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Post by 405z06 on Oct 12, 2018 19:13:09 GMT -5
DTAS is my least favorite Mats album, but that era is probably the most interesting to me in the Replacements saga to read about. Specifically, the original attempt at recording the album with Tony Berg @ Bearsville, NY.
I started collecting bootlegs related to the Mats in the late 80's, focusing on studio stuff and soundboard boots. And i had everything thing in those categories that was widely traded. But I had never heard anything from the Berg sessions until AFN/NFA came out in the late 90's with Portland and Wake Up. According to Mehr's bio, which I cant quote exactly right now, there were approx. 10-12 or so songs cut at these sessions, all but a couple with vocal takes. Do bootlegs exist of these tracks? Has anyone heard this stuff?
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Post by con on Oct 14, 2018 13:32:17 GMT -5
Been wondering the same thing! Masters are probably at the bottom of the Mississippi!
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Post by rich1 on Oct 19, 2018 22:19:19 GMT -5
Yes, these are the sessions I want to hear.... they are out there somewhere. Glossy, sub par DTAS still irritates me. The bonus tracks on the reissued album put the rest of the album to shame. DTAS almost undermines the legacy of this band in my eyes.
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Post by raccoon on Oct 20, 2018 8:57:37 GMT -5
DTAS almost undermines the legacy of this band in my eyes. 'They're Blind' remains one of my favorite Replacements songs. I will take DTAS over Stink any day. But only if I can steal 'Kids Don't Follow' and 'Go'! In defense of DTAS: diffuser.fm/replacements-dont-tell-a-soul-album/
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Post by brianlux on Oct 22, 2018 10:53:29 GMT -5
DTAS almost undermines the legacy of this band in my eyes. 'They're Blind' remains one of my favorite Replacements songs. I will take DTAS over Stink any day. But only if I can steal 'Kids Don't Follow' and 'Go'! In defense of DTAS: diffuser.fm/replacements-dont-tell-a-soul-album/ "They're Blind is great. I also really like "Rock 'n Roll Ghost", "Achin' to Be", "Talent Show" and a few others. True, the production is very 80's but that doesn't kill the good song writing for me as much as for others. I still listen to select songs from this album fairly often.
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Jer
Beagle Scout
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Post by Jer on Oct 22, 2018 15:01:51 GMT -5
I think it's about half great, half filler. Hate the production, but it doesn't bother me much when I hear the odd song on shuffle. The Tony Berg sessions would be awesome. Next year is the 30th anniversary.....
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Post by anarkissed on Oct 22, 2018 20:08:18 GMT -5
I think we have this discussion every few years...(The "How Much You Hate DTAS" thread)...I love this album...I loved it when it came out...I love it now...I've always loved it...The songs are great...(There is "filler'...I'd argue they had "filler" on every album, except, maybe "Sorry Ma", and "Stink", which are such consistent pieces...And I'd almost have been disappointed if there wasn't some filler...I don't think "PTMM" does...This is a separate thread...Someone start it...) I think these are some of Paul's best recorded vocal performances...That production is definitely dated...It's an 80's sound...I like that...As a stand-alone thing...I like a lot of those little touches; they were clever..."We'll Inherit The Earth"...That typewriter...That big, descending falling scream, followed by that nearly inaudible "I got my hands in my pockets/And I'm waitin' for the day to come" is pretty genius...Big guitar tones...The drums are good, even if it was mostly sampled fills...I think we oughtta cut Matt Wallace some slack...He's always been portrayed as this sorta Judas who sold them out...They told the dude (and I'm including Paul and the band in this)" "Make this a hit, but don't be corny!" He did what he could within amidst what I consider to be nearly an impossible demand, and, I think, walked that ledge about as well as anybody could...The hardcore was gonna hate it, and people who didn't know them were still gonna say it was "too raw'...Geez..."Can you remake 'Citizen Kane', but with a robot from the future, and a lot of explosions, that 16-year-olds will get? But without violating the spirit of the original, that French audiences will love?" "Um. yeah, let me get my magic wand"...
