The 500 - #137 - Tim - The Replacements

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #137
Album Title: Tim
Artist: The Replacements
Genre: Alternative Rock, Punk Rock, Power Pop
Recorded: Nicolette Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Released: September, 1985
My age at release: 20
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all
Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Bastards of Young (Ed Stasium Mix)

Long before I dropped the needle...or rather, queued up the stream... for my first listen to Tim, the fourth studio album by The Replacements, I recalled some advice that had been given to me a few years previously. This cautionary guidance had come during a discussion about a previous post concerning the debut record from The Replacements, Let It Be. Those sage words? Skip the original mix for Tim and dive straight into the 2023 remix by producer Ed Stasium. Reissued by Rhino records, the Stasium Remixes were part of a four CD package dubbed Tim: Let It Bleed Edition, containing alternate takes, demos and a 1986 live performance recorded at the Cabaret Metro Concert Hall in Chicago.

Tim: Let It Bleed Edition album cover (2023).

It was sound advice. Stasium isn’t just any studio hand, he’s a former punk guitarist turned sonic architect with an impressive résumé. From shaping the raw energy of the Ramones and the artful edge of Talking Heads to powering Living Colour’s Grammy-winning 1988 debut Vivid, Stasium has spent decades honing studio chaos into high fidelity clarity.

However, I had to wonder: What was wrong with the original record? And, if "I didn't listen to it first, how would I know the latter was better?" So, on Monday of last week, I intentionally arrived an hour early at my school classroom to give the 1985 version of Tim an uninterrupted listen while puttering about preparing for the week. I did the same on Tuesday, and by Wednesday the record was starting to grow on me. Sure, it was rough and unpolished, but that seemed to accentuate the themes on the record -- restlessness, youthful defiance, loneliness and fleeting love. Paul Westerberg, the band's guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, penned lyrics that are raw, plainspoken, self-deprecating and funny, capturing 20-something, working class disillusionment.

Westerberg's handwritten lyrics for
Here Comes A Regular, from Tim.

On Wednesday, I made the switch (from the 1985 original mix of Tim to Ed Stasium’s 2023 Let It Bleed Edition) and the difference hit like a jolt. Suddenly, the fog lifted. The original, produced by Tommy Erdelyi (aka Tommy Ramone of the Ramones), had long been criticized for its murky sound. The vocals felt buried under digital reverb, guitars smeared together, drums seemed to be pushed so far back they barely registered. Stasium’s remix flipped that script. Westerberg’s voice steps into the spotlight, guitars snarl with definition and the drums finally punch through with authority. For me, it wasn’t just an upgrade, it was a full-on sonic revelation.

Ed Stasium surrounded by some of the tools of his trade.

The change in sound immediately reminded me of another remix from my favourite band, Rush. In 2002, the Canadian trio released their 17th studio record, Vapour Trails. It was the first record released after a six-year hiatus for the band -- drummer Neil Peart suffered the loss of his daughter in an automobile accident and his wife to cancer ten months apart. For a time, it seemed the band might be done altogether. News of their return to a Toronto studio in 2001 brought eager anticipation from their loyal fan base, myself included.

When Vapor Trails dropped, it was hailed as Rush’s triumphant return to a guitar-driven, hard rock sound after two decades of synth-heavy experimentation. But sonically? It was a mess. The album fell victim to the so-called “loudness war,” a mastering trend of the 90's and early 00's that cranked everything to peak volume at the expense of clarity. The result was a dense, distorted wall of sound where instruments bled into each other and dynamics were crushed flat. Fans adored the songs, but many admitted the listening experience was exhausting, even unbearable in long doses.

In 2013, Canadian producer David Bottrill gave Vapor Trails the overhaul it desperately needed, and the result was transformative. Gone was the suffocating compression and in its place, space and clarity. Instruments finally had room to breathe. The guitars and bass regained their warmth and Peart’s drums sounded organic and thunderous instead of crushed into the background. The remix didn’t just fix technical flaws, it unlocked the emotional core of the record, turning what was once a sonic headache into a powerful, cathartic experience that matched the intensity of Rush’s songwriting. It added the emotional depth needed to the track Ghost Rider which was inspired by Peart's 14-month motorcycle journey across North America during his healing process after losing the two most important people in his world -- his wife and only child.

Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road.
the 2002 memoir from Neil Peart.

