reviews / 2023

REPLACEMENTS - Tim (Let It Bleed edition)

Name: REPLACEMENTS – Tim (Let It Bleed edition)
Item: Tim (Let It Bleed edition)
Rating: 8
Author: Claudio Lancia

2023 (Rhino)

indie rock

by Claudio Lancia

Considered by some to be the true masterpiece of the Replacements, and by just about everyone as part of the Minneapolis band's trio of aces (on OndaRock the Milestone crown goes to the previous “Let It Be”), “Tim” appeared in September 1985, cementing their status as a cult band on the American indie rock scene of the Eighties. Having left behind the hardcore punk raids that marked their earliest days, starting as far back as “Hootenanny” (1983) the Replacements had already massively widened their stylistic horizon, embracing a broad range of influences. “Tim” also marked their debut for a bigger label, Sire Records, which meant having greater technical and financial means at their disposal - an opportunity that doesn't always go hand in hand with the quality of the final result. Paul Westerberg and company produced another handful of excellent songs (without ever reaching the larger-scale success they did everything in their power to avoid...) but remained unsatisfied with the outcome. The sessions kicked off with Alex Chilton of Big Star, one of their idols, in the producer's chair; but when it came to the final recordings, the reins were instead handed to Tommy Ramone, the first drummer of the Ramones, responsible for the final mix, which never fully won over either the band or the fans.

After a first 2008 remaster, which added six bonus tracks but did nothing to fix the overall flatness and the excessive, oh-so-“Eighties” reverb, the eleven tracks of “Tim” can finally shine in a new light today, thanks to the work of Ed Stasium, the veteran producer who has worked with Ramones, Talking Heads and Motorhead. Stasium's re-mix doesn't just succeed in making every instrument sound punchier and giving the sound a finally clear, vigorous and (if you'll forgive the term) contemporary feel - it even pulls off the “miracle” of bringing unheard parts to light. Just listen to the revelatory “Little Mascara”, extended by about a minute to unveil a Bob Stinson electric guitar solo that had vanished in the original mix. It's a remarkable piece of work that almost reveals (forgive this phrase too) an “unreleased” Replacements album, hopefully encouraging a different approach to the great records of the past - one that tries to improve them without being overly reverent, overcoming the fear of wagging fingers from fans who don't always take kindly to overly invasive changes made to works considered “untouchable”. Here everything is polished and enriched as well as it possibly could be, while still keeping (on the second disc) yet another remaster of the original mix, Tommy Ramone's, at this point a fairly negligible inclusion, but useful for direct comparison.

The “Let It Bleed edition” - as it has been named - of “Tim” is a celebratory box set that also includes fifteen demos and alternative versions, mostly previously unreleased, some of them taken from the very sessions recorded with Chilton. Among these, “Can’t Hardly Wait” appears no fewer than four times, in an evolution that runs from the anguished acoustic demo to the energetic (dare I say Springsteen-esque) electric version, on which Westerberg never quite manages to find the balance he's after: it will end up on the later “Pleased To Meet Me” with the addition of (ill-advised?) strings (here an acoustic version is included, with cello played by Michelle Kinney).

The box set is rounded out by a booklet packed with rare photographs and a piece by Bob Mehr, already the author of the biography "Trouble Boys", plus the complete recording of the concert held in January 1986, just a few weeks after the release of "Tim", at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago. It's a hyper-vitaminized snapshot of the Replacements caught on one of those nights when they knew how to tear the world apart, just moments before embarking on the downward arc that would produce three more honest albums. The inevitable breakup would follow, along with Westerberg's subsequent solo career, but the peaks of the Replacements' celebrated trio of albums - one of the most self-destructive outfits in the history of 20th century music - would never be reached again.

(Thanks to friend and colleague Paolo Ciro for his valuable insights)

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01/01/2024

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Claudio Lancia, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition

Tracklist

Disc 1 – Ed Stasium Remix
1. Hold My Life
2. I'll Buy
3. Kiss Me On The Bus
4. Dose Of Thunder
5. Waitress In The Sky
6. Swingin Party
7. Bastards Of Young
8. Lay It Down Clown
9. Left Of The Dial
10. Little Mascara
11. Here Comes A Regular
Disc 2 – 2023 Remaster
1. Hold My Life
2. I'll Buy
3. Kiss Me On The Bus
4. Dose Of Thunder
5. Waitress In The Sky
6. Swingin Party
7. Bastards Of Young
8. Lay It Down Clown
9. Left Of The Dial
10. Little Mascara
11. Here Comes A Regular
Disc 3 – Demo & Alternate Versions
1. Can't Hardly Wait (acoustic demo)
2. Nowhere Is My Home (alternate mix)
3. Can't Hardly Wait (electric demo)
4. Left Of The Dial (alternate version)
5. Nowhere Is My Home (alternate version)
6. Can't Hardly Wait (cello version)
7. Kiss Me On The Bus (studio demo)
8. Little Mascara (studio demo)
9. Bastards Of Young (alternate version)
10. Hold My Life (alternate version)
11. Having Fun
12. Waitress In The Sky (alternate version)
13. Can’t Hardly Wait (alternate version)
14. Swingin Party (alternate version)
15. Here Comes A Regular (alternate version)
Disc 4 – Live @ Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL, 1986
1. Gary’s Got A Boner
2. Love You Till Friday
3. Bastards Of Young
4. Can’t Hardly Wait
5. Answering Machine
6. Little Mascara
7. Color Me Impressed
8. Kiss Me On The Bus
9. Favorite Thing
10. Mr. Whirly
11. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
12. I Will Dare
13. Johnny’s Gonna Die
14. Dose Of Thunder
15. Takin A Ride
16. Hitchin’ A Ride
17. Trouble Boys
18. Unsatisfied
19. Black Diamond
20. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
21. Customer
22. Borstal Breakout
23. Take Me Down To The Hospital
24. Kids Don’t Follow
25. Nowhere Man
26. The Crusher
27. I’m In Trouble
28. Go

REPLACEMENTS on the web

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Replacements on OndaRock

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Replacements

The Saga of the Kid Generation

Champions of Eighties underground rock, the Replacements revitalised hardcore by digging deep into the weaknesses and innermost desires of the American teenager. Credit goes to a devastating ensemble and the talent of Paul Westerberg, one of the most gifted songwriters of his generation