Slim Dunlap, the guitarist

[FreeRider]

By the way, happy birthday to Slim. I hope he's doing well despite being debilitated from that stroke. I hope his spirit is still strong in these trying times.

Anyway, after the thread about Paul as a guitarist, what do you think of Slim? It's too bad he joined in as the band was on the back end of its career. I would've liked to have seen what more maybe he could've brought to the Mats.

I noticed Slim liked to play with a thumb pick, which tells me he had some skill as a finger stylist as opposed to just flat picking. I guess Paul thought he had some music knowledge apart from the basics and could fit in musically with what Paul wanted to do?

I like this cover he did of James Burton's "Love Lost" ....just a really pretty instrumental by Slim and shows a sophistication that goes beyond just the 3 chord garage band rock stuff

[oldmatsfan]

A belated BD shout out to Slim, hoping he's doing as well if not better as possible given his medical history.
I always though Slim was a class act, a bit more mature than the rest of the Mats, but not opposed to partaking in their shenanigans when the opportunity presented itself.

[curmudgeonman]

IMO, Slim Dunlap is a great guitar player, in the same way Mike Campbell is great, they both have a versatile style of being able to play anything from country to loud punky stuff. He was not immune from participating in the fun & debauchery of the Replacements, but the guy is 9 years older than Westerberg (he is now over 70). Bob Stinson was great for the time period- he came up with some incredible leads, and certainly knew his way around a fretboard (listen to the right channel guitar track on Live at Maxwells), contrary to Westerberg's tale that Bob needed his hands to be placed at different parts of the neck. But giving Westerberg credit, I agree that Bob was limited in what he can bring to the table as the songs became more varied. To paraphrase Tommy Ramone (Erdelyi), going into the studio for two hours, turn on the blowtorch, and then leave, just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Slim is not only an excellent guitarist, but a good singer and excellent songwriter. His Time Like This album is very listenable, and I regard it as one of the better releases by an ex-Replacement. Especially in later years, when my musical taste in music has gravitated towards country music, I'd rather listen to Slim's two albums than anything by Westerberg or Stinson nowadays.

[Jer]

Everything Slim did was for the song. That's why Paul leaned on him so much on those last couple records. His playing lacked the surface flash of Bob's work, but he contributed much more to the way those songs were built in the studio. That kind of thing comes with age and experience, and Paul looked to and learned from Slim to get some of that experience. Bob was incredible, and I think the "hands on the neck" bit was more of an exaggeration than fact. I think without the personal and chemical distractions Bob would have been fine on the last three albums, but Slim's talent and knowledge of how to construct parts in the stuido is something that wasn't there before and is often lost when talking about (especially) DTAS.

[FreeRider]

Enter Bob “Slim” Dunlap, a man who’d been a fixture on the Minneapolis scene for many years by that point, playing in acts such as Thumbs Up and Spooks and, inarguably, one of the most affable figures in the Twin Cities and rock history. Although names such as Charlie Sexton had been bandied about, Dunlap was already a friend to the band and had even been given a nudge or two toward joining by none other than Bob Stinson.

“It was probably an odd choice for the group to go with a Minnesota journeyman guitarist who used thumb picks and was almost a decade older than the rest of the band,” Mehr says. “On paper it may have seemed an odd choice but I think it was the perfect and necessary choice. He had more refined playing. He had a little more country and blues influence. And he was maybe a little more atmospheric as well.”

spectrumculture.com/2016/03/17/pleased-to-have-a-piece-of-me-an-interview-with-replacements-biographer-bob-mehr/

Aug 29, 2021 10:33:27 GMT -5 curmudgeonman said:

Slim is not only an excellent guitarist, but a good singer and excellent songwriter. His Time Like This album is very listenable, and I regard it as one of the better releases by an ex-Replacement. Especially in later years, when my musical taste in music has gravitated towards country music, I'd rather listen to Slim's two albums than anything by Westerberg or Stinson nowadays.

You know, it seems like he was just overshadowed by Paul's leadership, that a lot of us fans failed to see just how talented Slim was in his own right. But I guess Slim knew his role. Kind of like how George Harrison got overshadowed in the Beatles to a large degree. And I remember that Springsteen said he loved Slim's work and talked about him with high praise, diggin' that kind of roots rock that Slim put out.

