“IOU NOTHING,” penned Iggy, which Westerberg thought “was the coolest thing in the world.” (Mehr) While fans may interpret that act as cold rather than cool, it helped Westerberg clarify the attitude of an artist towards admirers: if you don’t maintain a healthy distance, you run the risk of letting them define you and deflect you from your artistic trajectory. Even the demos they cut as a three-piece show how playful they could be; the two versions of Westerberg’s anti-TV screed “Kick It In” demonstrate how they could give a song a facelift on a whim, playing it straight on the first demo and adding bongos and more guitar textures to the second. The quirky lyrics certainly jibe with the quirky subject of the tribute, at one point “Checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s Place,” then “Runnin’ ’round the house, Mickey Mouse and the Tarot cards/Falling asleep with a flop pop video on.” But the most memorable and poignant lyrics are saved for the remarkable chorus, a wish for a different world in which the obscure Mr. Chilton is lifted out of oblivion and into the hearts of children everywhere: Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes ’round Replacements fans are not horrible drunks and screw-ups. © Copyright 2021 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. After he sees the girl walking high up in the Skyway, he turns his attention to his appearance: “In my stupid hat and gloves . On the whole, I think Jim Dickinson’s contributions to music and production have made the world a better place. Yes, I’ve taken a lot of heat for my opinion of “Can’t Wait.” Perhaps if I heard a stripped-down version I’d like it better, but Dickinson’s enhancements really turn me off. . What’s that song? Rarely in the annals of music history has an album cover said so much. 342 Comments. the place I’d catch my ride most everyday Audio CD. Westerberg sounds drunker than usual, straining to hit the notes and failing to achieve any sense of coherence in his phrasing. It also comes with a 12" x 12" hardcover book with rare photos and new notes by Bob Mehr, author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements. “I. Westerberg needed to face that reality without embracing it and learn to live with the tension. You write these amazing songs. Internal strife also wasn’t helping things much. It was all or nothing.”. Of the three fully mixed, never-before-released tunes, “Learn How to Fail,” is the best with its jazzy guitar line and Westerberg convincing someone young to grow up a little before they start dating, followed closely by Tommy Stinson’s hard-rocking “Trouble on the Way.” “Run for the Country,” which features some harmonica, feels a little schmaltzy, and the previously unreleased cover of Billy Swan’s “I Can Help” pales in comparison with the raving drunk cover of the same tune they cut with Tom Waits (on last year’s Don’t Tell a Soul box set). This review can also be found on my blog. Another interesting comment was from the author of the book, but was also backed up by Tommy Stinson. Altrockchick. I owe him my best.” DiMag was the ultimate professional, giving it his all even when his body howled in protest, even when he would have rather skipped the doubleheader and stayed in his New York hotel residence bonking Marilyn Monroe. Does anyone name their kid Roscoe anymore? Year in Review: So, How Was Your 2020, Lars Ulrich. Label and pressing variation, '®' in Sire label logos, differs from The Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me which has 'TM' in label logos and embossed 'A' on labels. . . The key to interpreting the song lies in what appears to be a throwaway line in the first verse. “Alex Chilton” is alternative power pop at its best, an explosive, bouncy number with a delightful rhythmic kick in the chorus accentuated by sharp, reverberating hand claps. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. I pretended I was a punk, I pretended I was a rocker, and a drunk, and a hoodlum. Even the collection’s rough mixes — usually the most over larded part of a box set — offer new insights. £11.19. That was really the only song on the album where he just didn’t get it. Enter your email below to be the first to hear about new releases, upcoming events, and more from Rhino. . Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements. Anyway, Westerberg remained an admirer, deciding to transform a song he’d been working on with the curious title “George from Outer Space” into a tribute to the underappreciated Chilton. Meanwhile, Tommy Stinson stares idly at the filthy vinyl floor, occasionally yawning as he plunks gently on his bass and Chris Mars plays no-effort rim shots while keeping his eyes on the faded Longines clock, its hands steadfastly refusing to fast-forward to quitting time, much to his chagrin. Original guitarist Bob Stinson was ousted from the band when it was time to record Pleased to Meet Me. Perfection is the most pernicious lie of all, and the quest to achieve perfection is the ultimate fool’s errand. I wanna be the platinum blonde in