Dusting ‘Em Off: The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
The Replacements are gold; it’s just too bad they don’t have the records hanging on their walls to prove it. Along with The Pixies and Hüsker Dü, they were one of the great underground bands of the eighties, yet never found that elusive mainstream success. They were the proverbial imitated, but never duplicated band that influenced some of the biggest names in the industry over the last twenty years, one of those rare groups that seemed to make everyone that heard them want to pick up a guitar and write songs.
The Replacements released eight studio albums during their existence, but it’s the middle three (Let it Be, Tim, and Pleased to Meet Me) that are widely considered to be its masterpieces. Led by one of America’s greatest songwriters, Paul Westerberg, the albums were a sticky sweet blast of energy, teenage angst, and inescapable hooks. Westerberg had an uncanny swagger for producing a catchy tune, along with some of the hippest lyrics ever. His songs were poems dressed in leather jackets and ripped jeans, and arguably reached their peaked on Pleased To Meet Me, which produced great lines such as ‘Jesus rides beside me, he never buys any smokes,’ from “Can’t Hardly Wait,” and ‘Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of your choice’ from “Alex Chilton.”
The album was a bit of a departure from their previous recordings, introducing horns and an R&B feel into the band’s raucous guitar driven sound. It was also the first album without original guitarist, Bob Stinson, who left the band to face his demons.
The three remaining members (Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars) went on to record an eighties classic that showcases the groups undeniable diversity. The album’s opening track, “I.O.U” and the nonchalant; “I Don’t Know” are pure punk rock, complete with dirty guitars and screeching vocals. On the softer side; ‘Nightclub Jitters’ has an easygoing, 1930’s swing feel, while “Skyway” is a pretty, acoustic number, highlighted by Westerberg’s yearning vocals.
Like all of the best Replacements albums, Pleased To Meet Me was a brash collection of styles and themes. The record company thought they had a hit on their hands with “The Ledge,” but a play-it-safe eighties MTV dropped it after deeming its suicide theme too controversial. The harrowing, but undeniably catchy song builds to an inevitable climax and is easily the album’s most emotional number. On the flip side, “Red Red Wine” is a carefree party tune, soaked in booze and celebrations of lost weekends.
“Nevermind” and “Valentine” are two of the albums most accessible and instantly memorable songs, displaying bouncy power pop riffs that you will be hearing in your head long after the music’s stopped. As good as these songs are, “Alex Chilton” and “Can’t Hardly Wait” are Pleased To Meet Me’s signature tunes. Both have all the qualities you would look for in a classic song - catchy riffs, killer lyrics, and reckless energy. “Alex Chilton” is set in Westerberg’s alternate reality world, where everyone listens to Chilton’s band, Big Star. The group had hoped that Alex Chilton would actually play on the song, but instead, he ended up adding guitar fills to the album’s powerful closing track, “Can’t Hardly Wait” (the song was the inspiration for the 1998 Jennifer Love Hewitt movie of the same name).
Pleased To Meet Me is not without its flaws, though. There are no bad songs, but a couple of tracks, such as “Shooting Dirty Pool” and the aforementioned “Nightclub Jitters” seem more like fillers and slow down the album’s overall momentum. The complaints are minor, however, and the album retains a timeless appeal.
Rhino Records recently reissued a remastered version of Pleased To Meet Me (along with the rest of the band’s studio albums), with eleven bonus tracks, several new photos, and some incredibly cool liner notes, written by the band’s PR guy, Michael Hall. Rhino usually maintains a high standard with their reissues and this is no exception. Hopefully, the reissues will help introduce a new generation to the group.
Listening to The Replacements is kind of like looking at the night sky and seeing the light from a long dead star. You know they burned out long ago, but you still enjoy their power, and although the eighties may seem a billion light years away, Pleased To Meet Me still sounds as fresh and exciting as it did then.
Actually, maybe more.
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Great record– must have loved Adventureland!