The Replacements were one of those bands I more knew of before I actually knew their music. I had
heard of their songs before actually making the conscious choice to listen to
them and bring them into my life. Lucky for me, one of their classics “Left ofthe Dial” crawled its way in via the means of a mix CD given to me at my high
school graduation party.
I immediately
gravitated towards it and enjoyed the artistic quality to it. It comes across
as a strong sampling from something larger. It represented both the music scene
from which it came (and spoke to) but also the album that housed it. At the
time, I chose to explore the former, not the latter, an exploration that would
eventually lead me to buy the album in January of 2014.
I had put it
together that this album is in many ways was the climax of the career of The
Replacements. The balance between loud and quiet is at its best on this
release. It is able to occupy the space between their beginning and their end.
In many ways, it is a perfect study of the band.
For my first
listen, I actually began with the last track “Here Comes A Regular”. It was one
that I must admit took a couple of listens for me to fully appreciate it and be
able to insert myself into it. In fact when I first heard of the song, I thought
it was a metaphor for normalcy coming into a scene of chaos. I came to discover
that it is a lament told from a young person who is still living at home long
after he should have moved on. He is the one who stayed in town and never got
out. He isn’t glamorizing his life but he isn’t asking for permission either.
He is just telling it for what it is. The acoustic guitar drives the point home
and the synthesizer in the background is a nice touch. Although I am not
someone who will end up spending his days in the local townie bars looking for
his buddies to come in, I can certainly relate to the song nonetheless.
“Hold My Life”
and “I’ll Buy” come across as songs from the perspective of someone who has
just discovered fame and wealth and is at a crossroads. There is this magical,
unbelievable story about to unfold and you just want to make sure you can hold
onto what you came from, what makes you the person you are. For Paul and
company, that was their story at the time. This was their big, critically acclaimed
album.
“Kiss Me On TheBus” shows that they can still connect with the life they are leaving behind. I
really enjoy its playfulness and I fully plan on signing it to my next muse
when we take a bus somewhere. It is just such a fun song that is probably lost
to time. Same goes for “Waitress In The Sky”. Who would think to make a song
about a stewardess and to almost villainize her? It is another travel related song that is fun
to learn the words and sing along to. It shows that Paul Westerberg can almost
write a song about anything. In both cases, I characterize the instrumentation
as just enough. The band is present and the playing is original but it is not
over the top. The songs are not long either.
One thing in particular
on this album that Paul chooses to cover is insecurity. He does it from a
position of strength. On “Swingin' Party” he does not sound weak, just clever
and because of this, he comes to own his shortcomings. It is also the closest
to a Smiths song the band ever made, in Morrissey like lyrics and near jangle-pop
guitar playing. “Bastards of Young” is the lost anthem for a generation without
a war to name it. I think having a general sense of U.S. cultural history helps
to appreciate this song and give it context. I give Paul a lot of credit for
writing it, being able to recognize it in his time. Plus it gives the green
light for some raw and rough playing from the band, reminiscent of their early
days. Just a solid sampling of the band’s strength.
Returning to
“Left of the Dial”, there is just so much in it that stands out. The story of
angst and earning told in the lyrics, the masterful playing with a well-placed
solo, the deliberate inversion of “playing makeup, wearing guitar”, all come
together in a package of classic college rock, forming a standard that will
last the test of time.
Overall, I feel
it is a complete album. From start to finish I am able to listen and enjoy both
the variety in music and cohesiveness in themes. It is on the level that I would
buy it for someone and give it to him or her to listen to in its interiority,
almost like a book. I am glad to have it on my shelf.
