So, we’re still recovering from yesterday’s news that The Replacements — more specifically, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson — reunited recently to record an EP full of covers. Whether they hit the road, record an album stuffed to the brim of new material, or do one-offs at Coachella or Late Night with Jimmy Fallon remains to be seen. Right now, all we know is that 250 lucky fans will be spinning covers of Gordon Lightfoot, Hank Williams, Slim Dunlap, and a number off Gypsy before year’s end.
Westerberg and his Replacements are no strangers to covers, though. Too many icy Minneapolis nights of decades past went by with clumsy Mats performances, stocked solely with tongue-in-cheek renditions of whatever they felt would take the piss out of the audience. Sometimes they were cold and calculated, often times they were reckless forms of spontaneity.
As Michael Azerrad wrote in Our Band Could Be Your Life:
By 1983 the hipper rock bands started to understand there was a history to the music. And as a way of legitimizing themselves and aligning themselves with their roots, they’d do covers, chosen with the utmost care. The Replacements were one of the frst bands to do this, only sometimes they took the idea to its logical conclusion and did entire sets of covers — and not always the coolest songs, either. They usually played them pretty badly.”
One listen of the Mats’ 1985 bootleg, The Shit Hits the Fans, paints this picture vividly. Throughout their booze-fueled set, Westerberg and the boys shift sporadically between originals and covers that range from Robyn Hitchcock to Black Sabbath, The Beatles to Mötley Crüe, R.E.M. to Jackson 5. It’s hilarious and it fully captures the band’s now trademark (and ridiculously influential) “who gives a shit” mentality.
This approach to a cover has pocketed Westerberg’s career post-Replacements and he’s tried his hand at many over the years – some that were similarly just for fun, while others that were downright serious. In light of the news — and really, because we can’t stop talking about it and just felt the need to write something — we put together a mix of our favorite covers by Westerberg and the Replacements. Hopefully this will give you some context; that is, if you’re the lucky son of a bitch who grabs an EP.
-Michael Roffman President/Editor-in-Chief
11. “Temptation Eyes” (The Grass Roots)
From where? An outtake during the Let It Be-era.
Los Angeles’ folk pop act The Grass Roots saw acclaim in the late ’60s, charting with hits like “Midnight Confessions” or “Let’s Live for Today”. Their mild 1971 hit “Temptation Eyes” peaked at #15 and offered a nice throwback sound to the late ’50s, early ’60s Motown sound — only with a far more cheeky showbiz aesthetic. It makes sense that Westerberg would ape this one, given his knack for pop music, but The Replacements really make it their own. They suck out the soul, inject a night’s worth of angst, and leave the 70′s FM solos to Bob Stinson. You’d think it belonged to them. -Michael Roffman
10. “Let’s Do It” (Cole Porter)
From where? The soundtrack to the 1995 film, Tank Girl.
In an era where Lori Petty hadn’t scared Hollywood away yet there was Tank Girl. Based on Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett’s cult comic, the film was sort of a mess and inevitably resulted in a box office disaster. Yet like many ’90s films, it had a great soundtrack, featuring Björk, Portishead, Devo, Veruca Salt, Hole, and, of course, Paul Westerberg and Joan Jett. Originally, director Rachel Talalay wanted Elvis Costello to cover Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It”, but she had to make do with Westerberg and Jett when Elvis declined. Good riddance: It’s a clean, polished two and half minutes that’s cheesy but ultimately sexy and fun. -Michael Roffman
09. “Taking Care of Business” (BTO)
From where? 1985′s The Shit Hits the Fans [Note: Scan to 16:25 above.]
So this was one of those Mats shows, drunken, who gives a fuck, why don’t we fill out our set time and do about 20 snippets of covers. You can read a little about the show from about Mats sound engineer at the time Bill MacLesilie, who stole the tape of this show from some kid in the audience. Of all the songs played on that night — save for an essential rending of “Can’t Hardly Wait” — “Taking Care Of Business” actually sounds… pretty good. Consider: Westerberg remembers the lyrics to BTO, but can hardly remember the lyrics to his own song throughout the night. -Jeremy D. Larson
08. “Mr. Rabbit” (Burl Ives)
From where? Westerberg’s 2002 album, Stereo.
