The Replacements-Let It Be Song By Song Thread

I can see how a 15 year old would really love this song and relate to it. I mean that in the best possible way.

 

I hope Gary's Got A Boner was not on those mixtapes.

 

I had a very odd introduction to The Replacements. I was on my lunch hour at work and listening to the Jim Rome Show (Daily national sports show) on the radio. This was around 2003-04. Rome had a guest on but this one seemed to be a musician, not an athlete. Rome was kissing the guys a** big-time. (Almost in worship mode) Saying all this stuff about how this musician was the soundtrack to his adolescence, his favorite band ever, best lyricist, etc. I'd never heard of the guy when his name was finally revealed: It was Paul Westerberg. His band was the Replacements. I made a mental note and eventually, picked up some of their stuff.

"Pleased to Meet Me" was the first album I got into. A few years after, "Let it Be" and "Tim" surpassed it. A couple years ago, "All Shook Down" clicked. A few months ago, "Hootenany" clicked. It's been a long slow and belated progression, but The Replacements have been gradually creeping up my list of favorite bands.

 

My friend George was the first person to play this album for me, and I loved it. George later became the president of Rykodisc, I s*** you not.

 

Unlike Tim, this album didn't have as much played on the radio, especially in the very early 90s. I wasn't listening to them in 1984 though so I have no idea about radio of that time, but I imagine it was worse. I do remember hearing "I Will Dare" quite a bit though.

Growing up in the Twin Cities, local music was important to many, so there were outlets to hear many local bands on the radio. When Alt Rock became big enough to have several commercial stations in the format, the local music radio shows and non-commercial radio played some of the other songs as well. I remember Androgynous, Sixteen Blue, Answering Machine and Unsatisfied being played. Maybe commercial radio picked up some of these songs as well.

 

To this day I'll Be You is the only song I've ever heard on radio. I probably would not have known about them at all except Tim was embraced by a lot of musicians and writers and I would go into Nashville at times and I kept hearing it on the club PA's before the bands played. Took me a good while to figure out who it was and what the record was. In the last few years I've heard a couple of other tunes on in-store grocery store music - not sure which ones.

 

My favorite Replacements song. I never get tired of hearing it.

 

Many times I’ve read comments about the Mats and their self-depreciation and image of the drunken loser. But I have always heard a strong undercurrent of hope in Westerberg’s lyrics.

In “I Will Dare” my favorite line is: “Ain’t Lost Yet, So I Must Be a Winner” which says to me that he does look forward here and sees some possibilities and that it’s not hopeless at all.

Paul’s indie punk rocker image here is (for sure) not about showing off the potential to sign large publishing deals, sell songs for commercials, sync licenses for films, scoring motion pictures for major studios, or signing with the Time-Warner corporation for a good advance.

I saw the commercial potential here of Paul’s songwriting craft, sense of melody and rhythm (early on) in spades. Even if his image and personality are unlikely to be shoe-horned into a respectable marketable entity, the material appeared to me as very durable, and open to reconfiguration, and reinterpretations.

I came to the Replacements not via college indie scene, REM, SST, Discord, or any punk rock circuit. I’d been a Townshend, Davies, Beatles & Stones fan at heart, and saw Westerberg as not so much something bright shinny and new, but more a rock traditionalist carrying the torch of the classic singers and songwriters from the higher (or highest) level of rock greats. He came along at just the right time for me. As those classic rock artists were not exactly “peaking” around 1983 or ‘84. The right influences, the right age, and material that did actually sound fresh and new.

So when I’d go to concerts and see them - and see the musical self-destruction, I didn’t get it. When I saw a few ultra-tightly performed shows I thought yes, this is more like it! It took me quite a few years to realize that there is a balance to it, and Paul is a showman, performance artist, as much as a musical force when on-stage. I now understand that when I didn’t fully get it early on.

Let it Be captures a classic sound of a band with some chemistry going for it. A dash of circus act showmanship in there with great song writing. It has balance and pacing which makes it work so well. It’s a fairly unlikely brush with brilliance. I’m just glad that it had impact early on, and didn’t sit unnoticed for a few decades before being declared a masterpiece. It might be an uncertified “Gold Record Award” winner by now, I’d not be surprised.

 

"I Will Dare": one of my least favorite songs from one of my favorite albums. I'd never put it on a best of comp. Just seems like they're trying too hard to be mainstream on this one. 2.5/5

 

One of the first things that really struck me with this record was just the audacity of calling it Let It Be. I was a late bloomer in terms of listening to any alternative or non-mainstream kind of music. The Replacements were pretty much my introduction that kind of thing, and their whole attitude and approach was so different to anything I was used to. It kind of blew my mind. And when I saw that they had an album called "Let it Be" I was kind of like Can you even do that?

