The Replacements: Tim / Pleased to Meet Me / Don't Tell a Soul / All Shook Down

Well, after having been without power or internets for almost a week (remnants of Ike), we're back. Here's a nice long story/review from The Detroit Metro Times. It includes the liner notes from the reissues:

In many regards, I probably shouldn't be writing about the Replacements at this point, since it must look to many like I can no longer be objective (... although I firmly believe I can be — for instance, I still think All Shook Down was a major disappointment; besides, during my time back in Detroit, I've discovered there are as many "conflicts of interest" in this town's music scene as there were in Hollyweird!). Still, the Replacements befriended me backstage at Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater back in the mid-'80s; almost delivered a mini-reunion of sorts at one of my parties (alas, we missed Westerberg's call) in the early '90s; dedicated "IOU" to me from the stage of L.A.'s Greek Theatre when they finally did do a mini-reunion (well, at least Paul & Tommy were there) two years ago; and, full disclosure, I wrote the liner notes to the Don't Tell a Soul reissue.

On the other hand, since these are reissues, there's certainly now been enough time for history to prove us Replacements fans correct. That is, in many ways, the Replacements were the last truly original great American rock 'n' roll band — at least the last truly funny great American rock band ... and I'll say it again: No band has ever recorded a better trilogy of albums than Let It Be (part of last year's first batch of reissues), Tim and Pleased to Meet Me (there have been trilogies that are just as good, of course — but none any better).

Rhino also hired me two years ago to write a new set of notes for the Pleased to Meet MeBest of the Replacements anthology that came out two years ago, former Sire A&R rep Michael Hill took over ... and my notes disappeared into the haze. But just so they don't totally go to waste — hey, I interviewed both Westerberg and legendary Memphis producer-musician-character Jim Dickinson for my notes — I thought, "Why not post them somewhere?" So, if you go to metrotimes.com you'll find my original PTMM notes there for posterity. reissue — but when original Replacements manager Peter Jesperson took over the project last year, he decided there should be a different writer on each disc. And since I also wrote the notes for the

Oh, yeah, and buy these albums, particularly Tim and Pleased to Meet Me, especially if you've never owned or heard them before. Objectivity or not, the Replacements were — and remain — one of the fucking greatest American rock 'n' roll bands of all time. (Maybe I should also mention that it says volumes about the music biz that, in this age of non-albums, Westerberg, who turns 49 on Dec. 31, released 49:00, one of the greatest records of this year — adventurous, complex, complete and even psychedelic, the way great albums used to be — online only, charged 49 cents for it, and then made it available for about that many, i.e., 49, hours. But maybe that's the topic of another review or column.)

Complete Article Here.

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