The Replacements

O

riginally named Impediments by Tommy and Bob Stinson (bass and guitar respectively), along with Chris Mars(drums) and chief songwriter/vocalist, Paul Westerberg (vocals/guitar), Replacements would be purveyors of three-chord punk rock. Their early works were just plain bad in the production area, basically being just plain lo-fi. Signed to Minneapolis based, 'Twin/Tone', the band started off with their debut Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash in 1981, the raw attitude, cathartic melodies and humor shining through. The follow-up, Stink (1982), however, pumped up the speed, but harmony was more prominent on the later albums of Hootenanny (1983) and Let It Be (1984). The albums were enough to attract the attentions of 'Sire', and in late 1985 the Replacementsreleased the Tommy Erdelyi produced (a.k.a. Tommy Ramone; ex-Ramones) Tim (1985). Granted a bigger budget that only a larger label could offer, the band tempered their sound and mixed it with hooky riffs while retaining much of their authenticity. After the release, however, Bob was the first to leave the act. Bob, as it happens, was one of the more noteworthy members, especially during live shows when he played dressed in a ladies dress or in the nude; he would be replaced with Robert "Slim" Dunlap. The act would then release what many consider their best work with Pleased To Meet Me (1987); the album featuring Westeberg's songwriting abilities at it's best with tracks like Skyway, and especially, Can't Hardly Wait being the pop song he'd been threatening to write since the band started. Unfortunately, the positive reviews failed to translate into sales. Don't Tell a Soul (1989) found them to be more restrained despite the return of Stinson. The restraint, however, was enough to get them their first chart position at 57 US (most of their albums to this point were only released in the US).