that bar consuming Pall Malls and vodka martinis (vodka from the well, of course), blowing off the soldiers in town on a weekend pass and the lonely conventioneers so desperate for a roll in the hay that they’ll bang a platinum blonde way past her prime sitting in a place that’s way past its prime listening to musicians who sound like they’re way past their prime. . Getting back to “Nightclub Jitters,” I love how the song immediately transports you to a dark and smoky joint that may have a neon sign out front advertising the place as a “cocktail lounge,” but the two or three burned-out letters tell you that it’s a dive bar way past its prime. “I just can’t fuckin’ mean it every night.”, Westerberg viewed performing, as he did everything, in stark black-and-white terms. Westerberg’s vocal is appropriately weary and tinted with heartache, completely free of any hints of sardonic compromise. Where . Pleased to Meet Me was the sound of the Replacements trying for once. The music is presented in a 12 x 12 hardcover book loaded with dozens of rarely seen photos along with a detailed history of the Pleased To Meet Me era written by Bob Mehr, who authored The New York Times bestseller, Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements. When he sings, “I’m the boy they can’t ignore/For the first time in my life, I’m sure,” he knows that all the attention he’s receiving now is as utterly impersonal as the lack of attention paid to him in his brief existence. " Pleased to Meet Me is the finest record The Replacements ever made," writes The Current's David Campbell. Shortly after a particularly disastrous Replacements performance, Russ Rieger, the head honcho of their management company, paid Westerberg a visit: The next day, at the band’s hotel, Rieger got into a heated discussion with Westerberg, telling him, “This car-crash mentality is something you have to move away from. The Replacements turned out to be one of the best bands to never have a Top 20 single or Top 20 album—pretty solid evidence that the sellout wasn’t much of a sellout. The equally raucous “I Don’t Know,” on Pleased to Meet Me, the Replacements’ fifth full-length platter, is Westerberg’s latest ode to his own uncertainty. Sign up for our newsletter. Originally from San Francisco, I am now a French/EU citizen living in Nice. “I Don’t Know” definitely needed something to ground the drunken exuberance and Dickinson made the right call when he brought in future Rock Hall of Famer Steve Douglas on baritone sax. For some necessary clarification, when I use the term classic rock I don't mean the Eagles or the Rolling Stones or whatever the media is calling "classic" now. Sexy, sinuous and sensitive wins out over lean and hungry every time. As for the album: I enjoyed your analysis of side one, but I like side two a lot more than you do. The kudos to Jim Dickinson keep on comin’ with his decision to bring it Edward “Prince Gabe” Kirby to play alto sax on “Nightclub Jitters.” Kirby was a Beale Street fixture for five decades who earned his nickname because someone told him he played trumpet like the angel Gabriel. Sort of rhymes with Costco. Westerberg’s vocal starts out as if someone had nudged him out of a snooze, and remains a low-volume, low-energy effort throughout. It was always too cold inside. Pleased to Meet Me was recorded in Ardent Studios in Memphis, and as a member of The Dixie Flyers, producer Jim Dickinson just had to infuse some of the tracks with Memphis Soul. “That’s part of the reason people gravitated to him as an artist. Westerberg hated the strings as much as I do, confirming my opinion of him as a man with excellent taste in music. Up in the skyway. Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? Westerberg’s tone lies somewhere between devil-may-care and fuck-it-all; his voice is filled with grit and power. Gospel organ ran through the original mix of “Valentine.” It sounds like somebody played a little mandolin in “Alex Chilton” at some point. Well, yeah, unless you’re the girl trapped under a hundred-and-eighty pounds of dead weight. The Beatles could afford the bad press because they had built up tons of goodwill; The Replacements couldn’t afford the controversy. Three of those were played in clubs, so they don’t have horns, either. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-replacements/pleased-to-meet-me Pleased to Meet Me was the sound of the Replacements trying for once. The Replacements ‎– Pleased To Meet Me Label: Sire ‎– R2 643412 / 60349784647, Rhino Records (2) ‎– R2 643412 / 60349784647 Pleased to Meet Me was acclaimed by music critics. In stock on November 18, 2020. For that reason alone, Minneapolis wins my vote as the most thoughtful and considerate city in the USA. These recordings all have a raw, intimate quality that sounded polished on the LP. By the end of the session, he was calling himself an ‘artist.’” Westerberg had always resisted such an elitist label, but by the end of the sessions he admitted, ” . Compare that to the orientation of Mr. Westerberg, as captured in Bob Mehr’s Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements. Imhotep was bankrolled by the pharaoh Djoser; Michelangelo by Pope Julius II; Shakespeare was bound the 3rd Earl of Southhampton. For better AND for worse. When you said iTunes, I went and searched the files and found the Hoboken concert. What’s that song? . The arrangement is one of blessed simplicity: acoustic guitar enhanced with echoing reverb and just a touch of vibraphone. Music Reviews: Pleased to Meet Me (Deluxe Edition) by The Replacements released in 2020 via Rhino. I’m in love with that song.”