Aug 29, 2021 14:49:16 GMT -5 Jer said:

Everything Slim did was for the song. That's why Paul leaned on him so much on those last couple records. His playing lacked the surface flash of Bob's work, but he contributed much more to the way those songs were built in the studio. That kind of thing comes with age and experience, and Paul looked to and learned from Slim to get some of that experience....but Slim's talent and knowledge of how to construct parts in the stuido is something that wasn't there before and is often lost when talking about (especially) DTAS.

And like oldmatsfan said upthread, Slim was older than the rest of the band by a good number of years and was a bit more mature. So yeah, his experience and having been around as a journeyman in the Minne scene made him a well rounded musician for Paul to work with, I guess.

Looking back, I have to laugh at Paul in one of his interviews, where he talked about wanting to get the band back and get out and raise some hell and finish up the tour dates that the Buddy Holly tour never completed and he was disappointed when Slim's less than fired up take on it was "Well, if you need me to help you out Paul..."

Seems like Paul was forgetting that Slim was married, had kids, had a life post-Mats and was also OLDER. And I'll have to find the interview in the interview thread, but I think Paul said something like, "Slim turned into an old man" or "Slim got old" . Hilarious! Well no shit, he WAS older than you by like about 9-10 years or something!

[FreeRider]

Springsteen: My computer's still working after I crashed it. OK, "Traveling Alone," by Jason Isbell. I believe he was a part of the Drive-By Truckers. He's got a lovely solo record out himself. There's a gal called, hold on, let me see here. I'm gonna plug some people here because I love their records.

NPR: I love that Jason Isbell, it's one of my favorite records of the year.

Springsteen: Slim Dunlap, Slim Dunlap is fantastic. He was a part of The Replacements and he made two fabulous rock records that were just really, deeply soulful and beautiful.

NPR: I think he had a stroke not long ago.

Springsteen: Yeah I don't know what his health condition is at the moment but I know some folks were cutting some things of his. I hope I get a chance to cut one of his songs because he's, it's just, this stuff, check out the two Slim Dunlap records because they're just so beautiful, they're just beautiful rock 'n' roll records. I found them to be deeply touching and emotional.

www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2014/01/14/262485987/a-long-road-to-high-hopes-an-interview-with-bruce-springsteen

[FreeRider]

After looking at some photos online, looks like Slim liked to play Les Paul Standards, Telecasters, and I think I did see him with a Rickenbacker.

Amps looked to be Marshalls. I can't make out what acoustics he's played.

It's shame that the damn stroke robbed him of being able to play, I guess; I just hope he's playing all kinds of beautiful music inside his mind and soul.

[nyc1lkg]

Aug 28, 2021 23:31:43 GMT -5 FreeRider said:

By the way, happy birthday to Slim. I hope he's doing well despite being debilitated from that stroke. I hope his spirit is still strong in these trying times.

Anyway, after the thread about Paul as a guitarist, what do you think of Slim? It's too bad he joined in as the band was on the back end of its career. I would've liked to have seen what more maybe he could've brought to the Mats.

I noticed Slim liked to play with a thumb pick, which tells me he had some skill as a finger stylist as opposed to just flat picking. I guess Paul thought he had some music knowledge apart from the basics and could fit in musically with what Paul wanted to do?

I like this cover he did of James Burton's "Love Lost" ....just a really pretty instrumental by Slim and shows a sophistication that goes beyond just the 3 chord garage band rock stuff

I think this is an interesting topic. I'd look to the DTAS remix as evidence of what Slim added to the band as a guitarists. I don't know who is playing which parts but I can tell you I love the guitar sounds on the Matt Wallace mix.

[FreeRider]

Ha! Found it:

The following appeared in the fall issue of Pop Culture Press magazine:
By Rachel Leibrock

PW: I couldn't. I went home to relax and I couldn't relax for one minute. I couldn't relax for four years. I went home to have a nervous breakdown - all I did was bend. Which was nice. It taught me that I don't break - I'm resilient. I'm fragile, I am a flower. It's such a cliché but I'm not the strong oak tree, I'm the delicate flower. I'll tell you one thing, I've talked to Slim - I called him up last week to sort of say 'OK, here you go - we're going, do you want to come?" And in five minutes, after not talking to him in five years, I got such a sense of negativity. He came up with every conceivable thing that could go wrong and why it shouldn't be done and what could be expected …" And it was like 'you old fucking man…." I just didn't have the heart to meet with him the next day.

R: Is that just the place he's in right now?

PW: He's always been like that - he's older than the rest of us, he's eight years older than me. He's turned into a crotchety old man but it's like don't you want to tour and raise some hell? He didn't. He works at a music store and he plays solo acoustic. He said something to the effect of 'I'll help you out again this time Paulie if you really want me to." And I thought 'help me out?' I've seen tapes and we were a band of three-and-a-half guys as far as I'm concerned. I'm saying do you want to go and have fun and ride the bus and listen to music? Go break some rules and whoop it up - even if we both end up in the hospital - which we both have. It's not out of the cards but he wasn't there.

paulwesterberg.proboards.com/thread/7060/pw-mats-articles?page=6

Hilarious, but I take what PW says with a grain of salt at times. It sounds like he's hyping it up into more than what it really was. Sure, they both had kids and all, but Slim was the one who actually had a job and maybe more responsibilities as his kids were older? I dunno. And maybe, just maybe, he moved on from the Mats in the same way Chris did. Maybe it was really Paul who carried the burden of the Mats reunion thing more so than anyone else?

And ironically, with grace and his blessings, Slim from his hospital bed after the stroke told Paul to do the reunion, to go ahead and get the band back together.

Slim [Dunlap] had a wicked-ass stroke, he's in rough shape. It's difficult to go there: He can't talk very much, he's sort of paralyzed, he can move his leg a little bit. He speaks in a whisper. When I mentioned this [benefit record], it seemed like something he really wanted to happen. "You guys get together," he said in a whisper. "Go play a song." So I figured, "What the hell?" Chris [Mars] really didn't want any part of this. I was not surprised, but I was a little disappointed. I'd talked to him, I thought maybe he might come down and play with us. That's fine, he's totally into painting, and doesn't want to return to the skins. All I'll say is, it felt pretty natural. It felt very much like it used to.

www.punknews.org/article/49309/paul-westerberg-on-replacements-reunion

For years, Westerberg seemed set against a reunion, as a point of pride. But in 2012, Slim Dunlap, who played guitar in the Replacements from 1987 to 1991, suffered a severe stroke. Dunlap had been essential in stabilizing the band after the split with Bob Stinson, and is a beloved figure in the Minnesota music scene. Westerberg and Tommy Stinson came together in Minneapolis to record Songs for Slim, a five-song covers EP that included two of Dunlap’s songs, with sales going toward raising money for their former bandmate’s medical care. “He’s been in and out of the hospital maybe 40 times,” says Westerberg. After that, the reemergence of the Replacements didn’t seem so crazy. “We were talking to Slim when he was in the hospital,” says Westerberg. “And I was like, ‘Should we play?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, play.'”

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-replacements-the-greatest-band-that-never-was-89041/

[curmudgeonman]

Sept 2, 2021 16:09:12 GMT -5 FreeRider said:

PW: He's always been like that - he's older than the rest of us, he's eight years older than me. He's turned into a crotchety old man but it's like don't you want to tour and raise some hell? He didn't. He works at a music store and he plays solo acoustic. He said something to the effect of 'I'll help you out again this time Paulie if you really want me to." And I thought 'help me out?' I've seen tapes and we were a band of three-and-a-half guys as far as I'm concerned. I'm saying do you want to go and have fun and ride the bus and listen to music? Go break some rules and whoop it up - even if we both end up in the hospital - which we both have. It's not out of the cards but he wasn't there.

Westerberg can be a total hypocrite at times based on these kind of comments, the pot calling the kettle black. 99% of the time, HE did not want to tour, HE did not want to reunite.

Maybe Slim was weary of being a Replacement long before the end. Perhaps he was only along for the ride simply to help "Paulie" out, since he greatly admired his songwriting. In one of the books, Slim claimed he was not officially a member of the band, he did not have a contract or anything, thus not liable for past monetary debts to Warner Bros. Maybe it's true; remember, Ron Wood was not an official full-fledged member of The Stones until the Steel Wheels tour.

In Jim Walsh's book, a photographer backstage at a Replacements concert at the Gift Center in SF, recalls Slim being very depressed, saying "Why am I on tour anymore? I hate this, I hate everything that's going on". Maybe he and Chris Mars know something we don't.

[Jer]

Sept 3, 2021 9:10:37 GMT -5 curmudgeonman said:

Westerberg can be a total hypocrite at times based on these kind of comments, the pot calling the kettle black. 99% of the time, HE did not want to tour, HE did not want to reunite.

