The Replacements Thread

[Analogman]

The Replacements: Tim (Re-Imagined)

(blog link + mp3s)

[John Smith]

Missed this yesterday. But February 18, 1995 Bob passed away.

[Scott Gyrrr]

That Nothing For All compilation is a pretty good way to get into them since you were asking me. But I think 14 songs is the best thing Westerberg ever did. One of my all time favorites

[LouisvilleGreg]

I have the same problem with the Replacements that I have with Dylan, the Band, the Clash, Kiss and lots of other favorites, that being that I own every friggin Replacements album on vinyl. Buying them all on cd would cost a small fortune. But it does kill me that "Let it Be," is all I have on my Ipod. Also as long as we're talking opinions here, "Johnny's Gonna Die" is my all time favorite track. Nice to meet you Brad, I'm sure you're looking at this.

[Analogman]

pre-order - rhino.com link

 

Release Date - 04/22/2008

 

Has anyone heard these yet?

 

And - why in the hell are cds 19 dollars all of a sudden - these are not 2 disc releases, right?

[Analogman]

Replacements Leaving Door Open For Reunion

The Replacements

April 21, 2008, 11:10 AM ET

Wes Orshoski, N.Y.

 

With the first phase of a long-awaited reissue campaign beginning this week, the Replacements are back in the spotlight 17 years removed from a messy breakup. Even more notable: principal members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson aren't ruling out the possibility of a reunion.

 

Stinson tells Billboard the group has received lucrative offers to perform at Coachella and other major festivals, and that he and Westerberg were close to accepting this year. The group would have been rounded out by session drummer Josh Freese (replacing original drummer Chris Mars, who has retired from music to focus on painting), and an unnamed lead guitarist (replacing Stinson's late half-brother Bob, who died in 1995).

 

"We actually talked about it again this year, and I think there was a consensus that, you know, maybe it wasn't the right time (to reunite), or maybe it is the right time," Stinson says. "Paul and I were kind of in cahoots talking to them [and] talking to (his manager) Darren (Hill). There were some things thrown out, and there were other festivals that wanted it too, if we were going to do it.

 

"At the last minute, it just didn't seem like the right thing to do, so we didn't do it. But I think Paul and I have something to offer each other still. I think that's pretty obvious when we get together."

 

"I'm very hesitant about dragging the name out there and what damage we could do to the legend," Westerberg offers. "Whatever we did, someone would want something else. If I went up there straight, they'd want us wasted. If we were f--ked up, they'd want us to be this or that.

 

"But, I don't know," he continues. "The records hold the key to the whole thing. So if I was ever going to play, I'd like to play once the whole shooting match is out, because I don't think I could physically get up there and bellow these 18 songs (from) that first record. That's just sheer youth there. I can't find that in a bottle or a pill. I'm just too creaky for that.

 

The group's first four albums arrive in remastered, expanded form tomorrow (April 22) via Rhino. Reissues of the band's four major-label successors for Sire will follow later this year.

[PopTodd]

Great album, but Let It Be sounds a like hissy, treble-y poo-poo platter.

Some bottom-end... please?

 

That's what I'm waiting to hear re-mastered!

[Analogman]

Paul Westerberg interview at billboard.com.

 

Tommy Stinson interview at billboard.com.

 

The Billboard Q&A: The Replacements

 

April 22, 2008

Wes Orshoski

 

Looking back, if there was a single driving force nudging Chris Mars, Bob and Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg out of a Minneapolis garage and into the world, it was desperation. So attests the latter, who notes, "We had no skill. [Guitarist] Bob [stinson] was a cook, and I was a janitor. It was like, 'We make it in rock'n'roll or we die trying.'"

 

More than two-and-a-half decades later, desperation isn't much of a factor in any of their lives anymore. Chris Mars has given up music altogether and enjoys a second career as a painter (canvas, not house), Tommy is a solo artist who also pulls a steady paycheck as the bassist in the latest version of Guns 'N Roses, and Westerberg is the proud father and homebody who enjoys family life, quietly making records in his basement, sometimes touring to support them, sometimes not. Of course, Bob died in 1995 at the age of 35.

 

When they were the Replacements, though, that desperation took the band far indeed. And, in a sense, that journey hasn't really ended yet, despite the band's split in 1991. The desperation nestled the band, and Westerberg's sweet and smart, defiant and timeless songs, deep in the hearts of a generation of teens and 20-somethings who tuned left of the dial in the 1980s, eager to discover new sounds emerging from the American indie rock underground.

 

And even if Westerberg or Stinson act too cool to smile about it, they're proud of the fact that it's a cycle that's repeated itself several times since, which has of course made the band one of the most beloved cult acts of all time. Unlike maybe the Jam, they didn't really go out on top, but if they stuck around longer than maybe they should or could have, they didn't churn out a crappy record before waving goodbye. "We left it before it left us," says Tommy.

