The Replacements are a strange one. Their reputation is huge but so much of their recorded output was poor. I never saw them live so can't tell the whole story. They were pretty much an American Clash, or an attempt at it, at least I think so, having listened to them a fair bit yesterday, but without a second main lead, whereas The Clash had a couple of other guys in reserve which made them an incomparably better band. Let It Be is The Replacements record. Pretty much perfect in itself. Give it a listen if you haven't heard it.
Their other LPs and earlier releases are poor in comparison, and certainly much more variable. Their songwriting was dubious and on occasion negligible and sloppy. Paul Westerberg was the main guy in this respect. But just the same judgement stands for their general playing. Much of it sounds like missed attempts at AOR hits with the memory of Punk chucked in and the songs, even the bands best known numbers, sound patchy at best. Thrown away on alcohol and lost dreams.
Occasionally, the sun and inspiration shine through. For example on They're Blind, the only song worth a cent on Don't Tell a Soul. Suddenly Westerberg finds his tune, some energy and emotion and pulls off something worth listening to.
The other albums are more consistent, particularly Tim. The ace on this record, last track Here Comes a Regular, is as good a song, pretty much, as any recorded by anyone in the eighties. It's a documentary of life spent in bars, which is always an available lifestyle option, if you choose to travel down that road. Watching life passing by, staring at familiar walls, unchallenged much by anyone and in the company of like-minded souls while the seasons change and your life slides.
My choice from Pleased to Meet Me, would be I Don't Know, one of the few call and responses in The Replacement's canon. It's a joy from start to finish and one of relatively few occasions where the band truly live up to the reputation and trail they've left behind.
I generally bow before the canon. But in terms of The Replacements, I'd have to say they're overrated, and don't entirely deserve the golden terms in which they're spoken of by pretty much everybody. Many of their most reputed songs are half-assed, lazy and thrown away. They barely exist in fellow Minneapolis band Husker Du's shadow apart from Let it Be. I'll add b-side Beer For Breakfast, to this selection, stand by all five songs I've chosen here and direct you back towards Let It Be for further listening satisfaction.
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