Post by headlightbeams on Jul 12, 2006 23:59:36 GMT -5
A review in the Winston-Salem Journal:
Don't You Know Who I Think I Was: The Best Of The Replacements
Label: Sire/Reprise/Rhino
If you like: Early Goo Goo Dolls
Song to download: "Bastards Of Young"
The Replacements' influence on modern rock is enormous - The 'Mats not only made it possible for Nirvana to be catapulted into the mainstream, but their punkish approach to power pop, spearheaded by songwriter Paul Westerberg, was also a direct influence on the songwriting of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.
Westerberg was a songwriter savant. Even in the band's early, deliriously entertaining blasts of drunken trash and thrash, Westerberg's end-of-the-bar intellect, witty wordplay and unerring melodic sense made clear that The 'Mats were something special.
Potential was realized with the release of Let It Be (1984) - a focused, gloriously tuneful slab of post-punk pop perfection that blended songs of bravado, boredom, depression and insecurity with take-it-or-leave-it immediacy that mocked convention. The band disbanded in 1990, but its legacy of indelible pop appeal and willful chaos made an impression that anyone paying attention could neither ignore nor deny.
A fine post-mortem compilation, All For Nothing, Nothing For All, examined the band's major-label career. But the new Don't You Know Who I Think I Was paints a more complete picture, as it traces the full arc of the band's career - from its indie years at Twin/Tone to its last gasp at Sire - and the development of Westerberg into a songwriter of merit.
Every song is entertaining, most are marvels - and two newly recorded songs, "Message To The Boys" and "Pool & Dive" - just sweeten a concise overview of the most important band of the '80s.
- Ed Bumgardner
relish staff writer
Don't You Know Who I Think I Was: The Best Of The Replacements
Label: Sire/Reprise/Rhino
If you like: Early Goo Goo Dolls
Song to download: "Bastards Of Young"
The Replacements' influence on modern rock is enormous - The 'Mats not only made it possible for Nirvana to be catapulted into the mainstream, but their punkish approach to power pop, spearheaded by songwriter Paul Westerberg, was also a direct influence on the songwriting of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.
Westerberg was a songwriter savant. Even in the band's early, deliriously entertaining blasts of drunken trash and thrash, Westerberg's end-of-the-bar intellect, witty wordplay and unerring melodic sense made clear that The 'Mats were something special.
Potential was realized with the release of Let It Be (1984) - a focused, gloriously tuneful slab of post-punk pop perfection that blended songs of bravado, boredom, depression and insecurity with take-it-or-leave-it immediacy that mocked convention. The band disbanded in 1990, but its legacy of indelible pop appeal and willful chaos made an impression that anyone paying attention could neither ignore nor deny.
A fine post-mortem compilation, All For Nothing, Nothing For All, examined the band's major-label career. But the new Don't You Know Who I Think I Was paints a more complete picture, as it traces the full arc of the band's career - from its indie years at Twin/Tone to its last gasp at Sire - and the development of Westerberg into a songwriter of merit.
Every song is entertaining, most are marvels - and two newly recorded songs, "Message To The Boys" and "Pool & Dive" - just sweeten a concise overview of the most important band of the '80s.
- Ed Bumgardner
relish staff writer