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Post by teddinard on Oct 23, 2018 7:26:41 GMT -5
Yeah, for me (not that anyone would care), the short answer is that the songs on Don't Tell a Soul just aren't as good as usual. I think they veer from sentimentality ("Achin' to Be") to the grandiose ("We'll Inherit the Earth").
Not PW at his best (in my opinion!). The production doesn't bother me so much as where he was with his songwriting. (He would return to form in All Shook Down.)
Still, "I'll Be You" could be a top-20 Replacements track for me, and I love "Talent Show."
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Post by raccoon on Oct 23, 2018 16:27:53 GMT -5
Talent Show or Portland - which do 'we' prefer? I'll take Portland all day.
Gotta run. Working on this great new idea for a Citizen Kane treatment!
P.S. - If I win the billion dollar lottery tonight, the Mats are reuniting and playing a show just for all of us on the board. Tickets on me! Opening band will be the Lemonheads. Bon Jovi will be taking tickets at the door in an Oscar-Meyer wiener costume.
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Post by con on Oct 23, 2018 16:51:14 GMT -5
Maybe it's because I discovered the 'Mats well after they disbanded, or perhaps because I love quirky, reverb-y '80s production styles, but I love DTAS. I don't hear any filler here (tho "I Won't" comes close)! I think an argument could be made that it's their strongest effort front-to-back (or, hey, back-to-back). Let It Be has "Black Diamond" and "Gary's Got a Boner." Tim has "Lay It Down Clown." Maybe I love DTAS because I got acquainted with it on cassette, in autumn, during a restless time of life... there are a lot of memories and feelings wrapped up in these songs.
I agree with the poster who said it has some of Paul's strongest vocal performances. I think his range from "They're Blind" into "Anywhere's Better Than Here" is incredible. I don't think the Replacements have ever sounded as simultaneously "huge" and yet "vulnerable" as they have on this record. The coda of "Anywhere's" is so powerful to me, like the band's last gasp. "Anywhere! Anywhere! Anywhere!" And "Rock 'N' Roll Ghost" may have been about Paul's high school pal, but it sounds pretty prescient considering what followed for the band. The "heyyyy!" throughout "Darling One." Their time had come.
There's a kind of decadence that pervades DTAS. A kind of melancholy. I can't put my finger on it, but I hear it in Paul's voice, in Tommy's yelps and laughs sprinkled throughout, in the band's pared-down sound; a kind of resigned resolve. It reminds me of Dave Kusworth's divorce record Wives, Weddings & Roses. The sound of screw it, what do we have to lose? We're going down with the ship. Let's make it count.
Dare I say it might be my favorite 'Mats record?
Who here wants to start a petition to get these Berg versions out into the open? Let's get some names, give 'em to Darren Hill, and put some pressure on Paul. Where has the bum gone?
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Post by con on Oct 23, 2018 16:52:31 GMT -5
P.S. - If I win the billion dollar lottery tonight, the Mats are reuniting and playing a show just for all of us on the board. Tickets on me! Opening band will be the Lemonheads. Bon Jovi will be taking tickets at the door in an Oscar-Meyer wiener costume. Lol yes!!
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Post by dee on Oct 23, 2018 23:47:27 GMT -5
It wouldda been neat if Talent Show and Portland bookended the album,but Darlin' One was meant to be the big finale,but adding on Portland might have hinted at All Shook Down coming down the pike next.
Westerberg might deconstruct DTAS 49:00 style if he went back to it again. As a bonus disc that'd be interesting.
What exactly is it we want from this album more than all the others? A whole new product made from what is already there? Are we talking sequencing,production,cut & add tracks,every take of every song released?
In the Trouble Boys book they lost a day of recording due to a technical glitch.I don't think we can get that back,might have lost some magic that wasn't captured.
What about those quirky songs from 3oclock creep from that period?Are they on the table as well?
Was DTAS a reaction,production-wise,by the record label to previous Replacements releases on Sire not being full blown enough commercially?
I approve of DTAS as it is,raise a glass to it and everything,but it's fun to dream.