Exactly what I thought too. Paul speaking off the cuff, not wanting to take blame that maybe he was at least part of the problem. The three and a half guys thing is projecting. There were plenty of times that Slim was the only one up there holding it together. Guys like Paul and Pete Townsend do this all the time - say some spontaneous, controversial things that they probably don't even man and certainly haven't thought out, then people latch on. 

curmudgeonman said:

Maybe Slim was weary of being a Replacement long before the end. Perhaps he was only along for the ride simply to help "Paulie" out, since he greatly admired his songwriting. In one of the books, Slim claimed he was not officially a member of the band, he did not have a contract or anything, thus not liable for past monetary debts to Warner Bros. Maybe it's true; remember, Ron Wood was not an official full-fledged member of The Stones until the Steel Wheels tour.

I think technically (if I remember correctly) the Ron Wood thing was that he became an "equal" partner on Voodoo Lounge, odd enough only after Wyman quit, so the other three still came out ahead financially. He was a member since he joined, but like you said, not equal till `94. (I think)

Slim probably saw the writing on the wall. Paul was all excited, but as soon as the bus fired up it's the other Paul that wishes he was home instead of whoring himself and self-medicating, and who wants to be around that? His age and experience probably gave him that perspective, but again, Paul is projecting, like "look at old Slim...doesn't wanna go whoop it up." when Paul probably didn't feel a whole lot differently when it came down to it, but now had a scapegoat as to why it didn't happen. 

curmudgeonman said:

In Jim Walsh's book, a photographer backstage at a Replacements concert at the Gift Center in SF, recalls Slim being very depressed, saying "Why am I on tour anymore? I hate this, I hate everything that's going on". Maybe he and Chris Mars know something we don't.

I dunno, I feel like it was all spelled out pretty clearly in the book. To their credit, it paints a pretty transparent picture. I've always said, it's a great book in every way, very well done, but I hated it. I found it mostly miserable and embarrassing. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to be a part of that circus. It's a miracle that such great music came out of it, and that's the whole point I guess, but I certainly didn't walk away feeling better about any aspect of that band or Paul and Tommy as people. 

[Freddy]

Aug 29, 2021 7:33:35 GMT -5 oldmatsfan said:

A belated BD shout out to Slim, hoping he's doing as well if not better as possible given his medical history.
I always though Slim was a class act, a bit more mature than the rest of the Mats, but not opposed to partaking in their shenanigans when the opportunity presented itself.

I got to meet him a couple of times in Louisville.....a complete gentleman and a great storyteller. I don't do Facebook anymore, have there been any updates on how he has been lately?

[curmudgeonman]

Sept 3, 2021 16:21:39 GMT -5 Jer said:

I think technically (if I remember correctly) the Ron Wood thing was that he became an "equal" partner on Voodoo Lounge, odd enough only after Wyman quit, so the other three still came out ahead financially. He was a member since he joined, but like you said, not equal till `94. (I think)

Most fans do not know this, but Ron Wood was a salaried "worker" for the Stone's organization until 1990, when they finally made him a full partner. Mick Jagger is a notorious cheapskate, on a par with David Bowie (who was going to pay Stevie Ray Vaughn union scale, 300 bucks per gig for his Let's Dance tour). And of course, bassist Daryl Jones is only a salaried sideman for the Stones, but I read he made excellent money (when he toured). Tommy Stinson was a part of Guns & Roses, but he, like Wood, was on salary retainer, not an official member sharing in royalties or percentages in touring, merchandising, etc. Axl kept it all.

[FreeRider]

I didn't post that old interview to bash Paul or anything. I certainly don't want to throw his words back into his face, but... really, I was trying to emphasize what oldmatsfan said about Slim being a bit more mature than the rest. So from the interview, Slim actually held a job while playing his own acoustic gigs, according to Paul. but Slim had a family to support. he had responsibilities versus sitting around the house waiting for the next songwriting royalty check to come in the mail.

And sure, there is a bit of disingenuous stuff there coming from Paul. He could've gotten the band back together at any time. Hell, he could've gotten them back together for Karl Mueller's benefit concert instead of doing a solo gig. How hard would've that been to do? And there's no touring. While Paul had been pretty candid in a lot of interviews and forthcoming in some ways, he's a bit mean spirited in this one. And as stated previously, maybe Slim and Chris both had good reasons at the end to shy away from getting back into the past.

