Doh! The opening track manages to affirm their disdain for commercialism and their rejection of the DiMaggio Doctrine while confirming their ability to dish out nasty, bad-ass rock ‘n’ roll without Bob Stinson lending a hand. The joy generated by that fade makes “Alex Chilton” a leading contender for that all-important song I’m going to play at full blast when this fucking coronavirus shit finally comes to an end. Over in the far corner you see a worse-for-the-wear Westerberg at the upright piano, the slop from a glass of bourbon on the rocks barely glistening in the dim pink spotlight shining on the dust-encrusted piano top. They may not have done as well in the charts as they might have if they’d totally sold out, but they made a greater contribution to music by remaining true to their blessedly human flaws. 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. Reading Bob Mehr’s book a few months ago made me lean more in the direction of answering “No” to that question. For better AND for worse. Figuring that she would never lower herself to walk the streets, he decides to take the elevator up to the Skyway: Oh, then one day, I saw you walkin’ down that little one-way Chilton did work with The Replacements on a few demos, but none of the recordings saw the light of day at the time. Does anyone name their kid Roscoe anymore? I think that underlines the fact that the appeal of the Replacements is not so much their outrageousness as just the fact that they were, in their own way, very genuine. I’m not a hoodlum. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. We want to hear from you! Replacements fans are not horrible drunks and screw-ups. “I just can’t fuckin’ mean it every night.”, Westerberg viewed performing, as he did everything, in stark black-and-white terms. Being difficult was a key part of who they were. © Copyright 2021 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. What he couldn’t do was fake it. I went to a Twins game when they were still in the Metrodome (horrid place) and it was unlike any experience I’d ever had in a ballpark—everyone seemed to be so delighted to be there, rooting for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame kind of vibe. I know there’s a dark underside in every city, but Minneapolis just seems so neat and tidy—and neat and tidy doesn’t come close to describing The Replacements. Well, that would be my plan until the end of the first bridge when Prince Gabe makes his entrance. and "Shooting Dirty Pool" practically sound like Exile on Main Street at 78 rpm. 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. In Pleased to Meet Me, Bill Sullivan sets out to explain what makes us, well, us. The Replacements were fully committed to being real, and for the most part they managed to stay real despite enormous pressures to engage in pretense. That was really the only song on the album where he just didn’t get it. The producer and Memphis mainstay entered the picture after abortive demo… Its release as the lead single—a pretty questionable decision from any perspective—has been blamed for the weaker-than-anticipated sales of Pleased to Meet Me. 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. Well, yeah, unless you’re the girl trapped under a hundred-and-eighty pounds of dead weight. Pleased to Meet Me was acclaimed by music critics. Learn how your comment data is processed. Later in the chapter covering Pleased to Meet Me, producer Jim Dickinson recalled that “When we started, ‘art’ was a word he wouldn’t let me use . It took some doing, but I did find some Mud Boy stuff on YouTube, and his production was spot-on: roots music perfection. Oddly enough, Westerberg’s defense was pretty solid—he wrote about suicide because it was happening and no one seemed to give a damn. 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. You don’t have to be like them in order to relate to them. Case in point Pleased to Meet Me, the only album Minneapolis’ The Replacements recorded as a trio. But as he spit out the  words again to Rieger, it went far deeper. Mehr describes the cover as “A Faustian handshake between a scruffy rock-and-roller, played by Westerberg, and a bejeweled record company executive.” Given his fuck-the-fans orientation, it is doubtful that Westerberg designed the cover to serve as a heads-up to the fan base, a la “Hey, I’ve sold out to the establishment, but I’m still me.” It is more likely that the cover depicts Westerberg looking at his reflection in the mirror and facing the reality of his situation. Audio CD. Now you can finally hear how they tried and where they succeeded. I also remember “Nightclub Jitters” being played sloppily on purpose, which was funny, but it was still musical. For that reason alone, Minneapolis wins my vote as the most thoughtful and considerate city in the USA. I never liked going to Costco. The limited supporting harmonies are a nice touch, adding a bit of sweetness to balance the power chord attack without softening it. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-replacements/pleased-to-meet-me 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. After he sees the girl walking high up in the Skyway, he turns his attention to his appearance: “In my stupid hat and gloves . I run into an inherent bias in evaluating “Red, Red Wine,” as I have been a wine snob since the age of twelve when my mother began what proved to be a lengthy and thorough oenological education, with close attention paid to the impact of a given terroir on the character of the finished product. ... Top review from United Kingdom There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Much better version—the lead guitar is ripping. 'Pleased to Meet Me' is considered the 'sell-out' album but really it sounds like a slightly more buffed up and moderately less consistent 'Tim'; I still like it a fair deal, the curveball tracks in particular ('Nightclub Jitters' and 'Skyway') do an excellent job of breaking up the track flow and stop monotony from their typical sound setting in. “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. These recordings all have a raw, intimate quality that sounded polished on the LP. And it wasn’t just Paul. And I look great in leather. The ache in Westerberg’s voice feels deeper on several of the songs, and the way the group could settle into a jam, whether as a four-or three–piece, sounds easier. They were even uncomfortable playing “I’ll Be You” when it was a minor hit. disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. I was really struck by a comment by Scott Litt, who produced the final Replacements album, All Shook Down. But they were never going to be Cheap Trick. The Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me marked the moment when Minneapolis met Memphis. Boston, MA: DaCapo Press, 2016. Westerberg sounds drunker than usual, straining to hit the notes and failing to achieve any sense of coherence in his phrasing. You write these amazing songs. And the strings on the original “Can’t Hardly Wait” stepped on the dropout when Westerberg sings the title. This is how music creates atmosphere, and this is one atmosphere I want to experience! Speaking of artists who weren’t particularly fan-friendly, Alex Chilton certainly had more than his fill of professional management demanding he shape himself into a pop idol during his years with The Box Tops, moving on to start a band that would be as widely acclaimed and as commercially unsuccessful as The Replacements. Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite – Get Up! If you gotta go, you wanna go out onstage or fucking.”. 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. Another interesting comment was from the author of the book, but was also backed up by Tommy Stinson. In stock on November 18, 2020. While all of the tracks are good they aren't all great, as "Let It Be" and "Tim" were. They were contrarians right from the start. And he wasn’t willing to put himself on the line emotionally. There are lots of versions of “Can’t Hardly Wait” without strings, as well as versions without horns. This review can also be found on my blog. Let me check something . If you can find any of his Mud Boy and the Neutrons recordings, I hope you’ll agree. Sexy, sinuous and sensitive wins out over lean and hungry every time. Year in Review: So, How Was Your 2020, Nile Rodgers? A part of them wanted to be hugely popular, but a part of them didn’t. The Replacements' 'Pleased to Meet Me' box set shows new depth to the band's last great album. “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. And then they’d be too drunk, and they’d get useless. is London.” Feel the weightiness of that voice of utter authority and you’ll begin to grasp the significance I am attempting to attach to The Replacements’ album cover. Want more Rolling Stone? 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. Mehr, Bob. “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. Like Lennon after the “more popular than Jesus” brouhaha, Westerberg had to defend the song repeatedly in interviews; unlike The Beatles, The Replacements were not the most popular band in the history of the universe. Pressed by Allied Record Company which differs from the Specialty Records Corporation pressing Pleased To Meet Me. . It had become his refrain, practically a mantra, during Pleased to Meet Me. Why are you sabotaging your own songs?”. It was noted that Replacements fans are not like the Replacements, and they never were. I’m in love with that song.”. “They wouldn’t be drunk enough early on in the day to get anything. Nelson Rockefeller died “of an apparent heart attack.” Now that is fake news. Gospel organ ran through the original mix of “Valentine.” It sounds like somebody played a little mandolin in “Alex Chilton” at some point. Westerberg met him after yet another disastrous concert in New York; contrarian Chilton thought was The Replacements were great and said he’d love to record with them. Mehr, together with Rhino’s Jason Jones, produced this new collection. 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. The second disc explores the creative process behind Pleased To Meet Me with 15 demos, 11 of which are unreleased, that were recorded at Blackberry Way Studios in Minneapolis during the summer of 1986. The Replacements ‎– Pleased To Meet Me Label: Sire ‎– R2 643412 / 60349784647, Rhino Records (2) ‎– R2 643412 / 60349784647 Then they’d be good and drunk, and it would be great. I’ve never met a Roscoe. On the whole, I think Jim Dickinson’s contributions to music and production have made the world a better place. Up in the skyway. 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. Pleased to Meet Me starts off strong with "I.O.U", a song that frequently exposes the Replacements' deep roots in classic rock. They did not have the common touch. I’m not referring to the weather when I tell you that I think Minneapolis is a pretty cool city, and one of the coolest things about it is the Skyway, now consisting of 9.5 miles of second-floor enclosed walkways that connect the commercial and entertainment highlights, from stores to hotels to sports venues. Westerberg’s vocal starts out as if someone had nudged him out of a snooze, and remains a low-volume, low-energy effort throughout. Pleased to Meet Me was the sound of the Replacements trying for once. . Rieger’s platonic ideal of a performer was Bruce Springsteen: someone who wrung emotion out of every lyric, put himself on the line with each show, and gave 100 percent night after night. To appreciate the importance of the cover, think of Paul Westerberg as the anti-Joe DiMaggio. Sort of rhymes with Costco. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 4.5 superb. That’s what he wanted out of the Replacements. At the end of the song, I’ll say to the band, “That was real nice, boys. In spite of some über-Eighties, ultra-reverberated production (which still sounds better than their next album, Don’t Tell a Soul), the record was the band’s last moment of greatness. 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. … Rarely in the annals of music history has an album cover said so much. 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. Uh, oh. . And the country-rocking “Even If It’s Cheap” is a nice addition, if only to hear Tommy Stinson sing the album title: “Pleased to meet me, the pleasure’s all mine, I’ve seen you here before.” The winking nature of the way he sings the verse and the bridge that sounds a bit like “Jesse’s Girl” maybe explain why it didn’t make it much farther. “That’s part of the reason people gravitated to him as an artist. (Mehr).” Though the background “singers” are as sloppy as a poorly aimed-ejaculation, Paul Westerberg is on full-throated fire, a condition most apparent when the voices of his bandmates disappear on the chorus: One foot in the door, the other one in the gutter “I Don’t Know” is a hard-driving update on the band’s current status featuring Westerberg on the calls and Tommy Stinson and Mars on the responses. It was always too cold inside. Point of fact, Pleased to Meet Me also has the unique distinction of being the last new album I bought on vinyl in the spring of 1987 before switching over almost exclusively to CDs a month later (though, of course, I returned to purchasing vinyl again before the decade was out). 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 He draws small comfort from the fact that the Skyway isn’t the bourgeois refuge it seems to be (“It’s got bums when it’s cold like any other place”), but still clings to the fantasy of meeting the girl someday. Just try to imagine Murrow intoning that line as if he were opening one of his broadcasts from the scene of The Blitz: “This . 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