 

In the time since, the band's legend has grown to mythic proportions. Generations of songwriters have utilized Westerberg's songs as inspiration for their own, and bands from Coney Island to Los Feliz have tried to wrangle the Replacements' elusive chemistry.

 

Now, more than 25 years after the band's birth -- as that legend continues to grow -- Rhino/Warner is reissuing its entire recorded output, complete with new jackets and liner notes, and, more importantly, more music in the form of bonus tracks. The label has just re-released the group's first four albums -- "Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash," "Stink," "Hootenanny" and "Let It Be" (all recorded for the fabled Minneapolis indie Twin/Tone) -- and the band's refurbished Sire discs ("Tim," "Pleased to Meet Me," "All Shook Down" and "Don't Tell a Soul") will arrive later this year.

 

After pouring over the first batch of reissues, Westerberg was maybe a little surprised by himself. "I thought to myself, 'Damnit, I was good. I was real. I know what I was saying, and this was real,'" while Stinson, understatedly, says, "It kind of makes you go, 'Oh, yeah, we did something back then.'"

 

Indeed they did. And with any luck they just might do it again soon. Stinson and Westerberg, the only two original members in the band when it folded, have reconvened in the studio twice recently, and have even sat down to discuss a full-blown reunion. Coachella is interested, as are others, according to Stinson. Yet, drummer Chris Mars most certainly isn't.

 

So, with the Replacements again on their minds for at least the moment, Billboard reminisces separately with Paul Westerberg, who calls from the same Minneapolis basement studio in which he's cut all of his recent albums, and Tommy Stinson, who chats at home in Los Angeles, where he's lived for more than a decade.

[M. (hristine]

These have leaked.

I've seen Sorry Ma, Let It Be, Kids Don't Follow and Hootenanny.

[Analogman]

These have leaked.

I've seen Sorry Ma, Let It Be, Kids Don't Follow and Hootenanny.

 

Leaked? Music stealer!

 

I don't know if I will buy them or not - as I seldom ever listen to the band. I am curious to how they sound though.

[M. (hristine]

Leaked? Music stealer!

 

I don't know if I will buy them or not - as I seldom ever listen to the band. I am curious to how they sound though.

Ha! I only claimed to have "seen" them.

[Analogman]

Frank, who all this time had been reclining with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them both up as wide as a tiger. "And just how far would you like to go in?" he asked and the three kings all looked at each other. "Not too far but just far enough so's we can say that we've been there," said the first chief.

[M. (hristine]

[GtrPlyr]

I went to a few stores yesterday to try and find these, but no luck, so I had to order online. Now I'm waiting impatiently for these to arrive... c'mon already .

[Analogman]

I went to a few stores yesterday to try and find these, but no luck, so I had to order online. Now I'm waiting impatiently for these to arrive... c'mon already .

 

Isn't that frustrating as hell? I was very surprised to find the recent Strangers Almanac re-issue at Best Buy. I hate buying cds in such places - but that is all there is for me these days. About ten years ago, there was a record store in Pittsburgh that I use to go to - they had an alt.country cd section. As the man said at Woodstock "We must be in heaven, man." That is how I felt when I went to that place. Of course, it is gone now.

[myboyblue]

I went to a few stores yesterday to try and find these, but no luck, so I had to order online. Now I'm waiting impatiently for these to arrive... c'mon already .

 

I was a little disappointed that they weren't on iTunes. I would like to screen slightly to see if they are worth buying.

[Analogman]

I just noticed that the line "It's too late to turn back, here we go" is used in both of the following songs: Talent Show and Portland.

[GtrPlyr]

Isn't that frustrating as hell? I was very surprised to find the recent Strangers Almanac re-issue at Best Buy. I hate buying cds in such places - but that is all there is for me these days. About ten years ago, there was a record store in Pittsburgh that I use to go to - they had an alt.country cd section. As the man said at Woodstock "We must be in heaven, man." That is how I felt when I went to that place. Of course, it is gone now.

Yeah, I wasted my lunch hour trying to track these down and sadly Best Buy was one of the stores I tried. This is what I get for being in the suburbs. My usual record store downtown of course had the Mats reissues, but I won't be around there for at least a week so I had no choice.

 

How is that Strangers Almanac reissue. Other than the extra songs, is there a noticeable difference soundwise compared to the original CD? (That's my favorite Whiskeytown disc btw.)

[Analogman]

Yeah, I wasted my lunch hour trying to track these down and sadly Best Buy was one of the stores I tried. This is what I get for being in the suburbs. My usual record store downtown of course had the Mats reissues, but I won't be around there for at least a week so I had no choice.

