The Replacements Dissected On "Sound Opinions"

Download: The Replacements - "I Will Dare"
Download: The Replacements - "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out"
Download: The Replacements - "Unsatisfied"
Download: The Replacements - "Sixteen Blue"

Over this past weekend, NPR's Sound Opinions (hosted by Chicago rock-crits Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot) devoted the majority of their program to discussing the significance and influence of The Replacements Let It Be album, their third full-length album, which was released in 1984.

Author Jim Walsh, who on Nov. 15th will release a book about the band called "All Over But The Shouting: An Oral History", was invited to share his thoughts about the band and the album. Most of the discussion revolves around placing Let It Be into the context of The Replacements stylistic evolution, as well as how the album was the product of Paul Westerberg's increase confidence as a songwriter and maturity as a person, but there is also insight into how the band and album fit into the larger pop landscape at the time. It's information that may or may not be new, depending on whether or not you've read about Walsh's book or "Our Band Could Be Your Life", but there are still some lovely insights on an absolutely amazing album. Plus, how NPR edits "Gary's Got A Boner" is pretty funny.

Download the "Sound Opinions" podcast here.

Jim Walsh will be having a release party for the book at First Avenue on Nov. 28th. Details here and tickets here.

At the top of the post, you'll find four MP3s from the album many people consider to be their best.

Sound Opinions Webpage

(Jonathan Graef)