Post by Schecky on Jun 6, 2006 21:04:30 GMT -5
Blurb from the OC Register:
June 04, 2006
Replacements repackaged: first comprehensive best-of plus two new songs
The ReplacementsTrue, the Replacements - one of the most vital bands of the '80s, crucial connective tissue between punk of the previous decade and grunge of the following one - has been accorded retrospective treatment once before. But despite its wealth of B-sides, stray tracks and outtakes, there was always a nagging problem with the overstuffed 1997 assortment, All or Nothing - chiefly, it only covered the 'Mats's Warner Bros. years. Thus, the band's thrashy earliest work and the best bits from Hootenanny! (1983) and the indie landmark Let It Be (1984) were omitted, something for which no amount of obscurities like "Date to Church" or their version of "Cruella de Ville" could compensate.
So although it is somewhat redundant, there's reason enough to justify a second sampler, titled Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? The Best of the Replacements and available June 13. (Note: If you shop at Amazon.com, the site currently has it titled Bastards of Young. Oops.) This time out we don't even get to the Sire/Warners years until Track 9, as what precedes it are two from 1981's loveably ragged Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), the anti-authoritarian anthem "Kids Don't Follow," plus the indispensibles from Hootenanny! ("Color Me Impressed," "Within Your Reach") and Let It Be ("I Will Dare," "Answering Machine" and "Unsatisfied," though I'd have argued for "Sixteen Blue," too).
The rest of the round-up is also comprised of essential tracks: "Here Comes a Regular," "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Bastards of Young" and "Left of the Dial" from Tim (1985); "Alex Chilton," "Skyway" and "Can't Hardly Wait" from Pleased to Meet Me (1987); "Achin' to Be" and the band's biggest crossover hit, "I'll Be You," from its most mainstreamed effort, Don't Tell a Soul (1989); and just one, "Merry Go Round," from the back-to-the-garage swan song All Shook Down (1990).
And then there are those new songs, of which the superb "Message to the Boys" is the best (I'd stack it against most anything in a similar vein that Paul Westerberg has tossed onto his solo albums), while "Pool & Dive" is equally well-done but a tad on the repetitive side.
Both, however, are catchy and energetic enough to seem like Pleased leftovers. That said, neither features Chris Mars on drums; Josh Freese, super session cat and official skinsman for A Perfect Circle, does the honors. Mars does contribute backing vocals, however, and Tommy Stinson is on bass - so this does indeed mark the first time the three surviving original 'Mats have been in the same studio since 1989. (Guitarist Bob Stinson , wild man to the end, died of a drug overdose in February 1995.)
So do two above-average new songs warrant buying the best-of? Depends on who you are.
The faithful have everything else, so perhaps they should just grab the new cuts off iTunes. If you have no Replacements in your CD racks, this is as fine a place as any to start learning what you've missed.
But any sound collection requires at least Let It Be, Tim and Pleased to Meet Me, all five-star, A-list gems that make the case for Westerberg's high ranking on the short list of the greatest songwriters of his generation (even if his output since the 'Mats disintegrated hasn't done much to maintain that stature). Heck, I'd even urge you to seek out Don't Tell a Soul and the sorely under-represented All Shook Down , both of which sport little-known or flat-out forgotten songs that beg to be heard (at least "I Won't," "Talent Show" and "They're Blind" from the former, definitely "Nobody," "Sadly Beautiful" and "Someone Take the Wheel" from the latter.)
I suppose you could do worse than start here, though. It's a difficult testament to refuse.
Posted by Ben Wener at 06:42 PM
June 04, 2006
Replacements repackaged: first comprehensive best-of plus two new songs
The ReplacementsTrue, the Replacements - one of the most vital bands of the '80s, crucial connective tissue between punk of the previous decade and grunge of the following one - has been accorded retrospective treatment once before. But despite its wealth of B-sides, stray tracks and outtakes, there was always a nagging problem with the overstuffed 1997 assortment, All or Nothing - chiefly, it only covered the 'Mats's Warner Bros. years. Thus, the band's thrashy earliest work and the best bits from Hootenanny! (1983) and the indie landmark Let It Be (1984) were omitted, something for which no amount of obscurities like "Date to Church" or their version of "Cruella de Ville" could compensate.
So although it is somewhat redundant, there's reason enough to justify a second sampler, titled Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? The Best of the Replacements and available June 13. (Note: If you shop at Amazon.com, the site currently has it titled Bastards of Young. Oops.) This time out we don't even get to the Sire/Warners years until Track 9, as what precedes it are two from 1981's loveably ragged Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), the anti-authoritarian anthem "Kids Don't Follow," plus the indispensibles from Hootenanny! ("Color Me Impressed," "Within Your Reach") and Let It Be ("I Will Dare," "Answering Machine" and "Unsatisfied," though I'd have argued for "Sixteen Blue," too).
The rest of the round-up is also comprised of essential tracks: "Here Comes a Regular," "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Bastards of Young" and "Left of the Dial" from Tim (1985); "Alex Chilton," "Skyway" and "Can't Hardly Wait" from Pleased to Meet Me (1987); "Achin' to Be" and the band's biggest crossover hit, "I'll Be You," from its most mainstreamed effort, Don't Tell a Soul (1989); and just one, "Merry Go Round," from the back-to-the-garage swan song All Shook Down (1990).
And then there are those new songs, of which the superb "Message to the Boys" is the best (I'd stack it against most anything in a similar vein that Paul Westerberg has tossed onto his solo albums), while "Pool & Dive" is equally well-done but a tad on the repetitive side.
Both, however, are catchy and energetic enough to seem like Pleased leftovers. That said, neither features Chris Mars on drums; Josh Freese, super session cat and official skinsman for A Perfect Circle, does the honors. Mars does contribute backing vocals, however, and Tommy Stinson is on bass - so this does indeed mark the first time the three surviving original 'Mats have been in the same studio since 1989. (Guitarist Bob Stinson , wild man to the end, died of a drug overdose in February 1995.)
So do two above-average new songs warrant buying the best-of? Depends on who you are.
The faithful have everything else, so perhaps they should just grab the new cuts off iTunes. If you have no Replacements in your CD racks, this is as fine a place as any to start learning what you've missed.
But any sound collection requires at least Let It Be, Tim and Pleased to Meet Me, all five-star, A-list gems that make the case for Westerberg's high ranking on the short list of the greatest songwriters of his generation (even if his output since the 'Mats disintegrated hasn't done much to maintain that stature). Heck, I'd even urge you to seek out Don't Tell a Soul and the sorely under-represented All Shook Down , both of which sport little-known or flat-out forgotten songs that beg to be heard (at least "I Won't," "Talent Show" and "They're Blind" from the former, definitely "Nobody," "Sadly Beautiful" and "Someone Take the Wheel" from the latter.)
I suppose you could do worse than start here, though. It's a difficult testament to refuse.
Posted by Ben Wener at 06:42 PM