Jer makes a good comparison with Pete Townshend. I loved the Who and like Townshend but he can let his mouth get ahead of him and his overthinking stuff makes him blurt things out that weren't well articulated as to what the hell he meant. There was some interview after the Cincinnati stampede where he said something weird about maybe an event like that needed to happen for rock and roll, spewing some vague crap about the ideals and state of rock and the business end, like this was a needed catalyst for change. Say wha' Yeah, no---that didn't need to happen where fans lost their lives that night.

But who knows, maybe it was nice being asked to go but it was just something Slim didn't care to do, that he moved on from the past like Chris. Still, a weird thing to come out and trash Slim like that...

[FreeRider]

Sept 3, 2021 16:51:26 GMT -5 Freddy said:

I got to meet him a couple of times in Louisville.....a complete gentleman and a great storyteller. I don't do Facebook anymore, have there been any updates on how he has been lately?

I don't do Facebook either so don't know how he is. I'm guessing he is still paralyzed and needs constant care, but I hope he's okay otherwise and no complications.

[Jer]

Sept 4, 2021 8:52:01 GMT -5 FreeRider said:

I didn't post that old interview to bash Paul or anything. I certainly don't want to throw his words back into his face...

Yea all good points, and my intent was not to pile on, but more to lend the opinion that (again, like Pete) Paul was just kinda thinking out loud, and that everyone probably has thoughts like that from time to time, but most people don't have a microphone in their face and most probably realize it was a selfish, stupid way to look at a situation and think better of it before they voice it. It seems to happen more often with people who get the `amazing songwriter` tag, and probably ties back to the same insecurities that make them great songwriters in the first place.

 

[curmudgeonman]

I don't think we're piling on Westerberg. I think most of us can see, especially after Bob Mehr's book, that Westerberg is at times a walking paradox and a difficult person in real life. I have learned long ago to separate the musician and their work from their real world personalities. 

Sept 4, 2021 8:52:01 GMT -5 FreeRider said:

Pete is an interesting case, I mean the guy was labeled "The Most Articulate" rock star by all sorts of critics, yet the guy has a talent for putting his ass into his mouth. I remember his Rolling Stone interview shortly after the Cincinnati tragedy, an early exposure to his many ill-advised comments to the press. He angered and alienated many of the victim's families. I was a freshman college student at the time, and even I was taken aback by his comments. And his latest gaffe of telling the same publication, a couple of years ago, stating "Thank God they're gone" in regards to Keith Moon and John Entwistle, because "they were f****** difficult" to play with *facepalm*. And none of these comments can be attributed to youthful indiscretion. Very puzzling.

[con]

Lots of interesting takes here. Thx, all! And I’ll echo what others have said—hope Slim is hanging in there.

[FreeRider]

Yes, good perspectives by everyone here. I give Paul a pass here but know that he's a paradox, a complicated individual at times. But here's the thing: we're all human and flawed. For as much as Paul has been generous and kind to the fans, he has his moments like anyone else and so maybe for various reasons---some that are noted here---chose to say some unkind things about Slim.

It's like meeting your pro sports heroes-- ever met any of them? Some are nice and some of them are shockingly a huge bunch of assholes! And some of them are nice but you caught them at a bad time and they're a little abrupt with you. It happens, but the asshole thing is really disappointing, when these guys are purposefully mean and you see their real colors about how they treat others and fans.

[FreeRider]

Sept 4, 2021 11:45:43 GMT -5 curmudgeonman said:

Pete is an interesting case, I mean the guy was labeled "The Most Articulate" rock star by all sorts of critics, yet the guy has a talent for putting his ass into his mouth.

Great example! As for Townshend being the "most articulate", it's more like "most verbose and driveling". It's obvious there's a cerebral part to him, the guy reads and thinks about stuff. But when he starts going on about these muddled ideas in his head, it may sound like he knows what he's talking about but after awhile it's just blah blah blah....

But again, my point is not to throw Paul's words back in his face as an attack or anything. I mean, I wouldn't like someone finding something goofy I said years ago and tossing it back at me today and saying, "Ok, account for this!" Also, I kind of take Paul's interviews with a grain of salt at times....

The maturity thing is that Slim was still young enough to know what was going on but old enough to know better!