The early aughts found Westerberg in an intriguing phase. He left the professional studios he spent most of the ’90s in and instead turned to more roughneck recordings that left all the blemishes and imperfections. This move led to some of his most heart-wrenching, personal work to date, and he continues to pump out similar material to this day. With “Mr. Rabbit”, Westerberg leaves percussion to a $40 kit, his guitar sounds like it’s on a plane to Nashville, but his vocals are front and center. These aren’t his words, but c’mon, just listen to Westie’s inflection as he yearns that, “Every little soul must shine,” again and again. -Michael Roffman
07. “20th Century Boy” (T.Rex)
From where? The B-side to the “I Will Dare” 12″
The Mats had a habit of giving up on covers when they got bored with them, which was anywhere between three minutes to 30 seconds in. Trying to toughen up T.Rex sounded fun, and what seems perfunctory at first really kicks at the chorus. Westerberg was born to chortle the words, “I wanna be your toy.” -Jeremy D. Larson
06. “Iron Man” (Black Sabbath)
From where? 1985′s The Shit Hits the Fans [Note: Scan to 1:38 above.]
There really isn’t a better example of a shit cover by The Replacements than their scrapbook medley of everything Black Sabbath. What starts out sounding slightly like Led Zeppelin quickly evolves into “War Pigs” which finally lands into “Iron Man” — sort of. Westerberg sings from the depths of a bottle and his attempt at a chorus is unbelievable. Actually, there’s no telling if anyone in the band had the slightest idea which song they wanted to play. “War Pigs?” -Michael Roffman
05. “These Days” (Jackson Browne)
From where? Westerberg’s 2003 album, Come Feel Me Tremble.
Pretty much everyone’s covered Jackson Browne’s timeless classic, and while Nico’s version will always take precedence, Westerberg’s ain’t so bad, either. Come Feel Me Tremble again found the songwriter exploring deeper themes from within his basement, but its closing track — his cover here — hits the open road with a stark country twang. He shifts gears on the melody, too, and greases it with this late-night whine that’s just so downright innocent. It’s not everyday the 312,391,293th cover of something grasps your heart. -Michael Roffman
04. “Another Girl Another Planet” (The Only Ones)
From where? The B-side to the “Achin’ to Be” 12″
Most write off The Only Ones as a one-hit wonder because of this song, but man, what a fucking song. Windmill spiraling guitars and secret diary-stripped lyrics make this one of the best power pop tracks to date. Though the remarkable Greg Kihn claimed it first as his cover in 1986, The Replacements’ would go on to issue theirs during their most polarizing era: 1989′s Don’t Tell a Soul. For an album filled with power pop, The Only Ones’ classic track was a shoe-in, and Westerberg’s live snarl adds just the right degree of filth to rise above Kihn’s. -Michael Roffman
03. “September Gurls” (Big Star)
From where?Shit, Shower & Shave bootleg recorded in Bristol, CT August 31, 1989.
Now that The Mats were supporting Tom Petty on tour, they were trying to get their act together a bit more (the title of the bootleg implies as much). Big Star and The Replacements are inextricably tied (Chilton played on Pleased to Meet Me, which was handled by Big Star producer Jim Dickinson), so the cover not only makes sense but sounds definitive. Note at the end that Mars (?) asks if they want to do “‘Achin’ to Bleed’ [sic] for a bunch of nimrods.” Probably not the ideal crowd for a Mats set. -Jeremy D. Larson
02. “Nowhere Man” (The Beatles)
From where? The soundtrack to the 2001 film, I Am Sam.
Some might wince at Westerberg’s whiny take on John Lennon’s personal ballad, but it’s that aching pitch that coddles its tragic question of “Nowhere man can you see me at all?” Now, if there’s anyone other than Lennon to sing this, it’s gotta be the recluse in the cold basement outside of Minneapolis. Try and imagine him singing this next to a beat up old laundry machine, or near a few boxes of old books, perhaps on a lonely Saturday afternoon. No Paul, we haven’t been able to see you, but we’ll gladly come and find you. -Michael Roffman
01. “Black Diamond” (KISS)
From where? 1984′s Let It Be.
It’s sheer brilliance that a fucking KISS cover splits up The Replacements’ greatest album. The guys made a pretty bold move wedging this between “Androgynous” and “Unsatisfied”, arguably two of the most heartfelt songs in their catalogue, but they get away unscathed because it happens to be a great song, too. With a dreary storm of chords and Westerberg’s rapturous cowl, it’s less a cover and more an argumentative garage rock anthem. Bob Stinson’s guitar work cascades against Chris Mars’ drum crashes and it’s just so goddamn Mats-y that any semblance of KISS is purely in the chord progressions that, well, can’t go unchanged. Their unwavering spirit coasts here. -Michael Roffman
