David Kronenbourg
Well-Known Member
I have this on LOUD. It's a beaut
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Ay, as I've been listening to can see more and more how anyone who spent their youth in a band would dig this. Like your own band, but cooler than you were, and with better melodies (mostly).What @egg_ said about them sounding like the demo tape of a teenage garage band is kinda right though. However, I would say that this is a large part of their charm.
it was the first time that the bands we loved actually made a real record. Their songs were going to stand the test of time, songs that we were all going to cover. I know it was like that being around a lot of the bands during the mid-'80s. They had that magnetism Sonic Youth had, but had songs we could all cover, sing and play
Let It Be featured more complex arrangements and songwriting than the band's previous albums
It is a post-punk album.
The thing with The Replacements is if you ask Wayne Coyne, Michael Stipe or J Mascis, they were the ones that would say: "The Replacements, that would be the band to be in."
You think? The lyrics I've noticed do pretty much nothing for me. "Johnny's wearing a dress", "Let's get this over with, I tee off in an hour" ... sounds like pretty standard teenage sticking-it-to-The-Man fare to me (only written by a 25 year old). Point out a song where I should listen more closely, will you?Westerberg is the finest lyricist of his generation by a long,long shot
Paul Westerberg is my god.@Jill Hives is gonna kill ya!
Nope. The music just did not connect with me on any level beyond a superficial "This isn't bad but I don't really get it" way.You didn't even tap your foot to I Will Dare*?
Impressive.
*the actual catchiest song, give it up @scutter, you clearly didn't even listen to the album and just based your review on what I wrote.
That 33 1/3rd book was by Colin Meloy from the Decemberists; I dug it out for a browse and it's pretty good.Its been interesting coming back to this for a second time. I first heard it about 10 years ago when @Jill Hives gave me a bunch of stuff to listen to. I listened a good bit back then, but until it came up in album club, it's probably 5 or 6 years since I'd last heard it.
I can remember the first few times I listened. It wasn't something that instantly hit me. It works it's way into your brain, then one day a song might pop into your head from nowhere and you find yourself humming along. Like @Lili Marlene, the standout track for me is 'Sixteen Blue'. Its the catchiest song on there and it was the first song I found myself coming back to.
Listening to it again in the past week, its kind of revealed itself in a different light, as often happens. Maybe its the older ears, but now it sounds really great. Its an album without a bad song IMO, which wouldn't have been what I would have thought before.
I know nothing else by The Replacements. I did hear one (or maybe even more than one) of Westerberg's solo albums but I didn't give it much time. So I don't have the same context as other's who have shared opinions on it. I'm not a musician so I can't relate to the comments about it being a 'musicians album', but all those comments make total sense. Even moreso when I read the comment in the link I posted yesterday where Jonathan Donahue of Mercury Rev gave his thoughts.
I can imagine that being a big thing for a band starting out. I'm sure cover versions feature heavily for any younger band, while members are getting familiar with each other, etc. Being able to cover songs by a band that is actually 'cool', is, well, cool.
In the blurb that @pete posted, this line
They aren't that complex are they? Maybe relative to other stuff they'd done up to this album, but one thing that struck me listening was that the songs weren't that complicated. Guitar, bass, drums, thats it. And thats why the comments about bands covering Replacements songs, and about it being a 'musicians album', made sense.
And this, also from that blurb
I always think I know what 'post-punk' means until someone mentions it somewhere. To me this feels like a rock and roll album that drifts towards different flavours, or sub-genres of rock and/or punk, at different points. Like 'Sixteen Blue' and 'Androgynous' sound like they could be west-coast rock. I don't know if anyone has ever been in california, where the radio stations are so genre-specific, and you tune into a 'soft-rock' station. I can imagine these songs being on their playlist. They remind me of late-90s 'soft-rock', which they doubtless influenced.
'Favourite Thing' and 'We're Comin Out' are the most 'punk' song on there IMO. 'Favourite Thing' reminds me a bit of SLF. And (at the risk of upsetting some folk), 'We're Comin' Out' reminds me a bit of Pearl Jam, again, who I'm sure they influenced.
Jonathan Donohue again
I get the comments made about the vocal. Initially I thought the same. He's not a great singer, but after a couple of listens I didn't even notice. His voice suits the songs perfectly.
We've had a couple of albums on here that are like metaphorical embryonic stem cells, in that their influence spawned so many other great bands and albums. I'm guessing this is another of those. Today I plan on reading as much as I can about it, to find out the background, who it influenced, etc, etc.
I'm sure there was a 33 1/3rd book done on it, was there?
This album is great. I think 9/10 is about right but because we're doing things out of 5, I'll give it 4/5 (cos 5/5 is reserved for Joanna Newsom albums).
Upgrade your account now to disable all ads...
Upgrade nowWe use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.