 

How is that Strangers Almanac reissue. Other than the extra songs, is there a noticeable difference soundwise compared to the original CD? (That's my favorite Whiskeytown disc btw.)

 

I think it sounds pretty good - plus it was nice to hear some of the unreleased tracks in good quality. The liner notes could have been longer - but, they were written by Peter Blackstock - so they are good. Here is the thread about it - if you want to read it:

The thread.

[GtrPlyr]

Thanks for the link A-man.

 

I think I'll have to add that to my list of things to look for next. I've heard those extras on bootlegs, but like you said it's nice to have them in a quality version.

 

I love/hate all these great reissues. Part of me is like, damn you record company for making me buy this again; but the other part is like damn, I just have to get those extras and hear how this sounds remastered.

[Analogman]

Thanks for the link A-man.

 

I think I'll have to add that to my list of things to look for next. I've heard those extras on bootlegs, but like you said it's nice to have them in a quality version.

 

I love/hate all these great reissues. Part of me is like, damn you record company for making me buy this again; but the other part is like damn, I just have to get those extras and hear how this sounds remastered.

 

Yea - me too. I will feel that way when all the Tom Petty/Bruce Springsteen cds get re-issued. U2 is now re-doing all of their cds - two more are coming out this summer.

 

A song I never really paid attention to - Darlin' One - I sort of dig it.

[GtrPlyr]

I hear ya. I bought that Born to Run reissue with the DVD's when it came out. I think I prefer the sound of the previous issue though. Unfortunately a lot of these new re-masters are just compressed so they can be mixed louder, which usually sucks out the subtleties and life out of the music.

 

p.s. I don't know if you have it, but there's a pretty cool 4-disc bootleg collection called "The Replacements - Sessions Anthology 1980-1991." Lots of good outtakes, demos and unreleased stuff on it. I have a feeling that a lot of this stuff won't ever see the light of day.

[Analogman]

I hear ya. I bought that Born to Run reissue with the DVD's when it came out. I think I prefer the sound of the previous issue though. Unfortunately a lot of these new re-masters are just compressed so they can be mixed louder, which usually sucks out the subtleties and life out of the music.

 

p.s. I don't know if you have it, but there's a pretty cool 4-disc bootleg collection called "The Replacements - Sessions Anthology 1980-1991." Lots of good outtakes, demos and unreleased stuff on it. I have a feeling that a lot of this stuff won't ever see the light of day.

 

Speaking of BTR - the day that came out I was in New York with Ms. Viatroy. We went around to various places - no one had it. We ended up in a Best Buy - where the guy said they were in the back - not yet unpacked. When we were leaving, I noticed a whole stack of them on a table.

 

I went through something similar with The Song Remains The Same soundtrack/DVD re-issue. First, I went to the store where I generally get cds - they said they could not get it. I went to a Best Buy - and they had the soundtrack, but not the DVD. The guy trying to help me did not seem to comprehended that there was a cd and DVD release. Finally, I found the DVD at Wal Mart of all places.

[Golden Smoghead]

Just goes to show, it ain't easy being an analog man in a digital world.

[replacements75]

The remixing of some discs is god awful. I noticed this with the Who reissue of My Generation. I still prefer my Mono analog original CD of the My Generation album (since I gave up on vinyl a few years ago anyway) than the new stereo remix. And the REM remixes for the I Feel Fine greatest hits record might be the worst thing I've ever heard because it really just removes the nuances of the jangly guitar and beefs up the bass and the drums where they overpower the sound.

 

That being said I got the Replacements records on Tuesday (if you can't tell by my screen name I'm a huge Mats fan and I preordered them online and they came on release day so lucky me!!!). And I have to say that these early records really benefit from the remastering process. Maybe its just that the sound is beefed up enough that everything seems clearer. I don't know, I'm not a huge audiophile but I do know that these sound great. I've been waiting a long time for these and was really happy that I by-passed the remastered discs without extras that they put out a few years ago. The extras are sweet and some of the songs are essential. "If Only You Were Lonely" is awesome and a must own for any Replacements fan. And the sound on that first record is so much better than the original cd. The extras on Let It Be are also well worth the purchase price. The mixes for Stink are excellent and really make listening to that so much more pleasurable and the bonus track "You're Getting Married" makes replacing your old copy well worth it. As for Hootenanny, it might be the least essential of all of the discs but no less pleasurable. "Within Your Reach" and "Color Me Impressed" are amazing songs (I'm pretty sure Wilco has covered "Color...") The sound is much better than the original discs. All in all I'm really satisfied with these and am looking forward to the next ones if they ever come.