I'm surprised "re-envisioning" albums isn't a thing that all the old bands of the day aren't doing now like part of a series or something.After all product is king and we'll buy,buy,buy. Maybe interactive production,where anyone can remix it the way they want to hear it.
To me Paul's voice peaked on PTMM and lost a little something after that,by the time of ASD it's documented that his voice was pretty shot.Taking that into consideration maybe that's why ASD wasn't a rock album.Not that I don't love the performances to this day.
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Post by FreeRider on Oct 24, 2018 9:14:33 GMT -5
I like DTAS as well...sure, the production is of its time, too much of that chorused guitar effects, too glossy sounding with reverb, etc... I don't listen to it all the way thru very often but skip to my favorite tracks.
But let's pare it down to the songs and leave the production out of it. Do you think those songs still hold up melody wise? Do the songs still swing or have a groove on the rockers? Do the quieter tunes still evoke some poignancy? Is the songwriting strong or not?
Having said that, I'd be interested in hearing a version of how the Mats wanted the album to sound. or hell, even Paul's raw demos and and song ideas before it became the finished product
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Schecky
Star Scout
401-Fichier non trouv
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Post by Schecky on Oct 24, 2018 23:15:50 GMT -5
I like DTAS as well...sure, the production is of its time, too much of that chorused guitar effects, too glossy sounding with reverb, etc... I don't listen to it all the way thru very often but skip to my favorite tracks. But let's pare it down to the songs and leave the production out of it. Do you think those songs still hold up melody wise? Do the songs still swing or have a groove on the rockers? Do the quieter tunes still evoke some poignancy? Is the songwriting strong or not? Having said that, I'd be interested in hearing a version of how the Mats wanted the album to sound. or hell, even Paul's raw demos and and song ideas before it became the finished product As far as how they wanted it to sound - I’ve been re-listening to REM’s Document lately. Which came out prior to DTAS. It’s a flat out great album. Knowing Paul’s envy, I wonder how much influence they had on it. ps - just discovered this outtake. I’ve never heard it.
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Post by jimmyrock on Oct 25, 2018 19:23:21 GMT -5
DTAS almost undermines the legacy of this band in my eyes. 'They're Blind' remains one of my favorite Replacements songs. I agree, one of my favorites
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Post by jimmyrock on Oct 25, 2018 19:26:10 GMT -5
But let's pare it down to the songs and leave the production out of it. Do you think those songs still hold up melody wise? Do the songs still swing or have a groove on the rockers? Do the quieter tunes still evoke some poignancy? Is the songwriting strong or not? /quote] its probably the album with the most filler material. 3-4 really good songs though. I never felt the 80s treatment got in the way of I'll be you, maybe on the lesser songs its just more obvious
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Post by jimmyrock on Oct 25, 2018 19:28:01 GMT -5
Yeah, for me (not that anyone would care), the short answer is that the songs on Don't Tell a Soul just aren't as good as usual. I think they veer from sentimentality ("Achin' to Be") to the grandiose ("We'll Inherit the Earth"). Not PW at his best (in my opinion!). The production doesn't bother me so much as where he was with his songwriting. (He would return to form in All Shook Down.) Still, "I'll Be You" could be a top-20 Replacements track for me, and I love "Talent Show." i think thats right in line with my view....I have to say All Shook Down is their strongest set of songs, no filler (maybe the titlee track)
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Post by jimmyrock on Oct 25, 2018 19:31:29 GMT -5
DTAS is my least favorite Mats album, I think of them as a three album band Tim, Pleased and Don't tell a Soul...and of the three DTAS is last...for me Paul peaked with 14 songs
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Post by 405z06 on Aug 6, 2019 18:10:01 GMT -5
Saw this tweet from someone who apparently has heard the Bearsville tracks from "Dead Man's Pop", which was re-tweeted by Bob Mehr:
"the Bearsville demos are surreal to say the least. They all sound like they have been produced by Xanax. I kind of love it - especially "Achin to Be" and "I'll be You".
Anyway, very happy to be getting answers to the question I asked when starting this thread less than 10 months ago.
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mike529
Second Class Scout
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Post by mike529 on Aug 7, 2019 0:32:57 GMT -5
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