely honorable to the end."

But the songs – "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Can’t Hardly Wait," "Alex Chilton," I’ll Be You," "Achin’ To Be" – are sheer perfection: beautifully written and flawlessly performed. The second CD has all the rare, unreleased stuff, and it’s all worth hearing. "Beer for Breakfast" is one of my favorites (All I wanna do is drink beer for breakfast/All I wanna eat is them bar-be-q chips), as is "Date to Church," a rollicking rock & gospel tune with Tom Waits banging on the organ and howling in the background. Most of the stuff on this disc shows that the Mats were primarily out to have a great time, and the included live tracks like "Another Girl Another Planet" confirm the legend that when these guys were "on" they were better then anyone, anywhere.

The Replacements
Don't Tell a Soul (1989)

review by: Michael Walls
Date: 4/3/02

I don't know if the reason I love The Replacements is because they provided a soundtrack for a huge period of my life (college, 1986-1990) or if because its just great music. I suspect its a little of both. Don't Tell a Soul lands in the middle of that period and creates a fond mental movie every time I listen to it.

I'm glad the 'Mats choose to shun music videos, because their music creates a mental image anyway, and I would hate to ruin that image with some sort of commercialized, MTV-friendly (or offensive) video version.

Paul Westerberg's clear and clever lyrics and unique vocal style combined with Tommy Stinson's pounding bass, creates 3-minute musical masterpieces.

"I'll Be You" and "Achin' to be" are classic cuts off this album. But songs like "Talent Show", "We'll Inherit the Earth" and "Asking Me Lies" are equally tremendous songs.

"Talent Show" talking about playing in a band and having the time of your life and not caring how you look or if you suck or not, brings back great memories of my own college band experience.

I lost my copy of Don't Tell a Soul somewhere between college and adulthood, so I recently bought it again on Ebay. Part of me is offended that I can buy this exceptional CD on Ebay for $2.60 (and equally offended that anyone would sell it for $2.60). But the 'Mats really wouldn't care, so I guess I shouldn't. As Westerberg would say:

"We ain't much to look at, so....
Close your eyes, here we go...."

The Replacements
Pleased to Meet Me (1987)

review by: Michael Walls
Date: 2/8/02

I don't really have a "favorite" band. Like most experienced music listeners/players, I have a running list of top 10 favorite bands. Since 1987, my sophomore year of college, when I was introduced to The Replacements at my college radio station (forced to play Alex Chilton several times in a three hour shift at the request of all 5 listeners), Pleased to Meet Me put The Replacements into my top 10 favorite bands list, and they have never left.

Many bands and artists have come and gone from within that list. Some lasting years, other lasting only weeks. But The Replacements have always found a position there.

The Replacements are, in my opinion, the greatest rock band since the Beatles. And I enjoy the fact that they are not widely accepted or even known by the masses. In fact, I don't think I've heard a 'Mats tune on the radio since I left college. So I'm resolved to spinning a disc whenever I feel the need for a lift.

I say a "lift" because, The Replacements always make me smile. It is pure, simple, refreshing, yet poignant music. This is what rock n' roll is suppose to be about. It not suppose to be about changing the world, or making political and social statements. It's not suppose to lash out at the wrongs of the world, or to put down another's opinions. It's not suppose to take advantage of the current trends and profit from it.

It's just suppose to be music. Like the old days when the first cave man started banging rocks together and realized a rhythm, and liked the way it sounded. Then another cave man started grunting to the rhythm, and before long a crowd of cave people would hang out to listen to the "Grunting Rock Bangers" (perhaps the first "rock" music) and everything would be good. For a few minutes, their troubles went away and they enjoyed life.

That's what The Replacement do for their fans.

Pleased to Meet Me has got the classic all-time greatest Replacements song on it. "Can't Hardly Wait". I don't know what it is about this song, but whenever I'm feeling down or maybe just not feeling on top of my game, this song is a sure fire way to bring me back.

"Jee-sus, right beside me.
And he never borrows any smokes.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
Ain't you had enough of this stuff.
Ashtray floors, dirty clothes and filthy jokes…."

All for Nothing/Nothing for All (the greatest hits album) also has this song as well as a previously unreleased version of it. But if you're not interested in wading through a two CD greatest hits album, Pleased to Meet Me is a great Replacements starter CD. Only 11 tracks, all good, and a great example of what non-commericalized music is capable of.