 

I Will Dare, a great lead track from a stone-cold classic album.

I will dare anyone to read this thread out off curiosity despite unfamiliarity with The Replacements to ignore this album.

 

I like the effect the guitar has in the song when doubling or mirroring the vocal melody and cadence in the choruses.
Important part of the song to me. The intro riff has a really neat swirling, cyclical nature to it, just like a rolling pin, I mean, like a wheel. It just gets the tune churning ahead, spinning around like a record. The stops and starts, the instrumental section, the lyrics - all just perfection. Oh, and although it might not seem like 'much' I think Chris Mars is good on this tune too. He also gives the song a good and necessary dynamic kick in the pants iirc between the instrumental sections. It's kind of a nimble one ain't it and also a bit of a stomper too! I Will Dare actually doesn't take too many chances - it simply doesn't have to. It's that good. And the few surprises it has are perfectly placed and executed.

 

I enjoyed reading this post, and had a reflection: I was a big 'Mats fan in the '80s, and have seen them live several times - some shows were great, and there were some that frankly left a bad taste in my mouth. Sometimes the "we're so cool, we don't have to try" attitude they brought to some shows frankly pissed me off. I remain a fan, and realize that not every live show is going to find combustion, no matter who the artist is...but IMO, it would never have hurt them to have exerted themselves a bit more when it came to performing before their fans. I would always take a live performance played with dedication as a badge of commitment over meet and greet kinds of things as revealing of an artist, not whether or not they'll sign autographs after the show or things like that.

 

I always heard the line as "bacon and cigarettes, a lousy dinner".

Anyway, I first heard The Replacements when "Lovelines" (!) was played one night on college radio. It was around the time Let It Be came out, which I read about somewhere. Plus that amazing cover photograph won me over before hearing a note.

 

I see what you did there.

 

I only got to see them a couple of times and never with the original lineup. Luckily I did get to see them when they still had Chris..but unfortunately not with Bob. Anyway, the first time I saw them was kind of mixed..some great and some not so hot. And I'll never forget Tommy after one of the more sloppy 'not so hot' songs going up to the mic and saying, 'Don't worry. We'll be good tomorrow night." Yeah that's terrific but I won't be here.

But one thing I noticed was that they really followed Paul. They were good when Paul was good. In the middle of a couple of not so hot songs they did a phenomenal version of Unsatisfied that made up for everything else. A song I later learned Paul is not that fond of... but in that moment he was really into it and so were they and everything was perfect.

 

The Replacements-Let It Be Song by Song Thread

Side One

1. I Will Dare

 

Perfect album for me. Only Replacements i have on LP. I Will Dare is a great song. Cool lyric. Love the mandolin on there, just gives it a cool feel. At the time i had no idea of the albums before it and saw 'em on the Don't Tell a Soul tour. The songs on this one were the ones that stood out for me. I love this record. Whatever it is that make it up. Just rock n roll at it's best.

 

I confess that “I Will Dare” is not a song I’ve spent much time listening to. I like it, but it’s not really the reason I love this album. The single is great though, starting with the outtake photograph from the same roll of film as the album cover, and the covers of “Hey Good Looking” plus “20th CenturyBoy”.

 

I caught on pretty quick in Los Angeles. I saw them on November 4, 1984 at Al's Bar and recall girls screaming during the introduction. Bob and Tommy laughed at the reaction. The record got a lot of airplay in LA on the alternative stations KNAC and 91X and college radio. I remember having to wait weeks to buy a copy of it. Rhino Records in Westwood was my local store. A lot of musicians worked at the store, like Steve Wynn, from Dream Syndicate and Nels Cline, from Wilco. I remember asking Nels if any copies of "Let it Be" had come in yet and he yelled out "If one more person asks me about "Let it Be" one more time today, I'm going to scream". There was a buzz on the record, it play at every party I was at in the day

 

I'm not really a Replacements fan; I have a couple of their albums, but neither of them is Let It Be (though I heard LIB in its entirety a bunch of times back in the 1980s, because a roommate owned it). With that context out of the way, I'll just say that I heard "I Will Dare" on the radio a few weeks ago (on WFMU in New Jersey). It was the first time I had heard the song in years. And it sounded absolutely awesome, like a lost classic from an alternate universe where passion and commitment and clever writing (I love the line about counting the rings around his eyes) matter more than image and polish.

I have a feeling that this thread is going to result in my finally buying the album...

 

Easily the best band of the 1980's. Underrated to put it mildly.

 

Wow! Just listened to the entire album and was shocked at how short it is! The whole album in its entirety is only 33:31 minutes long! That's very short for and album that made such a big impression on so many people.

 

Fine catchy tune. Nice way to kick off the album

 

One of the best kick offs I know.
Unforgettable