The Replacements
REVIEWS
HOOTENANNY, released by The Replacements
in 1983
Overall Rating: 8.5*
Best Song: COLOR ME IMPRESSED
Written by Neal Grosvenor
The Replacements were probably singlehandedly the most famous artists to blaze out of the freezing cold of Mineapolis, Minnesota, at least next to Prince. Of course, I use the term artist loosely because in their early days, the only thing the band made artistry of was getting drunk and falling apart on stage. Therein lies the appeal. Picture this if you can, three guys who can't play, one charismatic joker of a frontman in Paul Westerberg, and a boozing, brawling good time. Usually cited as a punk band, Westerberg has repeatedly claimed Alex Chilton and Kiss to be his main inspirations, but on Hootennany, his songwriting ranges from thrashy numbers (Run It, You Lose), power pop (Color Me Impressed) and simple techno pop (Within Your Reach). Unwittingly influencial, we can hear traces of Nirvana in Westerberg's screams on Run It and You Lose, and the Goo Goo Dolls on Color Me Impressed.
I've always had a weakness for power pop and that's probably why I like this album and the Replacements so much. For the period, the album feels sloppy even for a punk record, but the good songs are the ones that hold it together. It's hard to tell whether these good songs originate from moments of sobriety or whether the band suddenly find inspiration in a drunken stupor. The "bad" songs still manage to be charming, depending your sense of humour. Such is the case on "Lovelines", which finds Westerberg reading directly from the personal ads as the band flails tunelessly away in the background. Definitely a stepping stone for the band's more mature next record Let It Be, Hootenanny is still a lot of fun. Just don't come looking for musical competence.
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LET IT BE, released by The Replacements
in 1984
Overall Rating: 7*
Best Song: I Will Dare
Worst Song: Answering Machine
Written by Neal Grosvenor
Usually held in high esteem by many critics, Let It Be continued the Replacements' ascent to the throne of post-punk champs, amidst a rapidly changing music industry of the mid-1980s. MTV, Reagan-era conservatism, the loss of 60s ideals and 70s hedonism - most of these issues surrounded, irked, or just plain evaded kids growing up in the States at this time. Once again the mainstream music industry had alienated its youth and they sought their heroes elsewhere in college radio, underground rock clubs - anywhere to escape a preening Boy George or posturing Duran Duran on their t.v. screens. Keeping this in mind, the Replacements became unlikely heroes as they attracted their largest audience with this album, which for many was their introduction to the band. It's a cleaner sounding record with more ballads (Androgynous, Unsatisfied) trademark humour(Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out), and a reved up Kiss cover (Black Diamond). But for all its praises, I would venture to say that this album is enjoyable, but overrated. Critics have always said that this is where the band matured - they state that how Let It Be differs from their past albums is the maturity of the songwriting - which to me is a load of rubbish. True enough, the band didn't appear fall-down drunk anymore, but some of the songwriting is mediocre at best. Androgynous is pretty boring...perhaps I remember the putrid cover that the Crash Test Dummies did of this song back in early '90s (the Dummies, for those who don't know, were a horrible Canadian band with a raspy voiced lead singer who sounded like he was singing and taking a crap at the same time). The influence of this "self depreciating ballad" sound on subsequent rock bands was unmistakable if not misguided. Critics have never really liked the Goo Goo Dolls for instance, and if the "sappy ballads" side of the Replacements is what the Goo Goo Dolls stole best, than this might explain why they themselves deteriorated into MOR radio fodder.
Anyway, like I said, it still is enjoyable. A very young Peter Buck from REM makes a guest appearance playing mandolin on "I Will Dare", a stellar track. "Black Diamond" is an so-so cover, but why include it on such a short album? More original material I say! "Seen Your Video" is an early protest against the music video format and MTV, which eventually led to them releasing a video for "Bastards of Young" from Tim, their following album. The video was just the camera, sitting in front of a stereo while the song played. Pretty smartass stuff, but effective for getting their point across I guess. I believe they did find their true melodic voices on the next two albums, but Let It Be is important as firstly, their breakthrough record, and more importantly, a demonstration of Westerberg's developing gifts as a songwriter.
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