Replacements reissues update

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by czeskleba, Aug 1, 2002.

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  1. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle
    I know there's one or two other folks on the forum interested in the delayed Replacements reissues. This is from Billboard:

    http://www.billboard.com/billboard/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1568112

    After a series of delays, the first four albums by Minneapolis rock legends
    the Replacements will finally be reissued Sept. 3 through Restless Records
    and Rykodisc. Originally released by Minneapolis independent label
    Twin/Tone, the new CD pressings of 1981's "Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash," 1982's "Stink," 1983's "Hootenany," and 1984's "Let It Be" were digitally remastered by noted engineer Greg Calbi with frontman Paul
    Westerberg's approval.

    Although the reissues -- which were originally slated for release in July
    2001 but inexplicably delayed -- house no bonus material or additional
    artwork, they do chronicle the Replacements' steadfast gestation from punk
    upstarts to rock'n'roll heroes. "Sorry Ma..." and the "Stink" EP -- recorded
    simultaneously but released a year apart -- possess the raw energy that
    would define the band's live shows throughout its 10-year run, while
    "Hootenany" captures the group reaching outside the confines of punk.

    Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Chris Mars, and lead guitarist
    Bob Stinson had found the perfect blend of snotty energy and melodic beauty by the October 1984 release of "Let It Be." The set was the Replacements fourth and final album before exiting Twin/Tone for Warner Bros. subsidiary Sire and is regarded by most fans and critics as the band's artistic peak.

    Twin/Tone co-founder Peter Jesperson -- who currently runs Los Angeles-based New West Records -- reportedly has more than 70 hours of rarities that he hopes to use in the future for a comprehensive Replacements box set. Potential material for that project includes the band's 1980 demo tape and outtakes from all four of the Twin/Tone discs, including "Let It Be"-era
    tunes such as "Who's Gonna Take Us Alive" and "Temptation Eyes."

    That the reissues are seeing the light of day at all is noteworthy:
    Westerberg revealed to Billboard earlier this year that in the late '80s, he
    and his bandmates threw what they thought were the master tapes for all of the albums into the Mississippi River after an ownership dispute.

    "Hell, we probably threw half the [Twin/Tone labelmate] Suburbs' records in
    there," he said. "It was a frantic moment where Chris and I grabbed as many as we physically could, which was, between the two of us, about five. Tommy occupied the receptionist. And [guitarist] Slim [Dunlap] was in the car with the motor running. We were doing the only thing we thought we could do, which was to go and grab what we thought was ours and destroy it."

    Twin/Tone co-founder Paul Stark said what the Replacements actually tossed were not the band's masters but rather safety copies -- and a reel that contained some studio horseplay and tracks featuring Big Star's Alex Chilton (a copy of that tape survived). Jesperson said some rough mixes and the multi-track of the song "Within Your Reach" may also have been lost.

    As previously reported, Westerberg is on tour in support of his recent
    Vagrant album, "Stereo." The trek hits Buffalo, N.Y., tomorrow (Aug. 1).
     
  2. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member In Memoriam

    Good news. All great records. Sorry Ma never fails to make me smile......

    Chris
     
  3. JPartyka

    JPartyka I Got a Home on High

    Location:
    USA
    Excellent news! I hope they've done a good job. Let It Be is one of my favorite albums of the last 20 years.
     
  4. Paul K

    Paul K Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Here Here!!!
    :)
     
  5. Trainspotting

    Trainspotting Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Outstanding. I think the Replacements are THE great under-appreciated American band of the '80s. Every bit as good as anyone who received more airplay than they (which means just about everybody).
     
  6. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    I was hoping they would at least sneak the "If Only You Were Lonely " single onto one of the albums, but I'm more than willing to "settle" for the original albums mastered by Greg Calbi while waiting for the box set.

    Regards
     
  7. Matt

    Matt New Member

    Location:
    Illinois
    I got two different opinions from Jesperson about the sound quality of the remaster:

    In an article printed in a local paper, Jesperson said they sound much better.

    When I asked him a year ago why they hadn't been released yet, he said he didn't know, but reminded me that these weren't exactly hi-fi recordings; he then said he had test copies, and they didn't sound that much different.

    I guess we won't know for sure until they come out, but just a word of caution for those who are itching to ditch their old CD's and buy them again (I know I am)...
     
  8. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    I have the first album and the EP on vinyl. My Hootenanny CD is in OK shape, but my Let it Be CD is strangely warped so that some CD players, usually portable ones, won't play it. I'll have few qualms about re-purchasing if they are halfway decent masterings. :)

    Regards,
     
  9. tomd

    tomd Senior Member

    Location:
    Brighton,Colorado
    Replacements Reissues

    That's great news that the first 4 are coming out.Now if we could just get braindead Warner Bros. to remaster Tim and Pleased To Meet Me we'd be all set.
     
  10. aceman400

    aceman400 Power to the Metal

    Location:
    mn
    I doubt I would buy these. They sound like the are supposed to - a drunken mess. I don't think remastering these will make much difference.
    It's not Hotel California. I wouldn't buy it to get demo or live versions either. I have the live cassette that Twin Tone put out ' the s**t hits the fans' and it's terrible. If they included bonuses such as 20th century boy or nowhere is my home, maybe. I don't really mind listening my cassette of Boink though.
    Thanks,
    Aaron
     
  11. aceman400

    aceman400 Power to the Metal

    Location:
    mn
  12. Matt

    Matt New Member

    Location:
    Illinois
    The "Westerberg approval" in the Billboard article in interesting. Isn't there some legal wrangling going on between the 'Mats and Twin/Tone over royalties (I don't the band's been getting any, period)? Last I heard, there was an issue over the contract, which none of them actually signed.
     
  13. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Hey, I'm as big a fan as the next guy and would vote the Mats' "Let It Be" one of the best records of the century. But I don't think the at long last release of these remasters is anything to get excited about. In fact, I'm a little pissed off.

    No "If Only You Were Lonely" or "20th Century Boy" b-sides? No session outtakes? No alternate takes? And if it's true that "Sorry Ma" and "Stinks" were recorded simultaneously, then why not save the fans a few bucks and include them both on one CD?

    I think fans should be angry at how we're being taken advantage of. Hell, if Jesperson's got as much unreleased stuff as he says, then including several tracks on each reissue CD would still leave him plenty for his "proposed" box set [fans have been waiting four years, so far, for that]. And as a few have already said, there's no guarantee of any real sonic improvement on these reissues. No, I don't see much to get excited about.
     
  14. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Thanks, Aaron. The link you refer us too makes it clear that these reissues were remastered from digital copies as the original master tapes "weren't in the best condition." [Whatever the hell that means.] So these reissues are being done from "digital copies" which presumably were made over twenty years ago for the first [only] CD issues. Hummm. Not too promising.
     
  15. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle
    The last I heard, publishing disagreements over unreleased Westerberg compositions were part of what was delaying the box set. So presumably they would not be able to include recordings of unreleased songs written by him. But you're right, there's no excuse for not including at least the 3 non-album b-sides from that time period.
     
  16. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle
    Re: Replacements Reissues

    I don't think there's any problem with the mastering on the existing versions of those CDs, myself. It would be interesting to hear a remix of Tim, though, maybe done by someone who is NOT partially deaf...
     
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