Album Review Friday - 1984 Countdown, #9
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#10 Couldn’t Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
#9 Let It Be - The Replacements
It is often said that people regret most what they did not do, actions not performed, chances not taken. It is the missed opportunity that haunts us, leaving us with the constant remorseof what could have been. In the mid 1980s I was offered a chance to see The Replacements play a show at Trax, a small club in Charlottesville, Virginia. I passed, missing out on what was supposed to be a legendary show from an iconic band of the 1980s. The Replacements live shows were legendary for their aggressiveness, which when fueled by too much beer would turn into blatant antagonism for their audience. How that show in Charlottesville came off I’ll never know, and that sentiment of missed opportunity is how I and others feel about the band in general. They always seemed on the cusp of true greatness, but something always seemed to be missing. But with their 1984 album Let It Be, they got as close to true musical brilliance as any band of the decade.
The Replacements came out of Minneapolis, which was the alternative epicenter of the 1980s, much as Seattle was the hotbed of the grunge movement coming in the 1990s. Joined by bands like Husker Du and Soul Asylum, The Replacements were as dysfunctional and raw as they were talented. Similar to other bands of that post-punk indie scene they liked to play fast and loud, which when left unchecked easily could sound ragged and careless. Yet by the time of their 1983 album Hootenanny, they had matured enough that true songwriting could be heard on the record, and this broadened their appeal to both critics and audiences. With this attention they seemed to gain confidence, allowing them to explore more sincere songs with more musicianship. Led by Paul Westerberg, their guitarist and vocalist who now was responsible for the bulk of the writing, The Replacements put together thirty three minutes of music that would become a classic of both the postpunk and rock scene of the 1980s.
What makes Let It Be so good is what made The Replacements so entertaining to watch live (so I’ve heard), vulnerability coupled with arrogance. Could anything be more arrogant than an indie rock band featuring mandolin on the opening track of their breakthrough album? Certainly this was due to the influence of their relationship with REM’s Peter Buck, but they still had the brashness to put it out there and accept any criticism to come. Westerberg even said the album’s first song “I Will Dare” represented the attitude of the band, “We’ll dare to flop, we’ll dare to do anything”. “I Will Dare” is immediately attractive on first listen, intense rock yet softened enough to match the sincerity of the lyrics –
Oh, meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime
Now, I don’t care, meet me tonight
If you will dare, I might dare
From the sincerity of teenage vulnerability the album quickly swerves into songs like “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out”, a raw but fun song that seems from a different band that recorded “I Will Dare” or “Sixteen Blue”. “Sixteen Blue” shows off how Westerberg’s lyrics could capture every teenager’s feeling of boredom and loneliness, matched with enough aggressive guitar to symbolize the teenage angst still percolating through the band.
Let It Be is a classic because of how unique it was when released, and how its effect lasts until this day. The songwriting initially seems to be focused on teen frustration and isolation, but the lyrics still resonate to listeners who are decades beyond adolescence. Combined with music that had a controlled ferocity, the album was the high point of a band that always seemed to be on the cusp of self destruction. Of course, that self destruction was only a few years away, as band members left and some were replaced, leading to the eventual breakup in 1991. What could have been if they had remained intact and repeated the brilliance of Let It Be? We will never know, but we have what was, Let It Be, and that remains one of the best albums of 1984.