Post by Kathy on May 28, 2005 15:30:10 GMT -5
Lville Courier-Journal
www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/SCENE04/50528005
Shut up, listen
Paul Westerberg has launched "Besterberg."
The solo career of Paul Westerberg, patron saint of sensitive outsiders during the 1980s and '90s, has always divided his fans. There are those who dismiss it entirely, claiming he hasn't done good work since "Pleased To Meet Me," the 1990 album by his beloved band, The Replacements. Most take it one song at a time.
"Besterberg" makes an excellent case for shutting up and listening, at least in this context. Westerberg's solo career is clearly more spotty than his early work, with too many half-finished songs that settle for having likable choruses and a little clever wordplay. But when he's good the world is a better place.
"Besterberg" consists of 20 well-chosen songs, but not well-chosen enough to avoid argument.
Even without doing some research, it's obvious that "First Glimmer" ("14 Songs") and "Crackle and Drag" ("Come Feel Me Tremble") deserve to be here, replacing "Stain Yer Blood" (from a "Friends" soundtrack? blech) and the previously unreleased "All That I Had," both of which are forgettable at best.
It's hard to dismiss the rest.
The sad songs, especially "Things," "It's a Wonderful Lie," "Once Around the Weekend" (great alternate mix), "Runaway Wind" and "Love Untold" resonate beautifully. In the painfully thin liner notes, Westerberg writes that "Things" is one of only two songs he's written that have made him cry (the Replacements' "Rock 'n' Roll Ghost" is the other). "Love Untold" remains perfection.
Westerberg's pop and rock side is represented by "Dyslexic Heart," "Knockin' on Mine," "World Class Fad," "Lookin' Out Forever" and the little-heard "Seein' Her," a UK-only single that should have been on "Eventually." An acoustic version of the Beatles' "Nowhere Man," from the "I Am Sam" soundtrack, is extremely lovable.
Despite a couple of missteps, "Besterberg" is a solid three-star collection. It gets an extra half-star for being named "Besterberg," because that's funny.
— Jeffrey Lee Puckett
www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/SCENE04/50528005
Shut up, listen
Paul Westerberg has launched "Besterberg."
The solo career of Paul Westerberg, patron saint of sensitive outsiders during the 1980s and '90s, has always divided his fans. There are those who dismiss it entirely, claiming he hasn't done good work since "Pleased To Meet Me," the 1990 album by his beloved band, The Replacements. Most take it one song at a time.
"Besterberg" makes an excellent case for shutting up and listening, at least in this context. Westerberg's solo career is clearly more spotty than his early work, with too many half-finished songs that settle for having likable choruses and a little clever wordplay. But when he's good the world is a better place.
"Besterberg" consists of 20 well-chosen songs, but not well-chosen enough to avoid argument.
Even without doing some research, it's obvious that "First Glimmer" ("14 Songs") and "Crackle and Drag" ("Come Feel Me Tremble") deserve to be here, replacing "Stain Yer Blood" (from a "Friends" soundtrack? blech) and the previously unreleased "All That I Had," both of which are forgettable at best.
It's hard to dismiss the rest.
The sad songs, especially "Things," "It's a Wonderful Lie," "Once Around the Weekend" (great alternate mix), "Runaway Wind" and "Love Untold" resonate beautifully. In the painfully thin liner notes, Westerberg writes that "Things" is one of only two songs he's written that have made him cry (the Replacements' "Rock 'n' Roll Ghost" is the other). "Love Untold" remains perfection.
Westerberg's pop and rock side is represented by "Dyslexic Heart," "Knockin' on Mine," "World Class Fad," "Lookin' Out Forever" and the little-heard "Seein' Her," a UK-only single that should have been on "Eventually." An acoustic version of the Beatles' "Nowhere Man," from the "I Am Sam" soundtrack, is extremely lovable.
Despite a couple of missteps, "Besterberg" is a solid three-star collection. It gets an extra half-star for being named "Besterberg," because that's funny.
— Jeffrey Lee Puckett
