Replacements - Don't You Know Who I Think I Was ?

  by Mark Rowland

published: 14 / 8 / 2006

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Review

The Replacements were one of the few bands in the 80's US indie scene to drift onto a major label. From humble punk rock beginnings, the band became a rock band to be reckoned with, mixing garage punk with epic rock, country and guitar pop. They never truly broke into the mainstream, but they played a part in paving the way for late 80's indie rock bands like Nirvana. The band has always been remembered for their infamously sloppy live sets, and the apparent inability to take themselves seriously, but singer Paul Westerberg was (and still is) a formidable songwriter, able to write storming punk songs, Springsteen-esque rock epics and beautiful ballads with apparent ease. The band split in the early 90's. Paul Westerberg was the only member to embark on a successful solo career, while Bob Stinson, the band’s original lead guitarist, succumbed to his demons (drink and drugs) and died in 1995. Now Rhino Records has released ‘Don’t You Know Who I Think I was?’ a retrospective spanning their entire career, including two new songs, ‘Message to the Boys’ and ‘Pool and Dive’ – the first time the original members had played together in well over a decade.Those songs are the only things on offer on this compilation for established fans, many of whom will have the rest of the songs on their old Replacements records. The songs are not a patch on the old Replacements numbers, though they’re by no means bad. This compilation is best viewed as an almost perfect introduction to the band – a band history condensed into an hour. Noticeable by its absence is a personal favourite, the understated piano ballad ‘Androgynous’, from ‘Let It Be’, the album that is generally considered the band’s masterpiece. Other than that, the tracks on the record are good representatives of the album they came from, be it the sloppy, tuneful punk rock of ‘Shiftless When Idle’ from their debut ‘Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash’ to the whiskey-soaked ballad ‘Here Comes A Regular’ from their first major label album ‘Tim’. Listening to the record, you realise that if Nirvana had developed some country-rock influences and a spring in their step, they’d probably sound a lot like the Replacements, which makes you realise just how huge the band could have been if they’d took themselves a little more seriously

Track Listing:-

1 Takin A Ride
2 Shiftless When Idle
3 Kids Don't Follow
4 Color Me Impressed
5 Within Your Reach
6 I Will Dare
7 Answering Machine
8 Unsatisfied
9 Here Comes A Regular
10 Kiss Me On The Bus
11 Bastards Of The Young
12 Left Of The Dial
13 Alex Chilton
14 Skyway
15 Can't Hardly Wait
16 Achin' To Be
17 I'll Be You
18 Merry Go Round
19 Message To The Boys
20 Pool & Dive

Band Links:-

http://thereplacementsofficial.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheReplacemen