Let It Be (Replacements album)
Encyclopedia
Let It Be is the third studio album from the American rock
band The Replacements, released in October 1984 on Twin/Tone Records
. By 1983's Hootenanny, the band had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively and decided to write songs that were, according to vocalist Paul Westerberg
, "a little more sincere." Influenced by genres as diverse as metal
, Chicago blues
and arena rock
, Let It Be featured more complex arrangements and songwriting than the band's previous albums. The album was very well received by critics and regarded among the greatest albums of the 80's. The album is now considered a classic and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums
including placement as #239 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
The album was remastered
and reissued in 2008, with six additional tracks.
. Westerberg recalls that "playing that kind of noisy, fake hardcore rock was getting us nowhere, and it wasn't a lot of fun. This was the first time I had songs that we arranged, rather than just banging out riffs and giving them titles." By 1983, the band would sometimes perform a set of cover songs intended to antagonize whoever was in the audience. Westerberg explained that the punks who made up their audience "thought that's what they were supposed to be standing for, like 'Anybody does what they want' and 'There are no rules' [...] But there were rules and you couldn't do that, and you had to be fast, and you had to wear black, and you couldn't wear a plaid shirt with flares ... So we'd play the DeFranco Family, that kind of shit, just to piss 'em off."
Peter Buck
of R.E.M.
was originally rumored to produce the album. Buck later confirmed that the band did consider him as a possible producer, but when they met Buck in Athens, Georgia
, the band did not have enough material. Buck did manage to contribute to the album in a limited capacity; he said, "I was kind of there for pre-production stuff, did one solo, gave 'em some ideas."
, pop
, jazz
, heavy metal
, honky-tonk country and Chicago blues
. Unlike previous efforts, the individual songs have distinct sections and dynamic shifts. Instruments such as piano
, lap steel guitar
, 12-string guitar, and mandolin
appear.
The album is divided by more energetic rock songs like "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" and "Gary's Got a Boner" and more dramatic songs like "Sixteen Blue" and "Unsatisfied". R.E.M.'s Peter Buck contributed the guitar solo to Let It Bes first cut, "I Will Dare
", which was released as a single in July 1984 prior to the album's release.
s Robert Christgau
gave the album an A+ rating, one of the few albums to receive an 'A+' from him, and the album ranked fourth in the 1984 Village Voice Pazz & Jop
critics' poll. The Rocket
critic Bruce Pavitt
said Let It Be was "mature, diverse rock that could well shoot these regional boys into the national mainstream."
The album is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums. In 2003, the album was ranked number 239 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1989, the magazine had also rated it at #15 on its list of 100 best albums of the 80's. In the 1999 miniseries "VH1's 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll," VH1 ranked Let It Be #79. Rateyourmusic.com lists it as the 28th best alternative rock album and 5th best album of 1984. Pitchfork Media
rated the album at #29 on their 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. Spin
ranked it #12 on their list of the 25 Greatest albums of all time.
Robert Christgau
ranked it #10 on his list of the best albums of the 80s. The opening track of the album, I Will Dare
has been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
In 2004, Continuum International Publishing Group
published a volume in its 33⅓ series inspired by Let It Be. The book was a memoir written by Colin Meloy
of indie pop
band The Decemberists
. In his book, Meloy wrote, "I listened to Let It Be endlessly. The record seemed to encapsulate perfectly all of the feelings that were churning inside me [...] Paul Westerberg's weary voice sounded from my boombox and I trembled to think that here I was, thirteen and the 'hardest age' was still three years in the making."
; the reference was intended as a joke on the Replacements' manager, Peter Jesperson, who was a huge Beatles fan. Westerberg has stated the name was "our way of saying that nothing is sacred, that the Beatles were just a fine rock & roll band. We were seriously gonna call the next record Let It Bleed
."
except where noted.
Side one
Side two
2008 CD reissue bonus tracks
Additional musicians
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Replacements, released in October 1984 on Twin/Tone Records
Twin/Tone Records
Twin/Tone Records was a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that operated from 1977 until 1994 and helped several local groups receive national attention. The label was born from the Minneapolis punk rock music scene, which included venues like Jay's Longhorn Bar. The label was begun by...
. By 1983's Hootenanny, the band had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively and decided to write songs that were, according to vocalist Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
, "a little more sincere." Influenced by genres as diverse as metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
and arena rock
Arena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
, Let It Be featured more complex arrangements and songwriting than the band's previous albums. The album was very well received by critics and regarded among the greatest albums of the 80's. The album is now considered a classic and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums
Albums considered the greatest ever
Many publications and organizations have tried to determine the album considered the greatest ever. Those listed in this article have all been cited in a notable survey — be it a popular poll or critics' poll....
including placement as #239 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
The album was remastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
and reissued in 2008, with six additional tracks.
Background
The Replacements started their career as a punk rock band but had gradually grown beyond the straightforward hardcore of initial albums like StinkStink (album)
Stink is an EP by the band The Replacements, recorded at Blackberry Way, Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 13, 1982, and released on June 24, 1982 ....
. Westerberg recalls that "playing that kind of noisy, fake hardcore rock was getting us nowhere, and it wasn't a lot of fun. This was the first time I had songs that we arranged, rather than just banging out riffs and giving them titles." By 1983, the band would sometimes perform a set of cover songs intended to antagonize whoever was in the audience. Westerberg explained that the punks who made up their audience "thought that's what they were supposed to be standing for, like 'Anybody does what they want' and 'There are no rules' [...] But there were rules and you couldn't do that, and you had to be fast, and you had to wear black, and you couldn't wear a plaid shirt with flares ... So we'd play the DeFranco Family, that kind of shit, just to piss 'em off."
Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
was originally rumored to produce the album. Buck later confirmed that the band did consider him as a possible producer, but when they met Buck in Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, the band did not have enough material. Buck did manage to contribute to the album in a limited capacity; he said, "I was kind of there for pre-production stuff, did one solo, gave 'em some ideas."
Music
Let It Be placed more of a focus on Westerberg's songwriting than previous albums. While elements of hardcore remain, the band's sound also incorporates arena rockArena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, honky-tonk country and Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
. Unlike previous efforts, the individual songs have distinct sections and dynamic shifts. Instruments such as piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, lap steel guitar
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
, 12-string guitar, and mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
appear.
The album is divided by more energetic rock songs like "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" and "Gary's Got a Boner" and more dramatic songs like "Sixteen Blue" and "Unsatisfied". R.E.M.'s Peter Buck contributed the guitar solo to Let It Bes first cut, "I Will Dare
I Will Dare
"I Will Dare" is a song by American alternative rock band The Replacements, written by Paul Westerberg. The song was released as a single on independent record label Twin/Tone Records in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album Let It Be that October, on which the song served as...
", which was released as a single in July 1984 prior to the album's release.
Legacy
Although not a commercial success upon its release, Let It Be was critically acclaimed by various American music publications; The Village VoiceThe Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
s Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album an A+ rating, one of the few albums to receive an 'A+' from him, and the album ranked fourth in the 1984 Village Voice Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critics' poll. The Rocket
The Rocket (newspaper)
The Rocket was a free biweekly newspaper serving the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, published from 1979–2000. The newspaper's chief purpose was to document local music. This focus distinguished it from other area weeklies such as the Seattle Weekly and the Willamette Week, which...
critic Bruce Pavitt
Bruce Pavitt
-History:After briefly attending Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois and subsequently transferring to The Evergreen State College in Washington State, Pavitt started a fanzine entitled Subterranean Pop in Olympia, Washington in 1980, about American independent rock bands. Three cassette...
said Let It Be was "mature, diverse rock that could well shoot these regional boys into the national mainstream."
The album is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums. In 2003, the album was ranked number 239 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1989, the magazine had also rated it at #15 on its list of 100 best albums of the 80's. In the 1999 miniseries "VH1's 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll," VH1 ranked Let It Be #79. Rateyourmusic.com lists it as the 28th best alternative rock album and 5th best album of 1984. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
rated the album at #29 on their 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
ranked it #12 on their list of the 25 Greatest albums of all time.
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
ranked it #10 on his list of the best albums of the 80s. The opening track of the album, I Will Dare
I Will Dare
"I Will Dare" is a song by American alternative rock band The Replacements, written by Paul Westerberg. The song was released as a single on independent record label Twin/Tone Records in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album Let It Be that October, on which the song served as...
has been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
In 2004, Continuum International Publishing Group
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Continuum International Publishing Group is a publisher of books, with its editorial offices in London and New York City. It had been owned by Nova Capital Management since 2005...
published a volume in its 33⅓ series inspired by Let It Be. The book was a memoir written by Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy
Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.-Early life...
of indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band The Decemberists
The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...
. In his book, Meloy wrote, "I listened to Let It Be endlessly. The record seemed to encapsulate perfectly all of the feelings that were churning inside me [...] Paul Westerberg's weary voice sounded from my boombox and I trembled to think that here I was, thirteen and the 'hardest age' was still three years in the making."
