Let It Be

From UrbanHymnsWhen I was in high school one of the first bands that I was introduced to was by my sophomore English teacher. It was his first year as a teacher; he had just graduated from college and one day he had a class discussion about how songwriting can be a very important but overlooked literary medium. He mentioned Paul Westerberg as an example, and stated that night he was going to see him perform. I decided to find out who Westerberg was, and it wasn’t too hard as his album ‘Eventually’ had just been released and the single “Love Untold” was playing on a local radio station as well as getting some airtime on MTV’s 120 Minutes (such a great show; I miss Matt Pinfield!). That song about unrequited teenage love was completely different than anything I had ever heard. Being an awkward, nerdy teenager at the time the song had relevance to me, and I told my teacher that song was amazing, and asked him what else I should listen to. His response was their compilation ‘All For Nothing/Nothing For All’- which he brought the next day for me to borrow. It was an excellent compilation of the band’s singles and notable work from their Sire Records days and the band’s B-sides- but no Twin/Tone material, meaning no ‘Let It Be’. I ended up discovering ‘Let It Be’ shortly after this and it was, as anyone who’s listened to it can attest, like nothing else I’d ever heard from The Replacements or anywhere really. Up to this point I only knew their Sire Records material, which was somewhat punk but leaned more college rock and way more polished. The opening strumming of “I Will Dare” leads to the amazing solo by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck to help close out the opening song; part fun and part master class, the song establishes the album’s musical spirit while leaving room for the surprises that follow. From there, the album immediately launches into “Favorite Thing,” “We’re Coming Out,” and “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out,” showcasing The Replacements at their peak and punkiness- and I couldn’t get enough. But then “Androgynous”, with its sparse piano and Westerberg’s bruised romanticism was right there, front and center- making the listener confront these ideas and feelings of relationships, gender roles, societal norms and it was like nothing they’d done before, and also nothing short of moving. What makes it even more incredible is how Westerberg conceived this song along with the other emotionally charged songs here of “Unsatisfied”, “Sixteen Blue”, and “Answering Machine”. If you’re a Mats fan and haven’t done so yet, at the very least go to chapter 16 and read (or listen) to Bob Mehr’s excellent biography, ‘Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements’ and you can thank me later on hearing the creation of this magnificent album. But it’s clear those emotionally charged songs of “Androgynous”, “Unsatisfied” (which was mostly improvised and recorded in one take!), and “Answering Machine” (the saddest, most emotionally tortured love song I’ve ever heard) are the core songs here that would also suggest the shift of focus on Westerberg’s songwriting that would be more pronounced on later Replacements albums. For me, these songs perfectly capture what my English teacher had tried to convey about songwriting, and when done well, songwriting can reach people in the same way as a novel or other literary work can do. When done in such a distinctive voice, it can be moving and inspiring, both qualities that are very apparent in Westerberg’s songwriting. The blueprint Westerberg provided here—the tortured soul and the accompanying love stories, delivered with a distinctive raspy, crackly voice—was extremely influential, inspiring future artists such as The Goo Goo Dolls, Wilco, and Ryan Adams, among others. But it’s Westerberg’s heart-on-his-sleeve openness that sets him apart, and it’s that transparency on ‘Let It Be’ that makes it the definitive Replacements album. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Take care and have a great week!