. Doh! The inspiration for “I. Pleased to Meet Me should have ended with “Skyway,” but instead we get the producer-dominated “Can’t Hardly Wait.” This not-much-of-a-song had been around for a while, but The Replacements never found a satisfying arrangement. The others felt that way too, with the possible exception of Tommy, who may have been happy to go along for the ride regardless of what they decided to do. . The band’s previous five LPs were snarky slacker masterpieces full of chintzy songs about hating music ’cause it’s got too many notes, ironic Kiss covers, and the occasional tender ballad, and their concerts were more like drunken hootenannies — all of this sloppiness was what won them their legend. “I can’t mean it every night,” admitted Westerberg, meeting Rieger’s eyes. The Replacements | Pleased to Meet Me-Deluxe Edition | (Rhino/Sire) 4 out of 5 stars. I was really struck by a comment by Scott Litt, who produced the final Replacements album, All Shook Down. So, fuck it—he jumps with a scream to his death, the reporters have their story, the cop did the best he could, viewers of the nightly news shake their heads and ask, “What’s for dessert?” Yes, “The Ledge” is an uncomfortable song indeed, but a damn fine piece of work from a guy who had attempted suicide but somehow managed to distance himself enough from the subject matter to write a believable, evocative story. In many ways Pleased to Meet Me is the most mature of the Replacements albums; they're no longer the drunk, immature kids of their early records (instead they're just drunk), nor do the songs contain the youthful exuberance that Let It Be and Tim held. The Replacements' 'Pleased to Meet Me' box set shows new depth to the band's last great album. His three Big Star albums and the fabulous anti-masterpiece Like Flies on Sherbert didn’t do dick as far as the charts were concerned but turned out to be a source of inspiration for bands driving the alt-rock/indie movements in the ’80s and ’90s. When you’ve grown up in a certain place and have become thoroughly familiar with the sights, you tend to see patterns instead of details. Writing for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described it as "an album alive with the crackle of conflicting emotions and kamikaze rock & roll fire." ( Log Out /  Ladies with delicate skin like mine can download a map of the Skyway system when preparing for a visit and work out how to avoid interactions with sub-zero temperatures or breath-sucking heat and humidity. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. All my Replacements music was alphabetized under T except that one. “For him there was no middle ground,” said Rieger. I’ll just say he should be very proud of “Skyway” and omit the urge to comment (again) on male silliness. Independent music reviewer on altrockchick.com and 50thirdand3rd.com. Paul Westerberg would write several songs about suicide, but “The Ledge” was by far the most controversial. I’m in love with that song” several times over a background of acoustic rhythm guitar and uncredited mandolin. In “Skyway,” Paul Westerberg positions himself on a one-way street below the Skyway, “the place where I’d catch my ride most every day.” His wait coincides with the schedule of a woman who uses the Skyway regularly to get to wherever she’s going, most likely to work. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Nelson Rockefeller died “of an apparent heart attack.” Now that is fake news. I’m a fucking artist. Was quite enjoying the style of the review up to this. “Shooting Dirty Pool” is just Westerberg bitching about a no-account promoter who bad-mouthed The ‘Mats on college radio after yet another crappy concert. “Valentine” was a song pulled out of the reject pile at the last minute because Warner wanted another track to comply with the running time paradigms of the day, and the less-than-enthusiastic performance reflects that. I’ve been cooped up in the house too long. The Associated Press reported that Kirby died after he had “collapsed at home,” which sounds like journo-speak for dying in the middle of a glorious ejaculation. Every Replacements record is extraordinary in its way, but none exemplifies their garbage-to-grandeur alchemy like Pleased To Meet Me, which rocks like early Kinks, swaggers like T. … When Westerberg said it to Jim Dickinson (producer), it was a question of trust; as he acted it out with the record company, it was a matter of insecurity. 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