The Replacements replace records... with better ones!
By: Chris Helsen
Rhino are set to re-issue the early work of important cult US indie band and glorious f*ck-ups The Replacements.
Remastered versions of the three albums and EP the Minneapolis band released on the Twin/Tone label in the early '80s are set to see the light of day, complete with generous helpings of the requisite rare and unreleased tracks.
The releases in question range from the drunken revelry of precocious debut Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash (1981) - recorded when bass player Tommy Stinson was just 12 years old - with an impressive thirteen bonus tracks, to the 1984 masterpiece Let It Be which would be their last for the label before moving to Sire. The other two records to receive the makeover treatment are eight track EP Stink (1982) and 1983 album Hootenanny.
'Mats fans will be particularly excited that these deluxe editions have been overseen by original co-producer Peter Jesperson and that the band themselves were apparently "instrumental" in selecting the bonus songs.
This retrospective tribute may not be the last we see of the 'mats. Not only are Rhino also planning to release the band's four classic Sire albums later in the year, since recording two new tracks for the 2006's best-of compilation Don't You Know Who I Think I Was, original members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson (currently playing bass for Guns'n'Roses) are also rumoured to be talking about a possible reformation.
The complete track listing for the four reissues - all out on May 26th - is here:
Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash
1. Takin A Ride
2. Careless
3. Customer
4. Hangin Downtown
5. Kick Your Door Down
6. Otto
7. I Bought A Headache
8. Rattlesnake
9. I Hate Music
10. Johnny's Gonna Die
11. Shiftless When Idle
12. More Cigarettes
13. Don't Ask Why
14. Somethin To Dü
15. I'm In Trouble
16. Love You Till Friday
17. Shutup
18. Raised In The City
bonus tracks
20. Raised In The City (Demo)
21. Shutup (Demo)
22. Don't Turn Me Down (Demo)
23. Shape Up (Demo)
24. You Ain't Gotta Dance (Studio Demo)
25. Get On The Stick (Studio Demo)
26. Oh Baby (Studio Demo)
27. Like You (Outtake)
28. Get Lost (Outtake)
29. A Toe Needs A Shoe (Outtake)
30. Customer (Alternate Take
31. Basement Jam (Rehearsal)
32. If Only You Were Lonely
Stink
1. Kids Don't Follow
2. Fuck School
3. Stuck In The Middle
4. God Damn Job
5. White And Lazy
6. Dope Smokin Moron
7. Go
8. Gimme Noise
bonus tracks
9. Staples In Her Stomach (Outtake)
10. Hey, Good Lookin' (Outtake)
11. (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock (Outtake)
12. You're Getting Married (Solo Home Demo)
Hootenanny
1. Run It
2. Color Me Impressed
3. Willpower
4. Take Me Down To The Hospital
5. Mr. Whirly
6. Within Your Reach
7. Buck Hill
8. Lovelines
9. You Lose
10. Hayday
11. Treatment Bound
bonus tracks
12. Lookin' For Ya
13. Junior's Got A Gun (Outtake - Rough Mix)
14. Ain't No Crime (Outtake)
15. Johnny Fast (Outtake - Rough Mix)
16. Treatment Bound (Alternate Version)
17. Lovelines (Alternate Vocal)
18. Bad Worker (Solo Home Demo)
Let It Be
1. I Will Dare
2. Favorite Thing
3. We're Comin' Out
4. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
5. Androgynous
6. Black Diamond
7. Unsatisfied
8. Seen Your Video
9. Gary's Got a Boner
10. Sixteen Blue
11. Answering Machine
bonus tracks
12. 20th Century Boy
13. Perfectly Lethal (Outtake)
14. Tempatation Eyes (Outtake)
15. Answering Machine
16. Heartbeat-It's a Lovebeat (Outtake Rough Mix)
17. Sixteen Blue (Outtake Alternate Vocal)