The Replacements - Let It Be Vinyl

The Replacements: Paul Westerberg (vocals, guitar, lap steel, mandolin, piano, percussion); Bob Stinson (guitar); Tommy Stinson (bass, background vocals); Chris Mars (drums, maracas).

Additional personnel: Peter Buck (guitar); Chan Poling (piano).
Producers: Steve Fjelstad, Paul Westerberg, Peter Jesperson.
Recorded at Blackberry Way Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
The Replacements were one of America's greatest bands of the 80s, irrespective of genre, though during their lifetime they received thin acknowledgement from anyone but informed critics. LET IT BE demonstrates the unique hybrid of sloppy punk attitude and classic rock sensibilities that drove fans to devotion and critics to supplication. It was 1984, and the Replacements were poised to erupt from the Minneapolis punk scene onto the national stage. Paul Westerberg's songs lose all timidity as he tackles subjects like failure, confusion, and despair with a lyrical directness and a voice capable of ravaged emotion, unbridled fury, and effecting vulnerability. "I Will Dare" addresses an aging loser's complexes, while the tender ballad "Androgynous" chronicles a punk-rock love affair. "Unsatisfied"--perhaps Westerberg's best song--is a sweeping contemplation of shattered dreams. Profundity aside, there is also a huge sense of fun about LET IT BE, with throwaway material like "Gary's Got A Boner" and their cover of Kiss's "Black Diamond" foregrounding the quartet's signature drunken levity amid the angst. The Mats' finest hour, LET IT BE is easily on the shortlist for best albums of the '80s.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: Vinyl