Packaging and title
The cover of Let It Be is a photograph of the band sitting on the roof of Bob and Tommy Stinson's mother's house taken by Daniel Corrigan. Michael Azerrad stated that the cover was a "great little piece of mythmaking," showcasing each bandmember's personality via how they appear in the photograph. The album's title is a reference to the 1970 album Let It Be by The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
; the reference was intended as a joke on the Replacements' manager, Peter Jesperson, who was a huge Beatles fan. Westerberg has stated the name was "our way of saying that nothing is sacred, that the Beatles were just a fine rock & roll band. We were seriously gonna call the next record Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
."
Track listing
All songs written by Paul WesterbergPaul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
except where noted.
Side one
- "I Will DareI Will Dare"I Will Dare" is a song by American alternative rock band The Replacements, written by Paul Westerberg. The song was released as a single on independent record label Twin/Tone Records in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album Let It Be that October, on which the song served as...
" – 3:18 - "Favorite Thing" (Westerberg, Tommy StinsonTommy StinsonThomas "Tommy" Eugene Stinson is an American musician best known for his work as the bassist for The Replacements and Guns N' Roses as well as the post-Replacements groups Bash & Pop, where he performed guitar duties, and Perfect...
, Bob StinsonBob StinsonFor the baseball player, see Bob Stinson Bob Stinson was the founding member and lead guitarist for the American rock band The Replacements.-The Replacements:...
, Chris MarsChris MarsChris Mars is an American artist and musician. He was the drummer for seminal Minneapolis, Minnesota alternative rock band The Replacements and later joined informal supergroup Golden Smog before launching a solo career. He is also a painter, and has more or less left music behind to concentrate...
) – 2:19 - "We're Comin' Out" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 2:21
- "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 1:53
- "AndrogynousAndrogynous (song)"Androgynous" is a song by The Replacements featured on their album Let It Be.The song was covered by Crash Test Dummies and released as the third and final single from their 1991 debut album The Ghosts That Haunt Me. Joan Jett also covered the song on her 2006 album Sinner.Towards the end of the...
" – 3:11 - "Black Diamond" (Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
) – 2:40
Side two
- "Unsatisfied" – 4:01
- "Seen Your Video" – 3:08
- "Gary's Got a Boner" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 2:28
- "Sixteen Blue" – 4:24
- "Answering Machine" – 3:40
2008 CD reissue bonus tracks
- "20th Century Boy20th Century Boy"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
" (Marc BolanMarc BolanMarc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
) – 3:56 - "Perfectly Lethal" (Outtake) – 3:30
- "Temptation Eyes" (Outtake) (Price, Walsh) – 2:30
- "Answering Machine" (Solo Home Demo) – 2:43
- "Heartbeat – It's a Lovebeat" (Outtake – Rough Mix) (Hudspeth, Kennedy) – 2:55
- "Sixteen Blue" (Outtake – Alternate Vocal) – 5:08
- Track 12 originally released as a B-side of "I Will DareI Will Dare"I Will Dare" is a song by American alternative rock band The Replacements, written by Paul Westerberg. The song was released as a single on independent record label Twin/Tone Records in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album Let It Be that October, on which the song served as...
". - Tracks 13–17 previously unreleased.
Personnel
The Replacements- Chris MarsChris MarsChris Mars is an American artist and musician. He was the drummer for seminal Minneapolis, Minnesota alternative rock band The Replacements and later joined informal supergroup Golden Smog before launching a solo career. He is also a painter, and has more or less left music behind to concentrate...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Bob StinsonBob StinsonFor the baseball player, see Bob Stinson Bob Stinson was the founding member and lead guitarist for the American rock band The Replacements.-The Replacements:...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Tommy StinsonTommy StinsonThomas "Tommy" Eugene Stinson is an American musician best known for his work as the bassist for The Replacements and Guns N' Roses as well as the post-Replacements groups Bash & Pop, where he performed guitar duties, and Perfect...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Paul WesterbergPaul WesterbergPaul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
– lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, rhythm guitar, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
on "I Will Dare", lapsteel on "Unsatisfied"
Additional musicians
- Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
– guitar soloGuitar soloIn popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
on "I Will Dare"
External links
- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting CompanyRomanian Radio Broadcasting CompanyThe Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company , informally referred to as Radio Romania , is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates four national radio channels, and, under the Radio România Regional umbrella, eleven regional radio stations. The four national radio channels are: Radio...
- Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991Our Band Could Be Your LifeOur Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely influential in establishing American alternative and indie...
. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1