I am glad I spent a couple days with the original recording of Tim. It gave me context for the vastly superior 2023 remix. However, much like the original recording of Vapour Trails, I won't be playing it again. Instead, I will always opt for their vastly improved remixed counterparts.

The 500 - #241 - Let It Be - The Replacements

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #241
Album Title: Let It Be
Artist: The Replacements
Genre: Post Punk, Alternative Rock, College Rock
Recorded: Blackberry Way Studios, Minneapolis

Released: October, 1984
My age at release: 19
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #156, up 85 places from 241 since 2012
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: I Will Dare

Let It Be album cover from The Replacements.

I knew little about the American, post-punk, rock band The Replacements until this week. Sure, I'd heard of them and knew that Paul Westerberg was their vocalist and guitarist. It was actually Westerberg who first came to my attention  in the spring of 1993 when I bought the soundtrack to the film Singles. Singles was a romantic-drama/comedy (dramedy) set in contemporary (early ‘90s) Seattle at the height of the grunge music scene -- a Generation X music phenomenon that became the dominant commercial genre in the first half of that decade.

Poster for the 1992 film Singles.

The Singles soundtrack featured Seattle-based artists from the ascendent grunge scene -- Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Mother Love Bone and Alice In Chains. However, it also contained songs from earlier Washington state artists, including May This Be Love by Jimi Hendrix and a cover of Led Zeppelin's Battle Of Evermore from The Lovemongers (a band featuring Ann and Nancy Wilson of the group Heart). In many ways, that CD was a  mix of the music I had thoroughly enjoyed for a decade, combining  the latest new sounds coming into fashion. I recorded it along with an assortment of other songs of the day. On a mixed cassette tape that "lived" in my car stereo for most of the spring of '93 -- a time when I was going through my own twenty-something, existential malaise. (Something documented in previous blog posts).

Album cover for the soundtrack to Singles.

The soundtrack contained two songs from Westerberg, his first as a solo artist after The Replacements disbanded in the summer of 1991. Those songs, Dyslexic Heart and Waiting For Somebody, won me over and, in retrospect, I am surprised I didn't dig deeper into his catalogue. Seeing him perform on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in December, 1993, (when Charlton Heston was the host) should also have kick-started my admiration for Westerberg's talent. His performances from that show were terrific and can be seen here.

Westerberg (centre) with Heston at right. Cast of SNL, including the late Chris Farley, in rear.

Westerberg's first band, The Replacements, formed in 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Initially a punk band, the group comprised Westerberg (vocals & rhythm guitar), Bob Stinson (lead guitar), his brother Tommy Stinson (bass guitar) and Chris Mars (drums).

The Replacements (l-r) T. Stinson, Westerberg, Mars, B. Stinson.

Originally called (and I love this) Dogbreath, the band technically began in 1978 when 19-year-old Bob Stinson bought his 11-year-old brother Tommy a bass guitar to keep him "off the streets". Shortly after, Bob met Mars (who first played guitar) and they began jamming songs from an eclectic mix of artists such as Ted Nugent, Aerosmith and Yes. Westerberg was working as a custodian in the office of a U.S. senator and heard the trio playing in the Stinson's garage while walking home. After a few misstarts and name changes, Westerberg joined the trio, Mars moved to drums and The Replacements were ready to hit the scene.

The Replacements (early 80s).

Let It Be was an audacious title for the band's third record -- it is, after all, the same name as the final studio record released by The Beatles (#392 on The 500). However, that cheeky choice was perfectly "on brand" for a group who approached music with a "nothing is sacred" individualistic attitude -- truly "punk rock".

Let It Be album cover by The Beatles.

There were so many tracks on this record that resonated with me -- I Will Dare, Unsatisfied and, to my delight, a cover version of Black Diamond from KISS. However, the song that struck me was Androgynous, a piano ballad penned by principal songwriter Westerberg. The song is a celebration of a romantic relationship between two gender non-conforming individuals. It expresses the hope that we are heading to a future where all people and their relationships will be accepted. Some say it was decades ahead of its time; but I am pretty sure Andy Warhol, Candy Darling, Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground would disagree, as I discussed in my May, 2022 post.

Andy Warhol and transgender actress Candy Darling.

This week, and this post, began with the recognition that "I didn't know much about The Replacements". I'll end by saying I know quite a bit now. I've read articles, watched YouTube documentaries and, most importantly, listened to Let It Be many times. I'm happy to report that I am now a fan, rectifying my lack of appreciation for the group in 1993.