Replacements

The Minneapolis scene of the Eighties was one of the most important in all of American rock music of that era (and not just within the indie landscape), and it still holds a special place in the hearts and minds of the many fans who lived through that period firsthand. Husker Du were by far the most important and influential band to emerge from it, but the Replacements came close to matching those same musical achievements. In fact, they've always unfairly suffered from the comparison to the Huskers, even though the two bands weren't just neighbours but close friends too. Let's say that, from the very start, Bob Mould and Grant Hart (Mould especially) established themselves as the more "intellectual" spokesmen of that Midwestern American punk movement, while Paul Westerberg (leader of the Replacements, or the Mats, as their fans nicknamed them) was just a regular kid, with fewer existential/philosophical torments than Mould and much closer to the everyday problems of the average teenager.

The Replacements made their recorded debut when they were very young indeed in 1981 (at the time, only Westerberg was of legal age, while the youngest member, drummer Chris Mars, was just fifteen!) with the incendiary "Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash", released by the leading label of the Minneapolis scene, Twin/Tone (long since defunct, sadly, but responsible over the years for a remarkable string of masterpieces by the likes of Ween, Babes In Toyland, Helios Creed, Halo Of Flies and others).

"Let It Be" (Twin/Tone, 1984) is their third album (not counting the 1982 mini-LP "Stink") and the record that sealed Paul Westerberg's definitive coming of age as a songwriter. A genuine, heartfelt voice for the youthful angst of his generation (nowadays we might call his attitude "emo", though that would sound like an outright blasphemy!), the Mats' frontman managed to pack into "Let It Be" some of his finest "angry young man" punk ballads, at times stripping away the punk excesses that had defined his past musical style.

Looking closely, only "Favorite Thing" and "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" openly harken back to the earlier records, just as "We're Coming Out" stands as the sole genuine hardcore holdover. The new territory comes from the piano ballad (with the instrument seemingly recorded at a whisper) "Androgynous", the power-pop of "Black Diamond", and the other pathos-laden ballad "Unsatisfied" (something guys like Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams could only dream of writing). Even the near-instrumental "Seen Your Video" sounds like a departure from their usual style.

The album's highlights, though, are to be found in the energetic rockabilly numbers (reinterpreted in a thoroughly personal, never derivative way) "I Will Dare" and "Gary's Got A Boner", and above all in the stirring "Answering Machine", built on nothing but distorted guitar and Westerberg's near-screamed vocal — arguably his greatest songwriting achievement of all. The relaxed country-rock of "Sixteen Blue" tempers the mood somewhat.

"Let It Be" came out in the autumn of 1984, just a few months after Husker Du's celebrated "Zen Arcade", released that same spring. The album was produced, like its predecessors, by Peter Jesperson, who was also one of the founders of Twin/Tone, while Peter Buck of R.E.M. took part in the recording sessions, lending his guitar to a few tracks. The recent Rhino reissue, released in 2008, boasts a sparkling remaster, a meaty booklet with liner notes penned by producer Jesperson, unseen photos and a handful of unreleased tracks, including a cover of T. Rex (originally released as a single in 1984) and some outtakes (a few good ones, like "Perfectly Lethal" and "Temptation Eyes"), plus others that are frankly superfluous, such as the demo versions of "Answering Machine" (which, if anything, cheapens such a masterpiece of a song) and "Sixteen Blue".

By this point the Replacements were mature enough for a move to a major label too. They signed with Sire almost immediately and, produced by the original drummer of the Ramones, recorded "Tim" (1985), another of their great artistic testaments — proof that, even though the band is long gone, they remain very much a part of rock history, more so and more deservedly than plenty of flavour-of-the-month acts.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

15/05/2011