The Replacements-Let It Be Song By Song Thread

I always figured it was Tommy.

 

I always thought it was Paul trying to sound like Alan Hunter. I thought that MTV would have to be credited if it was AH. I am probably wrong.

 

I'm not saying it actually is Alan Hunter. I have no idea. It just sounds like him. But it's probably more likely that someone did the voice.

 

What I didn't realize (for years) was that this song was "repurposed" (i.e. that it started out with a totally different set of lyrics). It was originally called "You Look Like an Adult".

 

Same thing they did with Lovelines/Lookin For Ya

 

I like this one well enough - it's put together well and Bob does some nice guitar work, the band is tight. The bass has more bottom than many of the other tracks - maybe Tommy chose a Fender for this track - he sounds really good.

I'm just guessing, but this sounds like it was intended to have some vocals over the entire song - the structure (which I like) and the chord progessions seem chosen to go along with a vocal melody. No way to know - it definitely has what sounds like a chorus - but it does come in relatively late in the song.

Love when Paul just continually lets his voice rip through the lyrics like he does here.

I wouldn't call it surf, but it absolutely could be done in that style - in my younger days that would have been a fun weekend home studio project, to reproduce this as a vintage surf number with lots of stratocaster and spring reverb!

 

The fake MTV jock with demonic laugh are great! This song, with Unsatisfied and Androgynous, sealed the deal for me. And I followed The Replacements from then on.

 

Dammit, I uploaded that to youtube the other day specifically so I could post it in this thread, and you beat me to it ya bastard . That's a track I got from 6/24/83 at the 7th St. Entry. To my knowledge they never recorded this version in the studio.

I don't think the VJ voice is one of the Replacements. It's definitely not Westerberg.

 

You were the one who told me about it in the album-by-album thread from ten years ago, so there's your credit. Plus I gave your upload the thumbs up.

 

Seen Your Video – The instrumental part sounds a bit dated and perhaps goes on too long. I do like the use of the piano. Once the vocals begin, I love it. Paul is absolutely outraged. The song gets a thumbs up from me just for the ending vocals.

 

That was a fun album by album thread, Didn't know it was so long ago.
Scary.

Instrumental intro reminds of a few tunes from the Pretenders debut album Side 1.

The irony of the music and the lyric, to me, is that the opening instrumental section could have made for a fun soundtrack to, if not a video, then a video game.

I like when the lead guitar starts playing the single notes of the melody, also the discordant or eccentric piano bit, followed by more solo guitar wailings, followed by the vocal refrain. This is another track 'good' enough imo on its own but better in the context of the album.

 

Seen Your Video is like a philisophical line. They ment it. The MTV stuff being the commercial enemy. Really cool song. Just a badge of this band and their stand. Rockin' song.

 

Ha, outrage is a good way to describe the sound of it! A searing scolding and contemptuous chant it doth seem!

 

The song was used as an (extended) opening intro to some of their reunion shows, at least the instrumental part of the song. It took on an effortless tightness. It was enlightening to hear it sounding solid as granite and being played as the band goofed off like they were not trying very hard at all. Seeing Paul take but a few random swipes at chords here and there like nothing serious at all was about to happen. Yet it sounded perfect. How did they get it to sound like this? It's good musicians and some serious rehearsals I guess. Anyway, it sounds good live when played tight, and a signal that more of "Let it Be" was on the nights menu.

 

We don’t wanna know
Yes!

 

"Seen Your Video" I like this one a lot too. The chord progressions are nice and I like the overall sound of the song. The fact that it made fun of MTV and videos in general was just the icing on the cake for 15 yr old me who was fast becoming jaded on MTV and such obviously commercial things.

 

You can already hear that tightness on the live cut from 7th St Entry. Even when Paul is screaming they chug along like a well oiled machine. By the time they got that song in the studio they could probably do it in their sleep.

 

Gary’s Got A Boner (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars, The Nuge)

Paul on the left in open A tuning. Stinson on the right in standard tuning. Some Stinson overdubs.

Opens with a Paul yelp and the boys kick in with a down and dirty boogie riff. The verse changes the chord in a brilliant move to an E chord….almost prog rock like….just kidding. Anyway, the house is rocking, and Paul sounds right at home with this cat scratching tune. The chorus shows up at :47 and there is no mystery in the lyrics here. At 1:02 Bob plays a torrent of pull offs and it sounds manic….take it easy Gary. The verse comes back at 1:08 and Paul’s voice sounds like it is on its last legs, but we know it isn’t. At 1:36 the sound of a garage band with two guitar players that are having fun. A bob overdub here I think. At 1:53 the song ramps down and the chorus repeats and circles around. At 2:15 a new chord shows up for the big cadence bringing this masterpiece to a close.

I know, a bone headed boogie rock tune. See what I did there? I like it and it shows the guys can have fun still. Who is Gary by the way? I hope nobody reports the video.

 

"Gary" is an inside joke based on Paul's belief that all people named Gary are stupid.

I like this one. Not much to it really but it rocks.

 

"Gary's Got A Boner" Just a dumb punk rock race up. Not my favorite song by the group but I like it in relationship to where it is on this album. But I'd never listen to it just by itself.

 

Gary’s Got a Boner – It could be argued this is a bit of a throw-away track but I do like the verses a lot. Paul sounds like he’s in a drunken stupor (In a good way). The chorus is pretty average. Fun listen but one of my bottom 2 on the album. My favorite part is near the end were Paul screams "Gary's got it!!, Gary's got!!". It really cracks me up that Paul seems so impassioned about someone else's erection.

 

Totally different lyrics.

 

I love the raunchy sound and vocals. PW sounds DELIRIOUS! It's as if he's Gary lol. What is that?! What's Gary got?! The song seems sneaky good and the band sound and playing just raises it to a whole 'nother level.
An explosive take on the Stones AND AC/DC? Chris Mars strikes down the drums - taut! There is some propulsive cymbal work kind of in the background too, a little hard to make out from the onslaught of guitars and vocals. Great stuff - seems sex and identity are a core part of the album.

 

I can sum up the songs on "Let It Be". Let's just call them what the hell they are: GREAT!