The Replacements are a significant American cult band - in a certain version of the story of rock'n'roll, the one which my own taste probably adheres to most closely, they're one of the most significant bands of all time.
How to describe them in trite terms? The missing link between Big Star and Nirvana? The common thread linking Wilco and Nirvana? The first modern Americana band? The greatest bar band of all time? Pick your favourite.
They're loved by those that love them, but that's not all that many. They're back together recently but not to sell out arenas like The Pixies or Blur or any number of inferior bands.
What makes the so significant? Well, I'm not saying the 80s were all shit, but just supposing that, in a way, the 80s were all shit, something was needed to keep the flame alive. If you do love that kind of scuzzy sweet jangly punky melodic rock'n'roll, if you love everything from Neil Young to Nirvana to Ryan Adams, it was the Replacements who did that in a desert.
They're both a post-punk band and a pre-indie band. They started out making a racket but then realised they wanted to write tunes too. Paul Westerberg is the frontman and he has a voice which is an archetype, hoarse, tuneful, raucous and heartbreaking. It's one of the ten essential voices of all time.
OK, look, the 80s weren't all shit, of course not, there were quite a few bands making different types of great music in the 80s, but it was certainly an odd time, especially the late 80s. In the UK, that's when the charts were irreparably damaged - I mean, look at the all the great Number 1 in 1980-1982, and then look what's Number 1 from 1985 to 1989. And sure, there was C86, there was the Smiths and the Stone Roses, and yes, in the US, the Pixies, REM, Public Enemy, the Replacements were not the only great alternative band of the late 80s, but, like I say, there weren't many.
Talking of REM, Peter Buck plays guitar on the first track of this album and also helped out on production a bit. 'Let it Be' is the most acclaimed Replacements album, it was the one where they took flight. You know when there's a limited band who suddenly take a giant leap - "I didn't know they could do that ..." (think Modern Life is Rubbish or the Alligator or , why not, Help!). This was the Replacements' moment.
The album has two classic songs. The first is that opening track 'I Will Dare'. I'm going to use the word archetypal again. It's an archetypal song. If I wanted a song constructed from magic beans, this is how I'd like it. It has guitar, mandolin, it's got the jingle-jangle, sweet, bold, seedy intentions and a burstingly lovely chorus.
The other classic song is 'Unsatisfied' which is an epic rock ballad. One of my all-time favourite American indie teen flicks is 'Adventureland', a period piece so well-observed and real it puts most of the genre to shame. Set in lifeless hopeless grim mid-America in the late 80s, the Replacements are all over the soundtrack. When 'Unsastisfied' turned up for the feelgood denouement, yes, I loved the film all the more.
The rest of the album veers between obscenely raucous and sweet and affecting - made by young adults about the trials of teenhood. Titles include 'Androgynous', 'Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out' and 'Gary's Got a Boner'. It's not all classic songcraft, obviously. But it's all great fun.
I'd really recommend The Replacements if you've never listened. There's something faultless and unimpeachable about them. If you remember, I did a post about a certain kind of "Great British Band" if I was to do a similar post about a small number of "Great American Bands" linked by a thread, they's definitely be among them.
Westerberg's solo work is usually pretty lo-fi, but often great. He started off a janitor who talked his way into a dodgy punk band, but ended up one of the great songwriters. In particular, he has a gift for attention-grabbing first lines of albums
"Baby learns to crawl watching daddy's skin"
"Get up from a dream and I look for rain, take an amphetamine and a crushed rat's brain"
"How young are you? How old am I? Let's count the rings around my eyes"
Anyway, here's the compilation
I Will Dare
It's a Wonderful Lie - Paul Westerberg
Bastards of Young
Alex Chilton
Looking Out Forever - Paul Westerberg
Sadly Beautiful
Kiss Me On the Bus
Merry Go Round
My Favorite Thing
Here Comes a Regular
Androgynous
Baby Learns To Crawl - Paul Westerberg
Mr Rabbit - Mr Westerberg
Only Lie Worth Telling - Paul Westerberg
Looking Up in Heaven - Paul Westerberg
Unsatisfied
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