Contributed By: D. Buchan
Created On: Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Hits: 44
 Their persona is so well defined: The Replacements were the working-class kids bursting with talent but always ready to squander it; the bratty wise guys with a sensitive streak who refused to play by the rules. But the group's persona has a distancing effect for those who are new to the band. There's never been a shortage of thirty and fortysomethings reminiscing about the 'Mats. You read about the sloppily brilliant live performances, the massive quantities of beer consumed, the backstage hijinks; questionable theories are proffered, something about how this band should, if there were any justice in the world, have had pop hits and been on the radio.
You hear such things from the people who were there, man, and it's tempting to dismiss the Replacements as a Gen X nostalgia trip and turn your attention to some unexplored corner of post-punk, maybe a boundary-pushing band with an experimental bent. The idea of the Replacements has a lot to do with why they've endured, and as archetypes go, it's a compelling one. But sometimes it gets in the way. It'd be nice if these reissues from Rhino, which remaster and generously expand upon the band's four early records for their hometown imprint Twin/Tone, can bring us back to what the Replacements were: a creative, smart, silly, exuberant, and often hilarious rock'n'roll band. Rhino has done everything right with these records, giving them the sort of treatment they deserve. The liner notes and documentation are detailed; the bonus cuts generous and well chosen. This crucial part of the Replacements story is finally available in all its detail, and hopefully, it'll help us hear the music again in a fresh way. There's a lot worth exploring.
As the short, sharp tracks tick off, each is immediately arresting. If Mothers Against Drunk Driving hadn't formed the year before, the invigorating and dangerous jolt of "Takin a Ride" might have served as the organization's catalyst; "Customer" is comical fast-talking portrait of an instant crush; "Shiftless When Idle" is an early statement of purpose. Bob Stinson can't wait to bust out his searing solos. Everything sounds loose, live, and brimming with energy. Over 18 songs, only a couple are less than great. Among the 13 bonus tracks, the highlight is the four-song demo from 1980 the band originally gave to Twin/Tone's Peter Jesperson, hoping to get some club gigs. I'm trying to imagine the excitement when he popped it in his tape deck and heard "Raised in the City", with its relentless drive and chugga-chugga riff and a 20-year-old Westerberg sounding like he already knew a hell of a lot about it melody. No wonder Jesperson became their manager.
Then came Stink, the quickie EP follow-up from 1982. The cover's subtitle used to say "'Kids Don't Follow' Plus Seven" and its expanded version now reads "'Kids Don't Follow' Plus 11". Well, it's true: "Kids Don't Follow" is much better than these other songs. This is their true-blue punk record, and, while they pull it off, they sound too one-dimensional. The songs are entertaining, with titles alone that are good for a chuckle: "Fuck School"; "White and Lazy"; "Dope Smokin' Moron"; "God Damn Job". You can guess how they go without even hearing them; it's a record for a single mood. Some the outtakes are actually better: There's a great cover of Hank Williams' "Hey, Good Lookin" that was a live staple of the time, and their disemboweling of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" is worth a few laughs. Stink is an important piece of the puzzle, but less interesting on its own.
 
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